GRAND FORKS, N.D. ? With less that two minutes remaining in the Fighting Sioux home finale, Southern Utah pulled down a 16-yard toss to take a 15-14 lead ? its first of the game. The catch would prove to be the game-winner as the Thunderbirds registered their first conference victory and their first win against UND.
The Sioux held the advantage throughout the game, including a 14-0 lead heading into the second half, but the Thunderbirds were able to chip the lead down to three on a 44-yard field goal in the third and a 22-yard touchdown pass five minutes into the fourth quarter.
SUU's game-winning play, a 16-yard pass from Cody Stone to Fesi Sitake came with just 1:14 remaining on the clock. The Sioux started to make their way towards field goal territory, but an interception on fourth-and-eleven ended the drive and gave SUU the win.
With its first loss at the Alerus since October 13, 2007, North Dakota dropped to 5-4 overall, 0-2 in the GWC. Southern Utah improved to 4-5, 1-2 GWC.
Senior QB Danny Freund (Kenosha, Wis.) finished with 186 passing on 17-of-25 completions with a pair of touchdowns. Forty-five of Freund's yards came off of a pass to true freshman Ismael Bamba (Montreal, Quebec).
Bamba finished with a team-high 149 all-purpose yards. On twenty touches, he tallied 67 yards receiving, 20 rushing, and 62 yards on kick returns.
Scoring for the Sioux were seniors Brandon Brady (Bloomington, Minn.) and Brady Trenbeath (Cavalier, N.D.). Midway through the second quarter, Freund found Brady on a 17-yard pass. Six minutes later, Trenbeath was hit on an 11-yard toss as he came through the backside of the end zone.
Though the scoreboard was quiet for the first 23 minutes of the game, the Sioux were able to make noise in other ways. Southern Utah's second drive of the game was cut short when true freshman Kenny Watkins (Plano, Texas) snatched an oncoming pass for his first career interception. Senior Drake Otto (Kenosha, Wis.) stripped the ball from the Thunderbirds on their next possession to give fellow senior Ward DeMontigny (Washburn, N.D.) the jump on the loose ball.
SUU had their first red zone opportunity late in the second quarter, but in keeping with the theme of the game, UND put an early stop to the drive. A handful of pass completions moved the ball to the UND20, but on a hard toss towards the end zone, Otto got a hand up and tipped it towards Kris Ankenbauer (Plano, Texas) for the Sioux's second interception of the day.
Before the whistle sounded the Sioux tallied two more interceptions as Dominique Hawkins (Rockford, Minn.) and Joel Schwenzfeier (Hallock, Minn.) added to the pickoff list.
On defense, Hawkins led the Sioux with a career-high seven solo tackles and an interception. Along with the interception, Ankenbauer registered a five-yard tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries. Sophomore Ty Boyle (International Falls, Minn.) led the team in QB hurries with five.
UND finished with 104 yards on foot and 186 yards passing. Sophomore RB Josh Murray (Pepin, Wis.) led in both categories logging 83 and 24 yards, respectively. SUU tallied 110 yards on the ground and 250 yards in the air.
Southern Utah's starting QB Cody Stone finished with 250 yards and two touchdowns. Daryl Brown ran for 70 yards. Poots and Sitake led with 69 and 62 yards, respectively, on six carries a piece.
The Sioux will have next weekend off before heading South for the season finale agaisnt the Coyotes of South Dakota.
? Go Sioux ?
GAME NOTES: Danny Freund is now listed No. 5 in career passing yards ... UND has scored in the first quarter in eight-of-nine games ...
