UC Davis pulls away in second half to beat Southern Utah 50-34

DAVIS, Calif. (AP) — Caden Pinnick threw two touchdown passes, Jordan Fisher and Carter Vargas both ran for two scores and UC Davis pulled away in the second half to beat Southern Utah 50-34 Saturday night.

Pinnick connected with Mitchell Dixon for an 8-yard touchdown and Vargas added touchdown runs of 23 and 47 yards as the Aggies (2-1) turned a two-point lead midway through the third quarter into a 50-27 advantage with 9:29 left to play.

Zach Jones ran 11 yards for a score and Pinnick hit tight end Winston Williams for a 10-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

Bronson Barron connected with Gabe Nunez for a 28-yard touchdown to cut it to 14-7 after one quarter and then hit Braedon Wissler for a 15-yard score to tie it 14-14 with 7:01 left in the second.

Fisher scored on a 6-yard run and Dylan Mauro ran in the two-point conversion to put UC Davis up 22-14 with six minutes left in the half. Joshua Dye scored on an 8-yard run but the two-point pass failed and the Thunderbirds (1-3) trailed 22-20 at halftime.

Fisher scored on a 75-yard run on the first play from scrimmage in the second half to make it 29-20.

Will Burns scored on a 1-yard plunge to cut it to 29-27 with 11:10 left in the third quarter before the Aggies scored 21 unanswered.

Pinnick completed 13 of 21 passes for 162 yards. Fisher carried 12 times for 170 and Vargas added 136 yards on six rushes. The Aggies rushed for 357 yards on 27 rushes for an average of 13.2 yards per carry.

Barron totaled 316 yards on 23-for-43 passing with an interception. Dye rushed 20 times for 155 yards. Nunez totaled 106 yards on eight catches.

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