Dixie State can’t weather the storm against undefeated Humboldt State

Dixie State University vs Humboldt State University, St. George, Utah, September 20, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – The Dixie State offense failed to find its form from Week 1 of the season in its showdown against the Humboldt State University Lumberjacks Saturday night. The Great Northwest Athletic Conference contest was lopsided throughout as Dixie fell 50-3.

featdsufootball14“It is very difficult to pinpoint any certain area offensively,” said Dixie head coach Scott Brumfield. “The majority of the blame has to fall on the coaching. We did not have them prepared to play. There was a definite lack of intensity.”

After an hour-plus weather delay, the Jacks took the opening kickoff and marched down the field to get on the board first when Chase Krivashei swept around the right end for the first touchdown. HSU tacked on the two-point conversion to go up 8-0 with 11:49 to play in the half.

On Dixie State’s first offensive play, quarterback Hayden Gavett threw an interception to give the ball back to HSU. The Storm defense held the Jacks in check on the next possession. Dixie drove the ball on its second possession to the HSU red zone. But the Storm’s second turnover came on a sack/fumble of Gavett that was returned 65 yards deep into Storm territory. Just over one minute later, the Jacks capitalized with their second touchdown, a 15-yard run by running back Nick Ricciardulli.

Dixie State QB Hayden Gavett, Dixie State University vs Humboldt State University, St. George, Utah, September 20, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie State QB Hayden Gavett, Dixie State University vs Humboldt State University, St. George, Utah, September 20, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

The Jacks piled on another three touchdowns before halftime. Ja’Quan Gardner scored on a sweep around the left side at the 13:42 mark. Dixie freshman kicker Alex Giordanni connected from 35 yards to put the Red Storm on the board. After trading possessions, Dixie would suffer its third turnover with 2:59 remaining when linebacker Travis Hansen intercepted the ball and ran it back for a touchdown. After a quick three-and-out by the Dixie offense, HSU moved the ball down quickly to score its final touchdown of the half with 11 seconds remaining to go up 36-3 on a run around end by wide receiver Cass White.

The Jacks would score two more touchdowns in the third quarter. Both were on 1-yard dives after sustained drives by the HSU offense. Gardner scored again with 10 minutes remaining. Richard Doctor scored with just under five minutes to go in the quarter to get to the final score 50-3. DSU’s offensive woes continued as the Storm could only muster 36 yards in the second half, totalling only 147 for the game.

Dixie State University vs Humboldt State University, St. George, Utah, September 20, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News
Dixie State University vs Humboldt State University, St. George, Utah, September 20, 2014 | Photo by Robert Hoppie, ASPpix.com, St. George News

With the game out of reach, both sides substituted liberally with their second and third team players. Save a missed field goal by HSU, all other fourth quarter possessions ended in punts.

Humboldt State remains undefeated at 3-0, 2-0 in the GNAC. Dixie State falls to 0-3, 0-2 in conference. The schedule does not get lighter for the Red Storm as preseason conference favorite Azusa Pacific University visits next week with All-American running back Terrell Watson. Game time is 6 p.m.

Stats: HSU 50, DSU 7

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery. 

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @oldschoolag

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.