ST. GEORGE – Humboldt State’s balanced attack netted 451 yards of total offense Saturday and the nationally-ranked Lumberjacks defeated Dixie State 49-13.
Dixie State fell to 2-2 on the season and suffered its first loss in league (2-1). Humboldt State, ranked 10th in the American Football Coaches Association poll, passed its first road test with flying colors to improve to 4-0/3-0 GNAC.
“We played tentative and didn’t execute in the red zone again,” DSC coach Scott Brumfield said. “We did everything we are not supposed to do to lose to a good team like Humboldt State.”
Early indicators may have told Dixie State that it was in for a long night. On the Red Storm’s second drive in the first quarter, quarterback Griff Robles put the team at the 4-yard line with a run of 22 yards. Four plays later, Dixie State was left three feet short of the end zone as HSU stacked up Robles on fourth down.
On the subsequent drive, the Jacks marched 99 yards in eight plays, culminating in the first of three rushing touchdowns from Nick Ricciardulli. The junior tailback carried the ball 18 times for 157 yards with scores from two, three and 24 yards.
Alex Rump threw for 200 yards on 16 of 21 passing. His second quarter touchdown pass to Jon Kirkman put the Jacks up 14-0.
The rushing attack for Dixie State had a solid evening and may have been the team’s best weapon. DSC posted 193 team rush yards – the most in the 2012 season.
Robles led the way with 88 yards on 10 carries – setting a DSC record for most rushing yards per attempt (8.8) in a game. Freshman Myles Burton scored his first collegiate touchdown during work in the fourth quarter. He racked up 57 yards on three carries, including a 42-yard scamper to the end zone. A.J. Johnson added 18 touches for 52 yards.
The game was marred by penalties, a total of 25 for 216 yards.
Jake Duncan led the Dixie State defense with eight tackles, five solo. Fellow linebacker Brady Loveless notched seven tackles with 1.5 coming for loss.
Dixie State heads north of the United States border for a league matchup with Simon Fraser University next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Pacific (7 p.m. in the Mountain Time Zone) from Terry Fox Field atop Burnaby Mountain.
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