Post by cavfan on Mar 29, 2009 12:05:28 GMT -5
By DAN RYAN Special to the Star-Tribune
OGDEN, Utah n- Interceptions are usually a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
For the Wyoming Cavalry on Saturday night, the emphasis was definitely on the timing.
Three crucial picks in the second half helped Wyoming overcome a relatively flat offensive performance as the Cavs defeated the Ogden Knights 58-43 at the Golden Spike Arena.
Wyoming concluded its two-game opening road swing unbeaten.
Ogden (0-2) hung evenly with the Cavs for 30 minutes before a pick by Wyoming's Tony Dill (Natrona County) in the third quarter and Tanner Tetrault’s fourth-quarter interception return for a touchdown helped Wyoming pull away.
"We did a good job of getting ready defensively," Wyoming coach Dan Maciejczak said. "We pride ourselves on being smart in the secondary. We’re learning still, but we did a lot of good things [Saturday]."
The teams were tied at the half, but Wyoming opened up a 29-22 lead on Matt Strand’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Dante Dudley on the opening play of the third quarter.
Then Dill’s interception and return set up a James Jones' 5-yard touchdown run to make it 36-22.
The Knights could do little but trade scores after that.
While Maciejczak was pleased with the Cavs' defensive effort, he wasn't as thrilled with the way they struggled on offense.
"We have to work on that," he said. "I don’t know if was turning around from Monday night, but we weren’t as crisp as we [would have] liked."
Still, Wyoming did what it needed to on offense, especially on fourth downs. Strand converted four fourth-down plays to keep drives alive.
"The one good thing is that we had the composure to go for it," Maciejczak said.
Strand completed just 9 of 19 passes in the first half, but three of those kept drives alive as Wyoming erased deficits of 4-0 and 11-8.
Strand finished with four touchdown passes, two to Dudley and one each to BJ Charlton and A.J. Street.
Ogden got a strong first-half effort from kicker Bryce Kennington, whose two field goals and two UNOs helped the Knights tie the game at the half.
"That was one of the best kicking efforts ever against us," Maciejczak said.
Tetrault, who had 14 tackles in the season opener at Utah Valley, delivered on a 25-yard interception with nine minutes remaining that gave Wyoming a 58-36 lead.
In the first half, Beau Wendling (Rock Springs) came up with an interception after the Cavs had turned the ball over on downs to help Wyoming regain momentum. The pick set up the first of Jones’ three touchdown runs.