Cowboys Pitch 10-0 Shutout in Soggy Season Opener

AKRON, Ohio -- The Wyoming Cowboys posted the first shutout in a season opener since the 1977 season Thursday night in a 10-0 blanking of Akron inside InfoCision Stadium.

It was also the first shutout since the Pokes held Gardner-Webb scoreless, 27-0, back in 2017.

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"I know that going into Week 2 we’re going to be a substantially better team than what we were in Week 1," Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said postgame. "We’re going to learn a lot from this tonight. We’ve got a lot of things to clean up. We should have been able to put some separation between us a little bit more. ...

"Defensively, that was a pretty daggone good performance by a collective group of people. We played a number of people, defensively. A year ago we weren’t able to do that. We covered well. A year ago we weren’t able to do that. We were more physical. So, there’s a lot to build off there."

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The Pokes were led by wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. with eight catches for 190 yards and a score. It was the most yards since Chris McNeil had 219 at Idaho in 2012. Running back Sam Scott added a career-high 132 yards rushing on 29 carries.

Quarterback Kaden Anderson added 260 yards passing with 19 completions on 36 attempts. He also threw for a score.

Linebacker Brayden Johnson added eight tackles and an interception deep in the red zone late in the third quarter. Cheyenne's Andrew Johnson added a career-high six tackles in the game. Evan Eller and Jones Thomas added career-highs with five tackles.

The Cowboys opened the scoring in the second quarter with a field goal from Erik Sandvik from 25 yards out, the first of his career. The drive was set up by a 49-yard reception from Durr, putting Wyoming inside Zip territory.

Durr added a 35-yard score on a screen pass to give Wyoming a 10-0 lead with four minutes remaining in regulation.

The Wyoming offense recorded 426 yards of total offense on the night with 260 yards passing and 166 yards on the ground. UW was 9-of-20 on third down. The Pokes defense held the Zips to 228 yards, 89 of which came on the ground. UW limited Akron to 3-of-15 on third down after leading the nation in that very category last season.

The Cowboys return to action next Saturday afternoon, hosting Northern Iowa inside the newly remodeled War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m.

The contest is billed as a "Gold Out" as fans are encouraged to wear that color.

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TEAM NOTES
• The Cowboys and Akron met for the first time on the gridiron on Thursday.
• The Pokes record in season openers stands at: 81-46-2. The Cowboys are 21-28-1 in road games to begin the season.
UW vs. Non-Conference Opponents in Season Openers 67-29-1. UW’s record vs. Non-Conference Opponents on the Road in Season Openers 16-18-0.
• The Pokes are now 13-6 all-time against teams from the Mid-American Conference.
• The contest marked the first trip to the State of Ohio since playing at Bowling Green in 2011.
• The contest saw two players on offense make their first starts for the Brown and Gold.
• The contest also saw seven players on defense make their first start for the Cowboys.
• The shutout was the first since doing so to Gardner-Webb in 2017 and first in a season opener since a 0-0 tie against Air Force in 1977.

OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Cowboy wide receivers Bricen Brantley and Jackson Holman each caught their first career passes on the opening drive. Charlie Coenen added a reception on the second drive.
• Holman grabbed three catches for 35 yards on the night.
• Running back Sam Scott recorded his second career 100-yard game with 132 on the night. It was a career-high passing his 115 yards against Utah State last season.
• Wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. hauled in eight passes for a career-high 190 yards with a career-long reception of 49 yards. It was the most yards since Chris McNeil added 219 yards against Idaho in 2021.

DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Defensive lineman Lucas Samsula and Chisom Ifeanyi added a half sack for their first of their careers in the Brown and Gold.
• Defensive tackle Ben Florentine recorded his second career sack in the first half. It marks back-to-back games with a sack after recording one at Washington State to close the season.
• Linebacker Brayden Johnson added eight tackles in his debut. He also added an interception in the contest stalling a Zip drive in the third quarter.
• Safety Andrew Johnson added six tackles in the game for a career-high for the Brown and Gold.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• Cowboy kicker Erik Sandvik connected on a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter for the first of his career.

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