By Spencer Rodak, Southern Utah Gameday
ST. GEORGE – In a rivalry matchup that has featured multiple close games over the last few years, many expected another tight contest in the Battle for the Ax on Saturday night.
Instead, SUU made sure everyone knew which team was the better this season in a dominant 28-7 win at Utah Tech.
“I thought our football team beat Utah Tech tonight in all three phases,” Thunderbirds’ head coach DeLane Fitzgerald said after the win.
“Our offense was better than their offense. Our defense was better than their defense. Our special teams were better than their special teams.”
From start to finish, the T-birds certainly did dominate in all facets in a decisive win, their third in a row against the Trailblazers.
Southern Utah would get things rolling early, using a mix of run and pass plays to take an 8-0 lead on its opening offensive drive.
Capping the 11-play, 74-yard drive was running back Joshua Dye, who broke off his first big run of the night for a 20-yard score with 8:29 left in the opening quarter. The T-birds would add a two-point conversion to push the lead to eight.
The SUU defense immediately came up with a stop, as cornerback Mikey Allen intercepted Utah Tech quarterback Bronson Barben on the first play from scrimmage for the Trailblazers to give the ball back to the offense.
Just under four minutes later, Jayden Rogers kicked a 35-yard field goal to make it 11-0.
Despite the early offensive output, the game would suddenly turn into a defensive slugfest.
Neither team would be able to put the finishing touches on a drive offensively until the third quarter, but it also meant the SUU defense had its moment to shine.
And after struggling through the first seven games, the Thunderbirds’ defense has flipped the script with two straight solid performances following the bye week.
“The biggest area (that’s improved) is them knowing and understanding what we’re trying to do defensively. Understanding the concept, what we’re trying to stop, who we’re trying to stop, and understanding the schemes,” Fitzgerald said of the defense.
“They played really well together in back-to-back weeks.”
While the defense kept the Trailblazers off the scoreboard, the offense would add a touchdown with just over five minutes left in the third quarter.
Thanks once again to Dye – this time via a 13-yard run – the T-birds made it an 18-0 ballgame following a five-minute drive.
As the defense continued to shine – highlighted by forcing a pair of missed UT field goals and forcing a turnover on downs – the offense added one more touchdown to officially put the game out of reach.
This time, Dye would rip off a 92-yard run for a touchdown to make it 25-0 with 11:29 remaining.
With the Ax firmly secured for the Thunderbirds, the Trailblazers would finally get points on the board with a late touchdown.
SUU added a 22-yard field goal with just under three minutes to play to wrap up the 28-7 victory.
“We’ve beaten Utah Tech four years in a row and four out of the last five (the two teams played twice in 2022), and this is the first one that hasn’t been a nailbiter, the first one that didn’t go down to the wire that we’ve won.
“So, hey, it felt nice, in the fourth quarter, to kind of go take a deep breath.”
Joshua Dye led the offense in the victory, racking up 204 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground.
With the win, the Thunderbirds improve to 3-5 on the season and 2-2 in UAC play.
After securing back-to-back wins, SUU will turn its attention to No. 23/25 Austin Peay, who they will host in Cedar City on Saturday, Nov. 1.
“I think Saturday at our place against Austin Peay, the last really good team on our schedule, it’s huge for us. It’s huge for our season.”
Kickoff between the Thunderbirds and Governors is slated for 6:30 p.m.
