Vandals watch one last game slip away

MOSCOW – Another rally. Another tantalizingly close encounter with victory. And in the end Saturday, another difficult loss for the Idaho Vandals.

Utah State played a turnover-free game as the Aggies held off the Vandals 24-19 in a Western Athletic Conference season-ending football game before a holiday-light crowd of 8,102 at the Kibbie Dome.

Idaho lost for a 10th straight time to finish 1-11 overall and in the conference basement at 0-8.

“Very, very, very disappointing,” first-year Vandals coach Robb Akey said. “A disappointing end to a very disappointing season. Sick to stomach, I guess, would be the first thought that comes to my mind. I’m disappointed that this is the way the seniors had to go out and disappointed that we didn’t get this ballgame taken care of for this football team.”

The game was too similar to most of the Vandals’ other losses.

With about 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter, Idaho trailed 24-10 and faced fourth-and-4 from its 46-yard line. The Vandals pulled off a fake punt when sophomore Shiloh Keo took a direct snap and scooted 31 yards to the Aggies’ 23.

The Aggies’ defense stiffened, and Tino Amancio pulled the Vandals within 24-13 when he made a 36-yard field goal.

Utah State (2-9, 2-6) got one first down on its next possession, but had to punt on the final play of the quarter.

Idaho took over at its 20 and proceeded to march to USU’s 20 before redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Enderle threw an interception, his third of the game. It was picked off in the end zone by Roy Hurst, who grabbed the ball after it caromed off Vandals receiver Max Komar and Aggies cornerback Geno Odong after the players collided simultaneously as the ball arrived.

Idaho’s defense came up big moments later when it held on two straight plays after USU gained 9 yards on first down.

Taking over at their 31 with 7:58 to go, the Vandals used just 2:16 before Enderle threw a needle-threading, 14-yard touchdown pass to Lee Smith. Idaho couldn’t convert a two-point conversion but had pulled within 24-19 with 5:42 remaining.

Because the Vandals had been more effective running than passing, Akey figured his team needed to attempt an onside kick rather than hope to hold the Aggies and be forced to drive a longer distance to score. Idaho’s Eddie Williams leaped to pull in the bouncing onside kick, and the Vandals took over at their 43.

On third-and-2 at USU’s 31, Idaho senior running back Brian Flowers, who had to carry the bulk of the load after redshirt freshman Deonte Jackson left with a neck injury in the third quarter, picked up 4 yards. But Flowers said he was winded and had to go to the sideline to catch his breath.

That’s when Idaho’s offense started to break down a final time. After sophomore running back Devon Sturdivant picked up 4 yards on his first carry of the season, Flowers came back and had one more carry for no gain. On third-and-6, Sturdivant was tackled for a yard loss. And then Enderle overthrew Williams on fourth down.

Akey praised his team for staying the course in difficult times.

“These guys responded stronger than probably any one-win team in the country,” Akey said. “What I mean by that (is) they kept coming in here every week to go to work. They stayed together as a team, they stayed together as a family, they stayed together working their tails off with the belief they were going to be able to get it over the edge.”

Flowers had a game- and season-high 127 yards on 25 carries, and returned four kickoffs for 122 yards.

“It’s emotional,” said senior linebacker David Vobora, wiping away tears. “Like so many games this year it’s right there and (we) watch it slip away. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was disappointed.

“This team battled and they’re going to continue to battle and good things are going to happenLike Shiloh (Keo) said, never once did the team turn and start jawing at each other. Guys stayed together.”

Idaho outgained USU 428 to 272 in total offense.

“The old Utah State would have folded at the end of this game, but this team found a way to win,” said Aggies coach Brent Guy, whose team finished with back-to-back road victories.