MONROE, La. - Saturday had it all for the Idaho Vandals - finally. Senior defensive tackle Kody Kraus scored twice. True freshman tailback Cliff Mason went in three times. Senior tailback Zach Gerstner didn't score at all but he had one of his finest nights as a Vandal with 181 yards rushing to push his season total to 1,010.

It added up to a refreshing 58-20 UI victory over Louisiana-Monroe. While it didn't erase the frustrations of a 2-9 season, the celebration this night was Idaho's.

"That's the way I think this team is capable of playing," UI coach Tom Cable said. "It's great for the players and the assistant coaches. What a credit to the character of these young kids."

The Vandals set the tone early when Wendell Octave converted a Lindgren pass into a 73-yard TD reception on just their second offensive play of the game. Barrow's kick was good for a 7-0 lead with 10:56 left in the first quarter.

The defense held on ULM's next possession setting the stage for some special teams' heroics. With ULM's punter Joel Stelly at the very back of the Indians' end zone, Mason burst through from the right side to block the punt and score a TD when he fell on the ball. Barrow made it 14-0 with 8:32 to go in the first.

The Indians' next possession ended when another freshman, Chad Pool, intercepted Steven Jyles and returned the ball to the ULM 22. Three plays later, Lindgren and Winston hooked up for a 17-yard TD. This time, though, Barrow's PAT was blocked and the score remained 20-0 with 7:18 left in the opening quarter.

Idaho was on the march again as the first quarter ended and when the second opened, defensive end-turned-fullback Kraus pushed through for the score - the first of two he would score - with 14:58 to go before halftime.

"I was looking forward to it," Kraus said. "We practiced it all week. It worked out for us. It was a lot of fun to carry it for a change."

The onslaught continued throughout the second quarter with Mason scoring on a two-yard run, Brian Yarno notching a TD with a four-yard pass from Lindgren, and Barrow adding a 43-yard field goal for a 44-0 halftime lead.

"That's what we're supposed to do," Gerstner said. "The defense did things right and the offense came out rolling."

Kraus' second touchdown came when he intercepted a pass at the ULM five and went in untouched to score with 5:07 to go in the third quarter.

"I just got lucky," Kraus said. "It was right in front of me. That was exciting, too."

ULM finally scored when Daniel DePrato hooked up with Mack Vincent on a 16-yard scoring play with :50 to go in the third. The Indians scored twice more in the fourth quarter but so did Mason, who finished with 88 yards to complement Gerstner's 181.

"It's the guys up front who did it," Gerstner said of the rushing effort that accounted for 284 of Idaho's 507 total yards. "That's a team effort."

Senior quarterback Brian Lindgren completed 12-of-18 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns as the Vandals matched their highest point total since their 2001 game at Middle Tennessee.

"It's a tribute to the kids," Cable said. "They played hard. They played great."