BYU Downs GCU in First Game of Arizona Trip
BYU Downs GCU in First Game of Arizona Trip
BYU won the first game of their two-match tour of Arizona, beating Grand Canyon University 64-12 Thursday night in Phoenix.
Tayson Hammer scored four tries in the game and logged a total of 34 points in the Cougars' victory.
For GCU, this was a quick turnaround after dropping a similar score—69-7— to Cal on Saturday.
"Tough five days for our squad," said GCU Head Coach Sean O'Leary. "And Saint Mary's is next! We wouldn't want it any other way for these young players. We need to play these teams to know how to beat these teams."
Hard lessons, added O'Leary, but important ones for a gameday 23 that included 15 freshmen and sophomores.
For BYU Head Coach Steve St. Pierre, he was looking for his side to pick up where they left off in the fall Rocky Mountain Conference, but really he also expected there to be some rust after a three-month layoff.
"I am happy about the physicality and effort of the players," St. Pierre told GRR. "First game since October for us so we made a lot of mistakes we will need to improve on."
With a one-day turnaround before facing an Arizona team that beat Utah 95-5 last week, the Cougars will be focusing on resting up, but at the same time will want to address some of their execution errors.
"We have a big challnege ahead of us with Arizona," said St. Pierre.
