United Athletic Conference

 

Abilene Christian joined Southern Utah with matching 1-0 records in conference play to kick off the 2022 league slate. Abilene Christian downed Utah Tech 26-10 on Oct. 1.

 

Sam Houston won the Battle of the Piney Woods matchup with Stephen F. Austin for the 12th consecutive time, defeating the Lumberjacks by one point (21-20 in 2021) for the second straight season. In what was the last scheduled meeting of the teams on the books in the immediate future, Sam Houston improved to 58-35-2 in the series.

 

The tide started to turn for Sam Houston late in the first half with SFA ahead 13-0. Donovan Adkins broke through the line and blocked a punt for the Bearkats, returning the ball to the SFA 7-yard line to set up the first Sam Houston touchdown of the game that cut the deficit to 13-7.

 

SFA led 16-7 with eight minutes remaining in the game before Sam Houston chipped away on the scoreboard with a 21-yard field goal by Seth Morgan. With the game on the line and trailing 16-10, the Bearkats drove 78 yards in 11 plays in just 2:06 of game time, capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run from Dezmon Jackson on 4th and goal for the victory.

 

Despite the defeat, SFA safety Myles Heard claimed conference defensive player of the week honors after registering 14 tackles (12 solo) with a pass breakup for the Lumberjacks.

 

Abilene Christian pushed its season record to 4-1 with a first victory in conference play, defeating Utah Tech 26-10 in the WAC opener. The Wildcats rolled up 440 yards of total offense and limited the Trailblazers to just 284 yards and 4.2 yards per play.

 

Jermiah Dobbins rolled with 130 yards on 24 carries (5.4 YPC), scoring 5-yard, 12-yard and 10-yard rushing touchdowns. Dobbins’ three rushing scores equaled a conference season high.

 

Tory Hargrove was a defensive force for Abilene Christian, tallying seven tackles, 3.0 sacks and a forced fumble to go along with two quarterback hurries. Tyrin Bradley added a sack and 2.0 tackles for loss. 

 

Southern Utah battled to the end on the road against a talented Eastern Kentucky squad, trading scores throughout in a hard-luck 35-28 defeat on Oct. 1. The Thunderbirds managed to tie the game on four different occasions but were unable to take the lead at any point during the contest.

 

Justin Miller completed 21-of-29 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Southern Utah offense at Eastern Kentucky. Steve Jenkins had 73 yards receiving on three grabs with one touchdown for the Thunderbirds.

 

Wide receiver Joey Hobert from Utah Tech saw his string of 100-yard receiving performances to start the 2022 season end at four games. Hobert failed to get to the century mark for the first time this season after registering five catches for 64 yards in a 26-10 loss to Abilene Christian on Oct. 1. The WAC record for most consecutive 100-yard receiving games (seven) was established by San Diego State’s Patrick Rowe in 1990, and Hawai’i’s Greg Salas set the conference watermark with 10 total 100-yard showings during the 2010 season.

 

As of the latest NCAA FCS football national statistics report that was released on Oct. 1, Southern Utah was the top team in the country with a 2.20 turnover margin, 15 total turnovers gained and a 42.03 net punting yards average and ranked second with seven fumble recoveries. SFA has averaged 34.83 yards per punt return to also lead the nation.

 

Southern Utah’s Jake Gerardi remained the national punting leader with an average of 48.2 yards per boot, and teammate Zach Strand ranked second in the FCS with two fumble recoveries. SFA’s Edward Bobino was second in the country with two blocked kicks thus far this season. Southern Utah’s Rodrick Ward’s 2.0 passes defended per game checked in as the third-ranked total in the country.