Nov. 22, 2003
Box Score
Pocatello, ID --- Idaho State's senior class went out in style as the Bengals rallied from a 17-9 halftime deficit to score 27 straight points and beat Southern Utah 36-17, ending their season at 8-4, giving the Bengals only their seventh eight-win season in the school's 99-year football history.
Idaho State also won their 12th straight game, setting a new school record, besting the previous mark of 11 straight, set over the course of five seasons, from the 1907 final game to the middle of the 1911 season.
The Bengals started the game out slow as ISU gained just 50 yards of offense in the first quarter, and only scoring on a 45-yard field goal from Jeremy Hershey. Southern Utah, in their first year under former ISU assistant coach Gary Andersen, scored just six minutes into the game on a 17-yard pass from Casey Rehrer to Cory Ashby.
Southern Utah went up 14-3 on a 10-yard strike from Rehrer to Mike Culpepper, but just 1:12 later, Brett Fowler, who had already made to highlight-reel catches, caught a 9-yard pass from Mark Hetherington for a score, and ISU trailed by a 14-9 count after the extra point was blocked. Southern Utah added a field goal, and after Hershey was just short from 61 yards, it was 17-9 Thunderbirds at the half.
However, ISU came out smoking in the second half, as the 24th ranked Bengals outscored Southern Utah 27-0, and outgained them 340 to 88. First, Hetherington hit Akilah Lacey for a 15-yard score, then he matched it with another 15-yard strike to Fowler.
Isaac Mitchell added a 1-yard scoring run, and Sale' Key finished the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown toss. All that remained was whether Mitchell, who entered the game with 196 carries, would get to 214, breaking Merril Hoge's long-standing record. With 2:36 left on the clock, Hetherington handed off to Mitchell for the record-breaking rush, with Isaac going for 13 yards. With the crowd acknowledging Mitchell's feat, Hetherington called timeout to allow Mitchell, a senior and part of the original recruiting class of Larry Lewis, a chance to enjoy and take in the moment.
Mitchell then got two more carries to put him over the 100-yard mark, finishing at 101, his 11th 100-yard game, second all-time in ISU history. Brett Fowler caught 10 passes for 155 yards, both numbers career-highs, and Key added seven grabs and 128 yards. Fowler ended his career with six 100-yard receiving games, good for a tie for third all-time.
However, the amazing number belonged to Hetherington, who tied Kevin McCarthy for second place on the single-season touchdown list with 23, and who ended up at 2,526 yards, despite just eight starts, one of which he was injured in the first quarter. The 453 yards was the fifth-most ever by an ISU quarterback, and it was the most ever in a winning effort. The previous high in a win was by Mike Machurek, who threw for 426 in a win over Utah State in 1981.
Idaho State finished in fourth-place in the Big Sky, behind the second straight three-way tie for the title, this time between Montana, Montana State and Northern Arizona. Montana State, who beat Montana 27-20 in the Brawl of the Wild despite just 195 yards of offense, won the tiebreaker again and earned the league's automatic berth into the postseason. Montana should earn an at-large berth, and Northern Arizona much like Idaho State last year, has to sweat out an at-large berth, although unlike last year, most of the scores Northern Arizona needed on Saturday came out in their favor.
Notes: Jeremy Hershey finished with 92 kick-scoring points, one away from the record of 93 by Case DeBruijn in 1981 ... Kyle McQuown averaged 40.2 on five punts, giving him a 40-yard or more average in nine straight games, and in 11 of ISU's 12 games. The school record for consecutive 40-plus yard games is 12 by DeBruijn ... Sale' Key tied Greg Smith's ISU record with a catch in 27 straight games ... Jared Allen ended the year with 102 tackles to lead the team ... Hetherington's five 300-yard games already puts him tied for fifth on the all-time ISU career list ... Sale' Key's 882 receiving yards ties for the fifth-most in school history for a season ... Mitchell's 883 yards was ninth on the ISU single-season list, and Hetherington's 137.9 quarterback rating is second all-time.
