Oct. 30, 2010

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

DAVIS, Calif. -- Brad Sorensen threw for 397 yards and five touchdowns, three of them to Tysson Poots who had 12 catches for 191 yards, as the Southern Utah football team beat UC Davis 55-24 on Saturday night at Aggie Stadium, clinching the Thunderbirds' first-ever Great West Conference championship.

UC Davis, which was led by nine catches and 134 yards from receiver Sean Creadick and 278 passing yards from quarterback Randy Wright, fell to 3-5 overall and 1-1 in league. The Thunderbirds improved to 5-4 overall while finishing the Great West with a perfect 4-0 record. The Aggies won last year's conference championship.

Linebacker Jordan Glass had eight tackles to pace the defense.

Sorensen was on target throughout the night, completing 30 of 36 passes while tying a school record for most touchdown passes in a game. Poots caught scoring passes of 18 yards in the second quarter, 13 yards in the third, and then closed the scoring with a 42-yard TD reception in the fourth.

Sorensen, who had a one-yard touchdown plunge just before halftime, also found receiver Fesi Sitake for a pair of scores; the first from 11 yards late in the first half and the other on a seven-yard connection midway through the third quarter.

"There's times you have to just give credit where credit is due," said Aggie coach Bob Biggs. "We obviously could not stop them. We tried to bring pressure, but I thought Sorensen played extremely well and he was very active tonight. They caught everything that was thrown their way and it was a tough matchup for us. They have a lot of gifted receivers and the quarterback was on tonight."

Southern Utah finished with 525 total yards while UC Davis, which also rushed for 154 yards, compiled a season-high 445. Nick Aprile rushed for a pair of touchdowns - he gained 59 yards on the ground overall - while Creadick and Wright connected for a 44-yard TD strike late in the first quarter.

The Thunderbirds never trailed, scoring the game's first 10 points and then holding a 31-10 halftime lead. They led 48-17 entering the fourth quarter.

Southern Utah's defense got the Thunderbirds on the scoreboard first as Blake Fenn picked off Wright and raced 73 yards up the near sideline for a touchdown. Trailing 10-0 after a 38-yard field goal from SUU's Brock Miller, UC Davis countered with Creadick and Wright's long touchdown play.

Sean Kelley made a 36-yard field goal with 9:49 left in the second quarter, bringing the Aggies to 17-10 before Sitake and Sorensen's touchdowns over the final 3:27 of the first half gave Southern Utah a 21-point intermission lead.

Aprile's first touchdown, from two yards, made it 34-17 while his second, a one-yard dive early in the fourth quarter, made it 48-24 after Sitake and Poots scord from seven and 13 yards over the last half of the third quarter. Poots' 42-yard scoring reception with 7:17 left completed the scoring.

Wright completed 22 of 35 passes while Creadick posted his third straight 100-yard receiving game and fourth this season overall. Corbin Cutshaw had 79 yards on 14 carries while tight end Dean Rogers added five catches for 78 yards.

Defensive end Eric Sobotka had a three-yard sack for UC Davis. Linebacker Byron Gruendl, who had seven tackles, and cornerback Jonathan Perkins each broke up passes.

Marlon Hogains had nine solo tackles for the Thunderbirds, including a nine-yard sack, as Southern Utah finished with four sacks overall.

The title was the first in football for Southern Utah since it tied UC Davis for first place in the former American West Conference in 1993. The Aggies still have two league games remaining; next week at North Dakota and Nov. 13 at Cal Poly. They'll finish the season with the Causeway Classic against Sacramento State on Nov. 20.

"There's no championship to play for so now it's just pride, " said Biggs. "We have three tough games, right now we're now 3-5. We have to try to get a winning season and, ultimately, it was one of our goals to have a winning season. Our backs are against the wall and we will find out a little about ourselves. I trust this team and I have liked the way they've played all year long. I know they will come back and play hard, it's just who they are."

UC Davis' game next week at North Dakota kicks off at 10 a.m. (PDT).