Vandals Pleased With Thomas’ Performance

Idaho football

On the first play of Idaho’s scrimmage Saturday, Joel Thomas slipped a defender just beyond the line of scrimmage and rambled for 31 yards.

Some of that yardage might have been wind-aided, what with the tailwind created as coaches and teammates exhaled huge sighs of relief.

Thomas, returning from a dislocated knee suffered one year ago Saturday, had been held out of fall contact drills and previous scrimmages. So, everyone associated with the program was uncertain if the senior running back had fully recovered.

No longer.

“He looked like the old Joel to me,” head coach Chris Tormey said.

“Boy, it was great to see that,” offensive coordinator Phil Earley said. “That was the deal with this scrimmage. He was the first to say he needed to get tackled, to go live.”

Thomas rushed for 74 yards on four carries. He took the second half off, but his smile didn’t.

“It felt wonderful,” said the 5-foot-7, 216-pound senior. “I worked so hard to get back to this point.”

Thomas wasn’t the only successful runner as Idaho tuned up for Saturday’s home opener with Eastern Washington. Jerome Thomas, no relation to Joel, produced 76 yards on 15 carries and sophomore Anthony Tenner rushed nine times for 24 yards, many after first contact.

Tenner and Jerome Thomas filled in when Joel Thomas was injured last year. Tormey has been considering redshirting Tenner, but Saturday might have changed the coach’s mind.

“Shoot, he can play,” Tormey said, “and you need more than one running back.”

The three quarterbacks looked sharp, too, but it took starter Ed Dean some time to find his targets. He was harried early by the second-team defense, particularly by true freshman tackle Wil Beck, from Central Valley High.

“He was standing on Ed’s toes every time he dropped back,” Tormey said.

But Dean closed strong, finishing 7 of 10 for 103 yards. His best sequence: facing third-and-20, he completed a 16-yard pass to Ryan Prestimonico, setting up Jeffrey Townsley’s first-down catch on a ball deflected by defensive tackle Mao Tosi at the line. Dean hit Chris Lacy for a 36-yard touchdown on the next play.

Second-team quarterback John Welsh was 13 of 23 for 118 yards, despite facing heavy pressure from the No. 1 defense. Greg Robertson, returning from knee surgery eight days ago, looked remarkably sharp while completing 10 of 13.

Tormey was disappointed with pass protection, numerous penalties, careless ball-handling and several aspects of the kicking game. But he was generally pleased with the first-unit offense and defense.

“The reason we did it like this is that we want those guys to make mistakes today instead of next Saturday,” he said.

Kicking it around

Ben Davis, junior placekicker from Coeur d’Alene who broke the fibula in his right leg in late June, has made a speedy recovery.

He boomed several kickoffs into the end zone. He made a couple of PATs, but his 47-yard field-goal attempt was smothered shortly after takeoff by an unblocked rusher.

The break hasn’t completely healed, Davis said, but he’s ready to boot anyway.

“They were happy (with his kickoffs), but I kind of got used to kicking them out of the end zone last year,” Davis said.

Notes

Dean was intercepted by reserve cornerback Rick Giampietri, another Central Valley product. … Linebacker Chris Nofoaiga stripped the ball from Jerome Thomas and cornerback Tom Rayner recovered and ran untouched for a score. … Lewiston grad Brad Rice, a reserve safety, intercepted an underthrown pass by Welsh. … Post Falls’ Darick Pope, a backup tight end, made a nice catch in the second half and flattened a tackler before being brought down.