Idaho holds off Abilene Christian with late strip-sack

ABILENE, Texas — After getting gouged on three straight touchdown drives in the second half, and committing a foolish penalty on the final drive, the Idaho Vandals defense looked like the Vandal defense of the first three games on the biggest play of the game Saturday night. 

Idaho defensive lineman Zach Kroetzer chased down and stripped Abilene Christian quarterback Maverick McIvor of the football, Matt Irwin (a true freshman from Owyhee High in Meridian) recovered and the Vandals escaped with a 27-24 victory over the Wildcats before 11,719 at Anthony Field. 

"Really good job of finding a way to win,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said. “There will be some things we've definitely got to clean up, but I was happy how our defensive finished that game, with Zach making that big sack that took a ton of time off the clock, then forcing that fumble and Matt Irwin recovering it.” 

Idaho (3-1), ranked fourth in FCS, appeared to have the game in hand, leading 27-3 after Nate Thomas’ 3-yard run on the first drive of the third quarter. 

The Vandals still appeared in control late in the third quarter, up 27-11 and facing a fourth down and 1 at the Abilene Christian 20. Idaho tried a pass, but Jack Wagner’s throw to Mark Hamper in the end zone was tipped away. 

“It was a bad call by me,” Eck said. “We called a run/pass option on fourth and one; we had a one-on-one look — it looks great if we get it. But looking back, I probably should have said, ‘let’s pound this thing’ ... so there’s some things we’ve got to learn from this game, and coach better, and make better adjustments. But it’s always good to make those corrections after a win then after a loss.” 

Abilene Christian (1-3), ranked No. 19, took possession and drove for a touchdown to cut it to 27-17.  The Wildcats tried a wide receiver reverse pass on the two-point conversion, but pressure from former Lake City High standout Zach Johnson forced an incompletion and it remained a two-score game. 

Johnson finished with eight tackles, second on the team.

Abilene Christian scored again, and Idaho milked a little time off the clock before punting near midfield, leaving the Wildcats with 57 seconds and the ball on the 20. 

Krotzer and Keyshawn James-Newby sacked McIvor on the first play, but a completion and a late hit on Idaho moved the ball to the Vandal 49. Two incompletions followed, and Krotzer, one of three Vandals bearing down on McIvor, made the game-saving strip-sack. 

"He held it a little bit longer on that one,” said Krotzer, a redshirt junior from Shadle Park High in Spokane. “We prepared for it, we run to the ball every single play, and we just make things happen on the inside. If we get them covered up, we’re going to make a play.” 

Idaho started strong, turning an interception by Kyrin Beachem into a drop-in-the-bucket 22-yard toss from Wagner to Jordan Dwyer. 

“That pass, It was right in the bucket,” Dwyer said. “I look to the left at the last second, and the ball was in my lap. Perfect ball placement, credit to Wags, credit to the O-line for protecting him.” 

On the next drive, the Vandals ran a flea flicker, with Wagner hitting a wide-open Hamper down the middle for a 44-yard score and a 14-0 lead 12 minutes in. 

Wagner passed for a career-high 253 yards and two scores. Dwyer had five catches for 91 yards. Idaho totaled 424 yards. 

Eck said the Vandals saw an advantage in attacking the secondary of Abilene Christian through the air, rather than run the ball against the Wildcats’ defensive line. 

A pair of Cameron Pope field goals sent Idaho to the locker room with a 20-3 halftime lead, before Abilene Christian rallied in the second half. 

“I think we did wear down a little bit as the half wore on,” Eck said. “We had guys getting pretty gassed down the stretch.” 

The Idaho defense gave up 393 yards but forced three turnovers. 

“They tried to go up tempo, tried to spread the field, and found some holes in zones,” he added. “The last drive we went to more man coverage, and that helped us.” 

“We recovered, and that’s what the Vandals do; we’ve got to make plays,” Krotzer said. 

Idaho opens Big Sky Conference play next Saturday at UC Davis.

Idaho     14    6    7    0    —    27 

Abilene Christian    0    3    8    13    —    24 

First quarter 

IDAHO — Dwyer 22 pass from Wagner (Pope kick), 7:06 

IDAHO — Hamper 44 pass from Wagner (Pope kick), 3:00 

Second quarter 

AC — FG Vaes 27, 13:01 

IDAHO — FG Pope 33, 4:41 

IDAHO — FG Pope 25, :15 

Third quarter 

IDAHO — Thomas 3 run (Pope kick), 13:04 

AC — Henry 5 pass from McIvor (Taylor pass from McIvor), 2:32 

Fourth quarter 

AC — Martinez 23 pass from McIvor (pass failed), 10:03 

AC — Johnson 1 run (Vaes kick), 3:47 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS 

RUSHING — Idaho, Thomas 17-69, Cortez-Menjivar 1-53, Cummings 12-51, Dwyer 1-0, Wagner 2-(minus 2). AC, Johnson 10-59, Hicks 12-41, McIvor 4-5. 

PASSING — Idaho, Wagner 18-35-0-253. AC — McIvor 26-46-2-288. 

RECEIVING — Idaho, Dwyer 5-91, Hamper 3-81, Harste 3-32, Moore 3-23, Cummings 2-17, Cox 1-8, Thomas 1-1. AC — Martinez 4-77, Graham 5-67, Cleveland 5-52, Hicks 4-45, Gipson 2-13, B. Henry 1-12, Taylor 1-9, J. Henry 1-5, Johnson 2-5, Castles 1-3. 

    Photo by IDAHO ATHLETICS Jordan Dwyer of Idaho hauls in a 22-yard touchdown pass from Jack Wagner in the first quarter against Abilene Christian on Saturday in Abilene, Texas.