By Eric Scott
UNC Athletic Media Relations Intern
GREELEY, Colo. - After a seven-game losing streak, the University of Northern Colorado football team (2-7, 2-1 Great West Football Conference) launched the monkey off its back as it struck down the Southern Utah Thunderbirds 42-7.
UNC kept its conference title hopes alive with the victory. The Bears improved to 2-1 in Great West Conference play, while Southern Utah dropped to 1-3 in league play. Overall, UNC moved to 2-7 and the Thunderbirds fell to 4-5 on the season.
UNC senior wide receiver Vincent Jackson, a candidate for the Walter Payton Award, had another solid game as he took in nine catches for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Jackson continues to rewrite the Northern Colorado record books as he extended his career lead in receiving touchdowns to 36. In addition to that, Jackson extended his UNC career receiving yards lead to 3,369 and he also is now second all-time in UNC career pass receptions with 166, leaping ahead of Cedric Tillman. He needs just three catches to break the record held by Kim Boerema.
"It's an honor," Jackson said when asked about the receptions record. "I've had a great four years here ... any accolades or anything that comes with that is good for our team."
The total offensive yards were virtually even, with the Bears out-gaining Southern Utah 391-318, but it was the miraculous improvement of UNC's defense that controlled the game. After giving up an average of 30 points for the season, the Bears clamped down on SUU's ground game, holding them to just 90 yards. The running attack had been a staple of the Thunderbirds' offense this season, particularly the scrambling of their quarterback Casey Rehrer. Reher, SUU's leading rusher this season, was contained to just 37 yards rushing.
Since UNC was able to take away the running ability of Southern Utah, the Thunderbirds were forced to pass, which was exactly what the Bears wanted. The UNC defense forced three interceptions and recovered two fumbles, which amounted to 21 points by the Bears' offense.
 Reed Doughty returned an interception 28 yards in the Bears' 42-7 win over Southern Utah. (Photo by Dean Popejoy)  |
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"We did exactly what we wanted and it feels great when you execute the game plan," said Bears' senior safety Reed Doughty. "We knew coming in their quarterback was their best athlete on offense, and they wanted to spread it out and run the quarterback draw. We took that away. He's a good passer, but that's not what his strong point is."
Doughty set the tone for the game when he intercepted SUU's Casey Rehrer and returned it 28 yards to the Thunderbirds' 20 on the first drive of the game. But placekicker Justin Zaitz missed a 33-yard field goal and the Bears were unable to score on the first miscue.
On UNC's next defensive series, sophomore defensive tackle Jacob Carlson recovered a fumble by Southern Utah running back Ryan Filipe on the SUU 28. The recovery led to a seven-yard touchdown pass by UNC junior backup quarterback Nick Hager, who started for the injured Tony Christensen. Hager had a career day as he went 18-23 passing and had 243 all-purpose yards. He accounted for four of the Bears' six touchdowns.
The Bears scored three more touchdowns before the end of the first half, making the halftime score 28-0. The Thunderbirds could never recover from UNC's 28 unanswered points, scoring their lone touchdown on their first offensive series of the second half. Northern Colorado went on to score 14 more points before deciding to call it a day.
"(The win) feels very good," said Bears' head coach Kay Dalton. "We played much smarter today. I thought we played very hard and very consistent. There was good teamwork, and that's my kind of football."
Northern Colorado's next game is against the Cal Poly Mustangs (7-1, 3-1 GWFC) in San Luis Obispo, Calif. A win for the Bears will bring them into a three-way tie at the top of the Great West and could be crucial in determining the league champion. The game can be heard on the Bears Radio Network at 7 p.m. MST.
