Austen Hunzeker
Reporter
The Bengals beat the Southern Utah Thunderbirds 38-28 in an intense game Saturday, Sept. 21, at the annual homecoming football game held at the ICCU Dome.
Bengals showed up in a crowd of nearly 9,000, with student attendees being only 100 away from breaking the student ticket record. With the stands packed, the roar of cheers and chants boomed in the stadium as the Bengal players ran onto the field, ready to fight hard.
ISU President Robert Wagner delivered the game ball uniquely by repelling just under 100 ft. from the dome’s ceiling. To start the game, the Bengals won the coin toss and chose to defer to the second half, starting with defense.
SUU started the game with a three-and-out as the Bengals were able to cut off two plays for running back Targhee Lambson, and Bengal safety Mason Young broke up the third-down pass attempt by Thunderbird quarterback Jackson Berry. The Bengal offense took the field, and their first drive attempt succeeded. Quarterback Hunter Hays sealed the deal with a four-yard run touchdown. The increase in morale could be heard in the screams from the audience.
The bottom of the first quarter resulted in another touchdown by Hays, ending the quarter with ISU 14-0.
The Thunderbirds put up a fight immediately in the second quarter, with their first play being a 19-yard pass touchdown by Gabe Nunez from Berry. Bengal Gabe Pankiowski made a 39-yard field goal toward the end of the quarter, and with 10 seconds left in the half, Bengal Eric Johnson scored an 18-yard pass from Kobe Tracy. All kick attempts were a success by the Bengals in the first half. By halftime, ISU was set at 24-7.
Following halftime performances by the ISU Marching Band, Cheer, and Dance Teams, ISU stopped SUU’s first drive. The Bengals and Thunderbirds fought closely until Thunderbird Berry scored with a 2-yard run with 40 seconds left in the quarter. The Bengals quickly regrouped and scored with a 75-yard run by Dason Brooks with 25 seconds left and massive praise from the stands.
Going into the last quarter, ISU was 31-14.
The Thunderbirds fought back, scoring with a 1-yard run by Lambson at the top of the quarter. Bengal Christian Fredrickson scored with 01:46 remaining with a 20-yard pass from Hays. The Thunderbirds gave the final score with six seconds remaining in the game as Shane Carr scored a 2-yard pass from Bronson Barron.
The final game score was in favor of the Bengals, 38-28.
“We started kind of slow last week,” Hays said regarding the game against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. “It was good to come out and get some points on the board right away, so it was really awesome.”
He went on to say that the team was feeling “really, really good” about the win against Southern Utah.
“We know Southern Utah’s a good darn football team,” Head Coach Cody Hawkins said. “Hats off to our defense…It’s easy to be good when you go in and just steamroll somebody, but to have the opportunity to play a really good opponent like Southern Utah that’s physical, well-coached, and has had some success this year, yeah, I’m really proud of the team.”
To celebrate the win, Bengal students rushed to the center of the field to meet the players as the clock confirmed the game. ISU faced Montana State in the Big Sky Conference on Saturday, Sept. 28, and will have their next home game on Oct. 12 against the Portland State Vikings.
