Idaho State improves to 4-0 with gritty 28-24 win over Southern Utah

CEDAR CITY, Utah (KIFI) – The Idaho State Bengals defeated the Southern Utah Thunderbirds 28-24 Saturday night in Utah, improving their record to 4-0 on the season. Head coach Cody Hawkins described it as "an ugly win" after the game, but it's a win nonetheless.

Southern Utah took a 10-0 lead in the second quarter before ISU got on the board. With just under 2 minutes to go in the half, Jordan Cooke found Kai Wheeler for the 2-yard touchdown, capping off a 9-play, 75-yard scoring drive.

Right after the half, the Bengals took the lead when Cooke ran in a 19-yard touchdown to make it a 14-10 game. They then expanded on that lead 10 game minutes later, when Chedon James punched in a 4 yard touchdown run.

The fourth quarter is when things got tight. Southern Utah scored under a minute into the fourth quarter when QB Will Burns took a 23-yard run to the house to cut the deficit. Then with about 9 minutes to go in the game, the Thunderbirds took the lead off of a 45-yard touchdown run from Floyd Chalk. ISU responded minutes later, when Cooke aired a ball out and found Chedon James for a 43 yard touchdown pass.

With 2 minutes to go in the game, Southern Utah found themselves on the Bengals 11-yard line. On 2nd down and 9, the Thunderbirds handed the ball to Floyd Chalk. What looked like a substantial gain for the SUU offense was blown up when Junior Bengal cornerback Jackson Daniels stripped the ball from Floyd, and the Bengals recovered. SUU got the ball back once more, but a sack on fourth down by Nathan Abbott with 6 seconds left secured the victory.

After the game, head coach Cody Hawkins acknowledged the grittiness of the win. "I don't know if I've ever been a part of an uglier win than that," he said. He continued, "... proud of the guys – that's the ultimate thing, right? ... yes, we can be better, but that's for tomorrow. Tonight, I want to celebrate the resilience of our guys, our defense stepping up and making some unbelievable plays again..."

Idaho State finished the game having committed 4 turnovers - 1 interception and 3 fumbles. Their defense forced 3 fumbles themselves, recovered 2 of them, and snagged one interception from the Thunderbirds.

Jordan Cooke finished the game completing 15 of 25 passes for 203 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. Tytan Mason led the way on the ground with 10 carries for 94 yards, and Chedon James led through the air, hauling in 7 catches for 134 yards, a receiving touchdown and a rushing touchdown.

ISU now looks ahead to Saturday, October 3rd. They will host 3-2 Northern Arizona at the ICCU Dome, an NAU team that is coming off a 28-14 loss to the #1-ranked Montana State Bobcats.