Doubs pick-6 helps SUU hold on for Big Sky opening win over Portland State


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CEDAR CITY — Southern Utah opened its defense of the 2015 Big Sky Conference championship with a win.

But the game wasn’t decided until the final play.

Jermaine Doubs jumped a rout on the final play of the game for a 96-yard interception return for a touchdown, and Southern Utah held off Portland State, 45-31 in the Big Sky opener for both teams.

“It was just crazy. It seemed unreal. I don’t know what happened,” said Doubs, who also had two tackles in the win. “I just sat there, and when I saw the running back come out, I knew he was going to throw him the ball. I jumped the route.”

Raysean Pringle ran for 112 of his 118 yards with two touchdowns in the first half, Malik Brown added 173 yards and a score on the ground, and Southern Utah held Portland State to just 80 first-half yards of offense in the win.

Mike Sharp grabbed five passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns for Southern Utah (2-1, 1-0 Big Sky), and Tyler Patrick threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.

“We knew we had to put more points on the board,” said Sharp, a Dixie High product. “We weren’t finished for the first half. We ended up making it close, but our defense pulled through. They did their job. We knew they would.”

Former Mountain Crest quarterback Alex Kuresa threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns to lead Portland State (1-3), but also tossed three interceptions in a game where both teams combined for seven turnovers.

Former Desert Hills standout Mike Needham had 14 tackles and two tackles for loss, and the Thunderbird defense held the Vikings to 80 yards in the first half before Kuresa’s big second half.

Needham was tasked with spying Kuresa all night, and the defensive stalwart limited the one-time BYU signee and Snow College quarterback to just 15 yards on 2-of-12 passing and five rushes for 19 yards in the first half.

“It’s very difficult, especially when he flips around and runs the other way,” Needham said. “But I am going to give all I got to this team. I shook his hand after the game, and said ‘you’re a stud.’ He’s got a big future.”

Kuresa came alive in the second half, though, especially in hooking up with wide receiver Maximo Espitia.

Espitia hauled in 121 yards and a touchdown for Portland State, which nearly tied up the game in the final minute before Doubs jumped a route and ran an interception the length of the field for a touchdown in the closing seconds.

“We won. It’s over,” said Tyler Collet, who had eight tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble. “They started coming back in the second half, and it got a little scary.”

After a sloppy first quarter where both teams combined for 90 yards, Pringle broke off a 37-yard touchdown run in the final minute to give SUU a 7-3 lead after one quarter.

Photo: Brandon Judd, Deseret News
Photo: Brandon Judd, Deseret News

The run capped an eight-play, 79-yard drive in just over two minutes for the Thunderbirds, who opened Big Sky play as reigning champions in front of an announced crowd of 10,306, the largest crowd in SUU football history.

Sharp responded on the next play. The former Dixie High quarterback hauled in a wide-open pass from Collet and sprinted untouched 90 yards to go back up, 14-10.

Southern Utah held the Vikings to 81 total yards in the first half, and Taylor Pili sacked Kuresa with just under six minutes left in the half for the fourth tackle for a loss in the game. Pringles turned the turnover on downs into a 71-yard touchdown run, finding the edge moments later and bursting into the end zone for a 21-10 lead.

After Collet picked off Kuresa on a deep ball at the SUU 40, Sharp pulled in a one-handed athletic catch that finished with a 24-yard touchdown and a 28-10 lead with 2:41 left in the half.

“We were just trying to keep Kuresa in the pocket, and then started to think about a two-point play after a touchdown,” first-year SUU head coach Demario Warren said. “We made a lot of mistakes tonight, but came away with a win. We’re going to learn a lot from this game.”

Kuresa attempted to rally the Vikings in the second half. The former Mustang and Snow College star led a scoring drive capped by Nate Tago’s 12-yard TD romp, then added a 17-yard score to pull the Vikings within 31-24 with 2:49 left in the third quarter.

Brown doubled his yardage on the next play from scrimmage, sprinting 87 yards for a one-play touchdown to go back up 38-24.

But again, Kuresa had an answer. He capped a seven-play, 86-yard drive with a 34-yard TD strike in the corner to Paris Penn, and Portland State was within a touchdown, 38-31, early in the fourth quarter before falling.

“It was really hard,” Needham said. “I just wanted to bend over and start crying; I was that tired. I started cramped. I wanted to lay down and fall asleep. But you’ve got to fight through. I’m very proud of the offense. Pringles had a heck of a game. They motivated us to keep fighting.”

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