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Vandals begin season with romp

by MARK NELKE
Sports Editor | September 3, 2010 9:00 PM

MOSCOW - OK, so it wasn't quite as gutsy as New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton's decision at halftime of the Super Bowl.

But Idaho coach Robb Akey's choice to start the second half with an onside kick paid similar dividends Thursday night.

The Vandals scored seven plays after Eric Greenwood recovered Trey Farquhar's onside kick to open the third quarter, beginning a flurry of 28 second-half points that helped Idaho close out a season-opening 45-0 victory over the North Dakota Fighting Sioux in the season opener before 11,466 at the Kibbie Dome.

"I think I was sending a message," Akey said. "We said we were going to play as fast as we can, as hard as we can, as long as we can. I didn't like the way we were playing at the end of the half. If I've got to set the tempo for them, I'm going to set the tempo for them."

"Coach Akey wasn't happy with the outcome of the first half," said Greenwood, who tightroped the sideline as he scooped up the bouncing kick. "He wanted us to come out with some fire in the second half. ... I felt like a ballerina out there (on the sideline)."

The Vandals, looking to back up last year's trip to the Humanitarian Bowl - their first bowl appearance since 1998 - saw their offense rack up 547 yards against their Football Championship Subdivision opponent, but also sputter at times with four new offensive linemen. A defense with 10 returning starters pitched the shutout, getting big plays from several players, including strong safety Shiloh Keo and linebackers JoJo Dickson and Robert Siavii.

It was Idaho's first shutout since 1997.

"It meant something to those guys," Akey said of his defense. "They were taking a beating from the outside world."

"We understand this can be a great defense," Keo said. "We showed a glimpse of it tonight."

On the next play after Greenwood's recovery, Nate Enderle hit Daniel Hardy for 32 yards, and Troy Vital leaped over the pile from 1-yard out for a 24-0 lead.

On the next drive, Enderle and the 6-foot-6 Greenwood, who had misfired on an alley-oop pass in the first half, connected from 2 yards out to make it 31-0 with 8:50 left in the third.

"We have some stuff to clean up ... typical first game," said Enderle, who finished 24 of 37 for 311 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked four times. "Probably about the second half, we started going a little better."

Keo, who forced a fumble to thwart a North Dakota drive late in the first half, stepped in front of a receiver near the goal line to pick off Jake Landry's pass and return it to the 46. On the next play, backup quarterback Brian Reader found wide-open junior college transfer Armauni Johnson wide open behind the defense down the far sideline for a touchdown and a 38-0 lead.

At halftime, the Vandals had outgained North Dakota 258-113, but led only 17-0.

After 10 minutes, the Vandals held an 138-3 edge in total yards, but had only a 3-0 lead to show for it, because of a dropped pass by Justin Veltung on the first drive, and an alley-oop pass to Greenwood in the end zone that he caught just out of bounds.

Sophomore Trey Farquhar was short and right on a 56-yard field goal try on the first drive, then nailed a 22-yarder with 5:21 left in the quarter for the first points of the game.

On North Dakota's next possession, Landry threw under pressure, Dickson picked the ball off at the Sioux 36 and returned it to the five. Princeton McCarty scored on the next play to make it 10-0.

Idaho saw its pass protection break down on its next two drives, and Enderle was sacked three times. The next drive seemed destined for nothing as well until Veltung raced past a North Dakota defender down the right sideline and caught a 44-yard TD strike from Enderle to make it 17-0 with 5:19 left in the half.

Late in the half, Caitlin Solum caught a short pass from Landry near the Vandal 10-yard line, but Keo came up and drilled him and popped the ball loose, and Andre Ferguson recovered at the 16.

"The first half we were in the ballgame up until the third quarter; we gave them all we've got," North Dakota coach Chris Mussman said. "The onside kick, turnovers, not moving the ball, we shot ourselves in the foot."

Injury-prone running back Deonte Jackson suffered a right ankle injury on his first carry of the game, but returned later in the half for another carry out of the Wildcat formation, but didn't play much other than that.

Right tackle Tyrone Novikoff left in the second half with leg cramps. Safety Gary Walker suffered a turf toe injury but should be fine, Akey said.

"Every win is a great positive," Akey said. "But there's a great sense of urgency to get some things cleaned up."