State football roundup: T-Birds post first Great West championship

DAVIS, Calif. — Brad Sorensen completed 30-of-36 passes for 397 yards and a school record-tying five touchdowns Saturday to propel Southern Utah to a 55-24 win over UC Davis and the Thunderbirds' first Great West Conference championship.

"Brad was so hot and the receivers were playing so well and catching balls," SUU coach Ed Lamb said. "He's been on an unbelievable streak. I credit his development with the coaches continuing to work with him, and his humility. Like I said at the beginning of the season, I think he has the best physical tools in the state, and probably a lot wider range than that."

Southern Utah improved to 5-4 overall and finished its Great West season with a perfect 4-0 mark. It is the first outright football championship for the Thunderbirds in the school's four-year GWC history and its first since the team shared the American West Conference title with UC Davis back in 1993.

The Thunderbirds were jump-started by Blake Fenn's 73-yard interception return early in the game, then methodically pulled away, scoring on all but one possession in the first half. The T-birds kept up their efficiency in the second half, as they wound up scoring on nine of 11 possessions and did not turn the ball over.UC Davis drove to the SUU 32 on the opening drive of the game but Fenn stepped in front of a Randy Wright pass at the SUU 27 and, with Colin Pretlow leading the way, returned it for a touchdown. It was SUU's second interception return for a touchdown of the season and the longest since Ryan Smith returned one 80 yards against Morehead State in 2000.

SUU added three points on a 38-yard Brock Miller field goal before the Aggies got on the board with a 44-yard pass from Wright to Sean Creadick. The Thunderbirds pulled away in the second period, however, with Sorensen sandwiching an 18-yard TD pass to Tysson Poots and an 11-yard scoring strike to Fesi Sitake around a 36-yard Aggie field goal by Sean Kelley. After forcing a UC Davis punt with 1:46 to play, the Thunderbirds pushed their advantage to 31-10 when Sorensen followed his center from less than a yard out for a touchdown.

Big plays played a big part of the first half for the Thunderbirds. In addition to the interception return. they also got a 31-yard run from Austin Minefee that set up the Sitake touchdown, and a 50-yard pass from Sorensen to Daryl Brown to set up Sorensen's.

SUU kept its foot on the pedal in the second half, as Sorensen found Sitake again, this time on a 7-yard third-quarter TD pass, and Poots twice, one from 13 yards out and the second from 42.