POCATELLO — The Idaho State Bengals answered their latest test, beating playoff-caliber University of San Diego 59-17 and improving to 3-0 for the first time since 1995.
However, the story of the game wasn't the win.
On the Bengals' final offensive drive, with the win well in hand, they trotted out third-string sophomore quarterback Wyatt Horton. Horton showed his running explosiveness, driving the offense down to the 17-yard line.
With just over a minute to go, Horton took the snap, went straight up the middle and cut to the left with his eyes on the end zone. He was tackled at the 1-yard line and injured his ankle.
Horton was put on the medical cart, and the entire team ran off the sideline to check on him — a bitter end to a dominant win.
"Wyatt's in good spirits," head coach Cody Hawkins said. "Obviously, it was tough to see him go down. Football's a violent game, and sometimes you're surprised that stuff doesn't happen more."
While in a lot of pain and being taken out on the cart, Horton was still focused on the game and asked for two things. First, he wanted to know if he'd gotten into the end zone — he was a yard short. Then Hawkins asked who should get the ball, and Horton answered: sophomore wide receiver Elijah Beamon.
Beamon took the jet sweep and walked into the corner of the end zone on the next play — not to run up the score or disrespect the opponent, but to honor Horton's wish.
"Most teams want to take a knee at that point in the game," Hawkins said. "But given what happened to Wyatt, the fact that you're like, 'OK, well, Eli needs to get in the end zone here for him' — it was just cool to see that."
Horton, a native of Scottsdale, Arizona, has been working his way back from a serious ankle injury he suffered last season. Even given his spot on the depth chart, Horton is a beloved player in the Bengals' locker room, and the team showed its togetherness in that moment. With a teammate down, injured and on the cart, the result of the game didn't matter anymore.
"Wyatt is a guy that the team gravitates to, and that's why he's a great leader," Hawkins said. "He's been a great quarterback at other places he's been, and he will be a great quarterback for us. He just had a tough go at the start, but everything that he's done up to this point has led to that reaction."
The Bengals returned to the field and finished what they started, closing out their biggest win and best record in a decade.
The Bengals dominated in all facets of the game, putting up 640 yards of total offense — 462 through the air and 178 on the ground.
Even coming off their best offensive output of the season, the unit isn't looking too far ahead and continues to have the desire to improve every time they step on the field.
"We treat every week as a different week, and it's about the Bengals," junior center Ryan Karby said. "The biggest emphasis is getting better every day, no matter how well we play or how poorly we play. Getting better every day, every day of practice, and just focusing on the fundamentals."
The offense came out red-hot, scoring 21 points in the first quarter to set the tone, then closed the game with 21 more in the fourth — the Bengals' most points against a Division I opponent since 2018.
On defense, the Bengals forced two interceptions: one by junior defensive back Jackson Daniels, and a 28-yard pick-six from senior defensive lineman Collin Lewis, whose former running back skills kicked in once the ball was in the air, juking tacklers on his way to the end zone.
"I felt like it was 30 seconds because I was in slow motion," Lewis said. "Honestly, I kind of blacked out when I got the ball. I just saw the goal line. I was like, 'I gotta get there.' I kept on my feet, and luckily I scored. I'm happy that I was able to score for the team and for the big boys."
That was followed by two more touchdowns of over 70 yards from sophomore Zedekiah Anahu-Ambrosio.
The first came on a connection with fifth-year quarterback Jordan Cooke — his third and final touchdown of the game. Cooke had his best performance of the season, finishing an efficient 15-for-26 for 331 yards and three touchdowns. He dropped back, saw Anahu-Ambrosio open down the left sideline, and laid the ball out perfectly; Anahu-Ambrosio did the rest, taking it 79 yards to the house.
He followed that up with a 90-yard touchdown catch from junior quarterback Davis Harsin. Anahu-Ambrosio led all receivers with three catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
Anahu-Ambrosio is becoming an essential part of the offense.
"This guy has to play. We need to bring Zedekiah along, and we need to find ways to give him the ball, because that dude is explosive," Hawkins said.
The Bengals now head into their bye week with goals of getting rest and preparing for their matchup with Southern Utah on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 6 p.m. in Cedar City.
"We treat our bye week like we're playing the T-Birds next Saturday," Hawkins said. "They're a really good football team. They are physical as all get out. They have a winning culture, they're tough, and we gotta make sure that we get that game plan right in all three phases to compete, because otherwise they'll run us off the road again."