Idaho Cruises En Route To 66 Vandals Give Remodeled Dome Christening By Whipping Cossacks
In case you missed the Idaho-Sonoma State football game on Saturday, here’s a brief recap.
Feel free to sing along.
Idaho scores, Sonoma State punts or fumbles, Idaho scores, Sonoma State punts or fumbles, Idaho scores… .
Repeat chorus.
As expected, Idaho put a big lump on the non-scholarship Division II Cossacks, a 66-3 drubbing before a spirited 13,519 in the spiffed-up Kibbie Dome, the largest home-opening crowd since the inaugural Dome opener in 1975.
It was 28-3 after one quarter and 49-3 at half as the Vandals gave new coach Chris Tormey his first victory.
“We needed to come out and prove a point offensively,” UI coach Chris Tormey said. “And we did that.”
The visitors from Rohnert Park, Calif., leave with a $35,000 check and the worst loss in school history.
Was it worth it?
“I thought it would be a better game than what we displayed in the first half,” Sonoma coach Frank Scalercio said. “Obviously we’d like to schedule some other schools (than Idaho). We’re not scheduling them any more, I can tell you that.”
The same question, Was it worth it?, was addressed to the Vandals.
“We’ll have a lot more confidence now,” shrugged cornerback Jason O’Neil, who returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.
UI athletic director Pete Liske said he attempted to schedule Eastern Kentucky or Stephen F. Austin, two Division I-AA powers, in place of Sonoma. But both wanted home games and Idaho wasn’t about to agree and have a schedule of three home games and seven away.
Instead, UI settled for turning the Cossacks into road kill before a festive crowd. The Dome improvements - better lighting and sound system and new scoreboard - were augmented by fans who actually slapped their hands together, a departure from the usual Dome crowds.
“I was fired up about it,” Tormey said. “The fan support was tremendous.”
There was even pre-game parking lot revelry, looking suspiciously like tailgating. At Idaho. Go figure.
In the game, quarterbacks Brian Brennan (7 of 12, 143 yards and three touchdowns) and Eric Hisaw (6 of 10, 79 yards and two touchdowns) feasted on a Cossack defense that tried man-to-man coverage.
“I almost chuckled at it a bit because it surprised me,” Hisaw said.
Football is a contact sport, but you wouldn’t have known it at times on Saturday. UI receivers were ridiculously wide open and running backs met little resistance until they were well down field. Idaho’s offensive and defensive lines were dominant.
UI’s Lavoni Kidd, subbing for the injured Joel Thomas, rushed for 138 yards and two scores. Dwight McKinzie had three TD receptions.
“It was good for us to get clicking again,” McKinzie said. Idaho was held to 153 yards in a 14-7 loss to Oregon State two weeks ago.
About the only downers for UI were knee injuries to starting center Eric Johnson and reserve linebacker James Durrough. Tormey wasn’t certain of the severity of the injuries.
The victory was Idaho’s largest since a 77-14 thumping of Lehigh in 1993.
The Vandals, after a bye week last week, have another bye this week. One cynical viewer on Saturday contended that actually makes three byes in a row.
UI (1-1) is at Idaho State to open Big Sky play in two weeks.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo