CEDAR CITY, Utah – There was no shortage of drama in the Utah mountains on Saturday night as Tommy Holden's 46-yard field goal sailed through the uprights with one tick left, lifting the no. 18/20 West Georgia Wolves over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds, 27-24.
After leading 17-3 at the break and 24-3 early in the third, West Georgia (5-0, 2-0 UAC) found themselves in a heavyweight fight as Southern Utah (1-4, 0-1 UAC) scored 21 unanswered points to tie things up in the final quarter before Holden's kick gave the Wolves their sixth straight overall victory and fourth consecutive win on the road.
The win also gives UWG their first 5-0 start since the 2018 season.
UWG's defense limited Southern Utah to 295 yards of offense, which was 200 yards under the Thunderbirds' average. The Wolves' offense rushed for 206 yards, their second 200-plus yard rushing game this season.
Both teams traded punts on their opening possession and after a bad UWG punt set SUU up on their second drive inside the redzone, the Wolves' defense bowed their backs and forced a field goal. The 44-yarder from Jayden Rogers bounced off the upright but through to give the Thunderbirds the first lead of the game.
UWG then tied things up on their next drive, going 44 yards on 10 plays before Simon Zeidan banged through a 49-yard field goal.
The Wolves got their first lead of the night on the legs of Davin Wydner following a Joenel Figueroa interception. Wydner rushed for 23 yards of the 66-yard drive including a one-yard plunge to put UWG up 10-3 one play into the second quarter.
At the 3:32 mark of the second quarter, UWG capped off an eight-play scoring drive with Wydner connecting with Devion Newson for a 12-yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 17-3.
Southern Utah got into UWG territory on their final drive of the first half, but the UWG defense forced a punt and sent the game to the break.
On the opening drive of the third quarter, UWG ate 5:24 of game time, driving 75 yards on 11 plays with Wydner escaping the pocket and rushing eight yards to the pylon to put the Wolves up 24-3 at the 9:36 mark of the period.
The Thunderbirds responded with a 10-play, 76-yard drive to cut it back to a two-possession game as Joshua Dye found the endzone from the one-yard line making it 24-10 with 4:58 remaining in the third.
After UWG went three-and-out, SUU scored on their first play as Bronson Barron connected with Mark Bails Jr. for a 60-yard touchdown, to make it a 24-17 UWG lead.
SUU tied it up, 24-24, on the very first play of the fourth quarter, with Dye rushing 23 yards to the endzone with 14:54 left in the game.
A failed fake punt ended UWG's next drive and then the defense forced a field goal attempt and the 26-yard kick sailed wide keeping the game tied and giving the Wolves the ball back at the 20 with 5:45 left.
UWG then had a chance at a go-ahead field goal with 1:54 left and Tommy Holden's attempt from 46 yards was no good.
West Georgia's defense forced a punt with 24 seconds and took over at their own 27-yard line. Davin Wydner and the offense then drove to the SUU 27, setting up Holden for the gamewinner, from the same distance he missed from less than two minutes earlier. The kick was true and UWG stifled the T-Birds' attempt at a miracle, lateral return and closed out the win.
The Wolves' rushing attack was led by 80 yards on 21 carries from Latrelle Murrell and 73 yards on 13 carries from TJ Lester. Wydner finished with 142 yards passing and one touchdown. For the second straight game, UWG's offense did not commit a turnover.
Defensively, UWG was led by David Hoage who had six tackles, three for a loss, and one sack. West Georgia also had a takeaway as Figueroa had the early interception.
UWG is back on the road in week six, traveling to nationally-ranked Austin Peay, setting up the first ranked-on-ranked matchup in UWG's Division I history. Kickoff from Clarksville on October 4 is set for 4 p.m. ET.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Zeidan's first quarter 49-yard field goal was a career-long for the freshman.
- Wydner's rushing touchdown to put UWG up 10-3 was the ninth rushing TD of his career, and he later made it 10 with an eight-yard rush in the third quarter.
- Southern Utah was just 2-of-11 on third down. The Thunderbirds entered the game as a top-five team in the country in third down conversion rate. UWG held the nation's sixth-ranked offense to nearly 200 yards under their average and 15 points below their scoring average.
- The game was UWG's highest altitude game ever, with Cedar City registering 5,843 feet above sea level.
