Game Article From Sherman Paper

Marty · October 16, 2007

A first for Dodge

BY TYLER CLIFTON

HERALD DEMOCRAT

DENTON — Sometimes the first win is the hardest one to get, and North Texas felt head coach Todd Dodge’s wait to enter the win column was long enough.

No style points are added to touchdowns, but the Mean Green put on a show for the fans Saturday with three first-half scores (two by the defense) on their way to a 31-21 win against the University of Louisiana-Monroe in Sun Belt Conference action at Fouts Field.

The Mean Green (1-5, 1-2) had three interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns while the other set up a score. The defense held Calvin Dawson to 33 yards on four carries, breaking a string of 10 consecutive 100-yard games.

UNT evened the all-time series 12-12 and ended a two-game losing streak to the Warhawks. The Mean Green had four sacks through the first five games before recording four Saturday.

“We’re very relieved (to get this win),” Dodge said. “These guys are competitors week in and week out, and it’s nice to validate their hard work with a win. We never felt the wheels coming off, and the attention never headed south.”

Giovanni Vizza had a breakout performance, accounting for 309 yards of total offense. He completed 16 of 30 passes for 202 yards with a touchdown and interception while rushing for 107 yards on 21 carries.

“The defense helped us out tremendously tonight, because we weren’t really clicking at times,” Vizza said. “They scratched our backs and helped take some of the pressure off.”

The Warhawks broke UNT’s shutout bid on their first possession of the third quarter. Trey Revell ran for 11 yards, and Dawson ran for 15 more to set up Revell’’s 46-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Zeek Zacharie on third down.

Revell saw significant playing time after starter Kinsmon Lancaster went down with an injury.

“When Ken went down, I knew I had to come in and step up,” Revell said. “The guys in the huddle were very supportive. We just kept plugging away.”

The strong defensive play continued, as Craig Robertson, who earned the first start of his career at outside linebacker, intercepted Revell deep in Warhawk territory.

It was his first career interception and set up Thomas Moreland’s 20-yard field goal, which gave UNT a 24-7 lead after three quarters.

It was all Micah Mosley on the Mean Green’s final drive of the game, as the freshman running back ran six of the team’s seven rushing plays for 45 yards, including his 1-yard touchdown with 3:15 left in the game.

ULM (1-5, 1-2) made things interesting after Revell capped a nine-play, 62-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Zacharie. The Warhawks recovered their onside kick and moved 59 yards on eight plays, ending with Revell’s 20-yard scoring pass to Frank Goodin.

“We knew we still had a chance,” Revell said. “This team did a great job of sticking together tonight.”

ULM could have made it a one-possession game, but Revell’s two-point conversion pass failed, giving the Mean Green the win.

“We gave them some cheap points, and that is just something that you cannot do in this conference and expect to win,” Warhawks head coach Charlie Weatherbie said. “We gave them turnovers, and they capitalized (on) them.”

UNT quarterback Giovanni Vizza was intercepted early in the second quarter, but Montey Stevenson returned the favor, picking off Kinsmon Lancaster’s pass and returning it 20 yards for a touchdown.

It was Stevenson’s first career interception and touchdown and the team’s first interception return for a score since 2005, when Maurice Holman returned one 99 yards against Middle Tennessee.

“We’ve had some bad things happen, and it was time for us to experience some of the good things,” Stevenson said. “We’re going to focus on the things we did right and work from there.”

The Mean Green then made school history, when Casey Fitzgerald took a short pass from Vizzi, broke the grasp of a would-be tackler and raced down his own sideline for a 99-yard touchdown.

It was the 16th time the feat (a 99-yard scoring play) has been accomplished in NCAA history and the first for UNT since T.J. Covington returned a fumble 100 yards against Utah State on Oct. 9, 2004.

Fitzgerald caught six passes for 118 yards for his fourth 100-yard game this year, moving him into eighth-place on the school’s career list.

“I was just trying to make a play,” Fitzgerald said. “After I caught the pass, I tried to make a move and make him miss me, and after that, I pretty much had an open field.”

Dominique Green got the crowd on its feet late in the half, intercepting Lancaster and leaving a Warhawk defender in his wake for a 75-yard touchdown and 21-0 lead at the half.

The first-half shutout was the first this season for UNT, who last held an opponent scoreless in the opening half almost one year ago against Florida International.

“It was nice to have such a team victory with some of the struggles we’ve been through,” Dodge said. “We’ve been maligned at times and have played well enough to win at others. The kids stepped up, and I know we have some good players on defense who proved who they are tonight.”

Dodge has experienced his fair share of winning while a high school coach at South Lake Carroll, and the five-game losing streak to start the year was something he definitely wasn’t used to.

“We wanted to win for that man (Dodge) so bad because of what he’s done with the community and the passion he’s shown ever since he’s come to this university,” Stevenson said. “We wanted to win for him, and now that we have, we’re very happy for us and for him (Dodge).”

The timing of the win could be key with next week’s trip to conference favorite Troy. It should make this week’s practices more spirited if nothing else.

“These guys fought through the adversity and continued to respond,” Dodge said. “There’s no doubt they will have a little more pep in their step when they go out there (to the practice field) this week.”