Category: Uncategorized

Game Recap SUU vs NAU

FLAGSTAFF, ARIZ, – The Southern Utah Thunderbirds football team dropped a tough one to their rival Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 31-23. The Thunderbirds dropped to 0-4 on the season while the Lumberjacks improve to 2-2.

The Thunderbirds got off to a very poor start when Chris Helbig threw an interception while the Thunderbirds were seemingly driving.

This was SUU’s 4th loss in a row after playing Oregon State and Arizona tough. Both are Pac 12 teams. This was SUU’s first game in their quest to repeat as Big Sky champions.

The story of the game came right before halftime when SUU’s starting quarterback Chris Helbig was sacked and was hurt on the play. Backup Aaron Zwahlen took over, but was intercepted on his first pass. It seemed as Southern Utah’s hopes were crushed when Helbig came on the sideline in a sling.

Zwahlen tried to carry SUU to a comeback win, but NAU was just too much. The story of the game was SUU getting back into the game and then NAU promptly responding with a quick score.

Zwahlen had an opportunity to tie the game up with just a few minutes left, but with the score 31-23, he throws an interception that sealed the game for the Lumberjacks.

Next game:

SUU (0-4): Sat Oct 6 @ Eastern Washington

NAU (2-2): Sat Sept 29 @ Idaho State

 

 

Game Story

CEDAR CITY, Utah- The Southern Utah Thunderbirds (Big Sky) soccer team picked up their first win as they defeated the UNLV Rebels (Mountain West). SUU’s previous losses came at the hands of the University of Nevada Wolfpack and Michigan State Spartans. UNLV came into the game undefeated (2-0). The game got off to a rocky start as the game was delayed two-and-a-half-hours because of lightning. When the game did start SUU struck fast. Taylor Harris got her first goal of the game, assisted by Devri Hartle, just 6:50 into the game. Then MaKenzie Lawrence stuck again for the Thunderbirds 1:19 after the first goal netting her first goal of the season. Those two quick goals were certainly the deciding factor as UNLV Head coach Chris Shaw said “No excuses, we weren’t good enough tonight. We gave up two early goals and just never recovered. Credit to SUU for battling and making things tough for us.” UNLV was 2-0 before the loss to SUU. After the two goals; however, SUU went quiet. UNLV outshot 18-9, but Brianna Aldridge held it down for SUU, earning her first career win. Along with being outshot UNLV had a 10-3 on corner kicks. While SUU was able to win SUU Head coach Fred Thompson had some concerns. He said “We had about four or five other really good opportunities to roll somebody in and go straight to goal. I’m never going to turn down a 2-0 lead, but we need to learn how to handle it better and extend that lead when we get our opportunities.”

Up next:

Southern Utah (1-2) will face University of Nevada at home on Sunday August 26.

UNLV (2-1) will go on the road to play Utah State on Saturday August 25

Is Cheerleading a Sport?

Is cheerleading a sport? This is a question that has been talked about for a long time. My answer is pretty simple, No. When we think of sports what do we think of? Baseball, football, basketball, hockey, motorsports, etc. For a lot of these events there are cheerleaders performing, As an example, at SUU football games we have cheerleaders performing. I would not say that there are two sports going on. There is a football game happening and cheerleaders are performing. That does not make what they do any less impressive, but i would not consider it a sport. A more valid for cheerleading as a sport would be for those cheerleaders who go competitions to compete.

My Greatest Athletic Achievement.

I have loved sports my entire life. I have never been the best at them. I was never really athletically gifted. But golf was a sport I always loved to play. That was because of my grandpa. R.I.P. Miss ya every day Pop. I started playing golf on and off when I was younger. As I got into 7th-8th grade I started playing it more frequently. There were still times in which I stopped, but I always came back. I have a couple achievements that come to my mind. Around a year ago I broke 40 for the first time. It was just one of those rounds in which I was on. On July 22, 2017 I was playing at the course closest to my house, playing by myself (of course I was that day). I started the day off with a bogey on a par 4 so I figured, ok this will be an ok round. Then a par, then another bogey. I felt really good how I was playing, but then holes 4-7 happened. I parred 4 straight holes. I was absolutely ecstatic. I ended up getting bogey on the last two holes for a total score of 39. I was most proud that I did not have a double bogey, but that was simply one of those days in which I was on. Another time in which I am proud of was when I scored an 82 in Florida. My grandparents lived there for a number of years and they belonged to a club there. So when I visited there I played a lot. My grandma let me go play by myself and I ended up shooting an 82! A personal best on 18 holes. What is crazy about that round was that I started with a double bogey! Boy did I come back from that. A small achievement that I am proud of is that last year at Cedar Ridge I hit my first 300+ yard drive. I have never been someone that hits the ball a ton, but last year I hit two crazy drives. One 310 and another around 330 yards. The thin air for sure helped. I will always remember all three of these moments.