Box Score MOSCOW, Idaho ? There was only one way to explain feelings after the University of Idaho's season-ending loss to Utah State.
“Very, very, very disappointing,” said coach Robb Akey after the 24-19 defeat that left the Vandals with a 1-11 overall mark; 0-8 in the Western Athletic Conference. “A disappointing end to a disappointing season.
“I'm disappointed this is the way the seniors had to go out. I'm disappointed we didn't get this ballgame taken care of for this football team.”
Said sophomore safety Shiloh Keo: “Disappointment. We practiced real hard. We were hoping to pull out the victory. It's hard. Especially to send our senior class out the way we did. To lose the game is disappointing. I, myself, felt like I let them down.”
David Vobora was one of 15 seniors to play his final game in a Vandal uniform. The bulk of that group played as true freshmen ?and played for three head coaches in four years.
“It was emotional,” he said. “Like so many games this year, it was right there. Watching it slip away ... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed ? at least a little bit. But this team battled and it will continue to battle.”
The same blunders that have haunted the Vandals throughout the season, haunted them again Saturday ? turnovers and untimely penalties.
“Turnovers killed us today,” Akey said. “At halftime, it was three turnovers to zero. That's why the scoreboard the read the way it did.”
The halftime score was 17-10. One USU touchdown followed a fumble by Deonte` Jackson. An interception (one of three) of Nathan Enderle pass led to an Aggie field goal. In the second half, a touchdown was nullified by a hold and a pass interception went back to the Aggies after an interference call. It was that kind of an afternoon.
“We have to take better care of the football and we have to take the football away,” Akey said. “Those turnovers lead to the points that cost you the ballgame.”
The positives, they concurred, were a sense of camaraderie that never left the team and a promise of good things to come.
“This team battled,” Vobora said, “and it will continue to battle.”
Added fellow senior Brian Flowers, who churned for 127 yards, “Everybody played with passion. As far as next season, the guys have their minds right and ready to go.”
The season wasn't without highlights:
- Nathan Enderle's 423 yards passing against Northern Illinois tied for ninth all-time for a single-game
- Tino Amancio's 51-yard field goal against Cal Poly tied for 14th longest in school history
- Shiloh Keo's 100-yard punt return against Northern Illinois is a school record
- Deonte` Jackson's freshman campaign ranks fourth all-time for carries (240), seventh all-time for yards (1,175) and sixth all-time for all-purpose rushing plays
- David Vobora's 148 total tackles ties for second all-time for a single season
- Amancio's 14 field goals tie for fifth all-time for a single season, his field goal percentage (.778) is third all-time for a single season and his perfect (30 for 30) on PAT kicks ties the single-season accuracy mark
- Dewey Hale earned the single-season marks for kickoff returns (42) and kickoff return yardage (902)
- Keo became the all-time single-season leader in punt return yardage (319) and punt return average (16.8)
- T.J. Conley tied himself for fifth in punts in a season (67) and had the fifth-best single-season punting yardage mark (2,730)
- Amancio is the career leader in conversion percentage (1.000) after hitting all 53 attempts and has the career lead in field goal percentage (.727) after making 24 of 33 attempts
- Conley is fourth on the career punts list (162) and fourth on the career punts yardage (6,491) yardage list
- Vobora moved into sixth on the all-time tackles list with 342
- Stanley Franks wound up tied for eight on the career interceptions list (10), third on the career interception return yardage (225) list, and second on the average per return (22.5) list.
