Thunderbirds Comeback Falls Short Against No. 18 Abilene Christian
Nov 2, 2024, 6:21 PM
The Southern Utah Thunderbirds celebrate an overtime win over the UTEP Miners on Saturday, September 7.
ABILENE, Texas— Southern Utah fell behind big but showed incredible fight before falling short in a 28-25 loss to the Abilene Christian Wildcats.
No. 18 Abilene Christian (6-3, 5-1 UAC) hosted SUU (4-5, 3-2 UAC) on Saturday, November 2, at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium.
Final from Abilene #Elevate ⚡️ #TBirdNation pic.twitter.com/v8SrqLr2a3
— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) November 2, 2024
The Wildcats controlled the action early, holding a 14-0 lead after one quarter. Maverick McIvor started the scoring when he found Javon Gipson in the end zone with a 13-yard touchdown pass. Following an SUU punt, the Wildcats marched 81 yards in 12 plays before taking a two-TD lead when Isaiah Johnson rumbled into the end zone from eight yards out.
Johnson’s second TD gave ACU a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. Jayden Rogers got the Thunderbirds on the scoreboard when he nailed a 42-yard FG late in the quarter.
The only points of the third quarter came when SUU running back Targhee Lambson broke loose for a 76-yard gain to put his team in scoring position. Lambson crossed the goal line two plays later, making it 21-10 after three quarters.
Big PLAY! @nolimit_targ and he punches it in a couple plays later!
⚡️: 10
🐱: 21 pic.twitter.com/KJ6OVBvKyp— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) November 2, 2024
Abilene Christian responded, increasing the lead to 13 when McIvor hit Sam Hicks for a 12-yard TD on the next drive.
RELATED: Early Mistakes Cost Southern Utah In Loss To Idaho State
QB Jackson Berry and Lambson drove SUU into the red zone again. Lambson’s second TD came from 13 yards out, cutting the deficit to 28-17.
Interception with a big return for @gramirez_9 @nolimit_targ puts it in the endzone on the next play and gets the 2pt. conversion
⚡️: 25
🐱: 28 pic.twitter.com/L0cFIi2RUw— Southern Utah Football (@SUUFB_) November 2, 2024
A George Ramirez interception gave Southern Utah the football on the goal line, down 11 with 4:07 to play. Lambson scored his third touchdown and added a two-point conversion to make it a field goal deficit.
Southern Utah got the football back with a chance to win but it wasn’t to be. Berry gave the ball back to Abilene Christian on a fumble with 2:03 to play. ACU ran out the clock for the 28-25 win.
Lambson finished the day with 198 yards and three scores on 27 carries.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball coverage here.
