Vandals find redemption with victory

MOSCOW, Idaho — Redemption was sweet for the Idaho Vandals on Saturday, especially for five large, irritated guys up front who call themselves “The Hogs” or the “Ugly Bunch.”

The offensive line, a week after a subpar effort, paved the way for 250 rushing yards and a 38-25 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette in front of a small but vocal crowd announced at 10,397 in the Kibbie Dome.

“It was a dramatic change,” said sophomore guard Jade Tadvick, who played despite several injuries, including a bothersome pectoral tendon. “We stepped it up a little bit and (true freshmen running backs Jayson) Bird and (Rolly) Lumbala ran their tails off.”

Lumbala rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns, including a 34-yarder midway through the fourth quarter that seemed to break the Ragin’ Cajuns’ spirit. Bird ran for 134 yards and his 51-yard TD dash less than a minute after Lumbala’s put the game out of reach. It was the first time Idaho had twin 100-yard rushers in a game since Michael Moody and Anthony Tenner ran wild against North Texas in 1999.

Asked to describe the holes, Lumbala smiled and said, “Big.” Added Bird: “When you’re running the ball and there’s a huge hole, how hard is it to just run?”

Idaho, rebounding from a dreary 16-14 loss to Louisiana-Monroe last Saturday, was energized from the outset as Antwaun Sherman returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The Vandals improved to 2-5, 1-2 in the Sun Belt, the same conference mark as Utah State, Middle Tennessee, Louisiana-Lafayette and Troy. Louisiana-Lafayette is 3-4 overall.

The ground game was so effective, quarterback Michael Harrington only attempted eight passes in the second half and just two in the fourth quarter.

“We really had a chip on our shoulders (from last Saturday),” offensive line coach Jason Eck said. “We really felt like we let down the team. I give credit to the kids. They worked extremely hard in practice and it showed today. It was finally good to wear somebody down and the protection was much better.”

Idaho, which led 21-0 early, saw that advantage melt to 24-19 when Kemmie Lewis broke away from a pack of defenders to complete a 39-yard touchdown pass with 12:34 remaining.

The Vandals responded by running the ball at the heart of Louisiana-Lafayette’s defense. After Harrington hit Bobby Bernal-Wood for six yards on a short pass, Idaho ran on seven straight downs. No sweeps, nothing outside the tackles, no trickery.

Lumbala piled up 15 yards on three carries. Bird added 17 more on three attempts. From the 34, Lumbala went over the left side, veered outside and raced down the sidelines for the touchdown.

“What did we throw for in the second half, 6 yards (actually it was 12)?” asked Harrington. “Who cares. It’s a testament to those guys up front. The two freshmen backs had a heck of a game, but those five up front played really well.”

Idaho’s running game was quiet in the first half, but everything else was clicking. By intermission, Harrington was 16 of 20 for 185 yards and one touchdown. The rushing yards started piling up in the third quarter with a 61-yard drive that resulted in Mike Barrow’s 37-yard field goal.

“We came to the sideline after that death march drive and told the coaches, ‘Their defensive line is huffing and puffing, let’s keep running the ball,’ ” center Jarrod Schulte said.

Idaho’s defense and special teams pitched in as well. The Ragin’ Cajuns gained 522 yards, but it didn’t translate into a flood of points. Idaho twice stiffened in the red zone, holding Louisiana-Lafayette to field goals. On another series late in the first half, Idaho held at its 19-yard line as a swarm of defenders dragged down agile quarterback Jerry Babb on fourth down for a two-yard loss.

The Vandals couldn’t have asked for a better start. Sherman, a J.C. transfer who arrived about a week into fall camp, made his first kick return at UI a memorable one. He followed excellent blocking up the right side, cutback near Idaho’s 35 and outran the coverage team. Sherman’s return equaled the longest in UI history shared by three others, the most recent by Montrell Williams in 1994.

“With the kickoff return, we felt like we had momentum the whole game,” linebacker Nate Nichols said.

The Vandals went up 14-0 with a crisp 78-yard drive, capped by Lumbala’s first TD run.

Four plays later, Idaho was back in business when linebacker Cole Snyder pounced on a bungled handoff at the Vandals’ 46. Harrington hit Willie Sipoloa for 37 yards _ the longest completion of the season for the junior quarterback _ and followed that with a 16-yard TD pass to tight end Luke Smith-Anderson. Idaho led 21-0 with 14:55 left in the second quarter.

It was the first career touchdown catch for Smith-Anderson, the Lake City High grad who had missed nearly all of the last two seasons with knee injuries.

“We were hoping they weren’t going to cover me and they didn’t,” Smith-Anderson said.

Louisiana-Lafayette rallied immediately, scoring 10 points in second quarter to close within 21-10 at half. Babb was a thorn for Idaho’s defense throughout, rushing for 79 yards and passing for 228 yards, a total that would been considerably higher if not for a handful of drops by his receivers.

Still, Idaho had five sacks and committed just five penalties (compared to 13 last Saturday).

“Whenever you win it’s great,” said head coach Nick Holt, who turned 42 on Friday. “It’s the greatest thing in the world.”

Idaho visits Middle Tennessee next Saturday.