BYU rode a strong final 50 minutes to overcome an early deficit and beat visiting St. Mary’s 35-26 Saturday evening in Provo, Utah.

The Cougars were down 16-0 at one point - all of those St. Mary’s points coming courtesy of center Dylan Audsley - but rallied late in the first half, and had to rally again in the second half.

St. Mary’s got on the board almost immediately when BYU tried to gain territory with a Luke Mocke box kick. The Cougars were offside and Audsley hit a difficult-angled kick from about 42 meters out.

BYU replied, with captain Kyle Sumsion thundering ahead. He fed Ryan Blaser but the fullback opted for a bit of a swan dive into the try zone. That extra air time allowed his opposite number, St. Mary’s captain Cooper Maloney, to dive in and force a knock-on - a brilliant play from Maloney and a lesson for Blaser on protecting the ball.

Still BYU pressured but got nothing out of it. Jonny Linehan missed a penalty, and then a long, weaving run from Blaser saw the fullback hauled down just short of the line. The St. Mary’s defense was there and BYU was penalized for coming in from the side.

So the next score came from the Gaels. Hooker Mike O’Neill stole the ball out of a BYU player’s hands and passed to the backs. Audsley covered about 20 meters and then fed wing Kingsley McGowan, who was stopped just short of the line. Audsley was there for the pop pass, and the center rounded in under the posts. He kicked the easy conversion and St. Mary’s led 10-0.

It was soon 13-0 when prop Kody Thompson was pinged for a no-wrap hit, and was sin-binned. Audsley hit the difficult penalty for St. Mary’s.

Once again BYU put the pressure on. With a maul they were held up in-goal, and after a long period inside the St. Mary’s 22 came away with nothing after the Gaels’ scrum drove them off and they cleared their lines.

A long run from Cooper Maloney almost netted one more try for St. Mary’s, but the BYU defense was there and the Gaels had to settle for a penalty and a 16-0 lead.

Finally BYU got some points from pressure. Excellent interplay between hooker Alex Vorster and center Josh Whippey set up Hoseki Kofe, who stretched over for the try. Then just before halftime St. Mary’s had a ruck in their half. Whippey timed his jump into the line perfectly and intercepted Holden Yungert’s pass and ran in untouched. 16-14 at halftime,

BYU took the lead almost immediately in the second half with a penalty from Linehan after a series of phases. Then moments later a long run got them close to the St. Mary’s line, and a pass out to Linehan was enough for the flyhalf to dive over and make it 22-16 BYU.

St. Marys and BYU traded penalties to make the score 25-19, and then St. Mary’s regained the lead. Some nice ball handling set up Maloney, who raced in from long range. Audsley popped over the kick to make it 26-25 Gaels.

Linehan had a shot to regain the lead for BYU but barely missed. Then, with both teams shorthanded thanks to two separate yellow-card incidents, BYU struck. From a lineout they moved the ball left, and then a backline of mostly forwards set up the try - scrumhalf Mocke to hooker Vorster to prop Thompson to wing Tua Leai. Linehan hit the touchline conversion and it was 32-26. Linehan added a penalty to make it 35-26, but more importantly, BYU put their stamp on the final ten minutes, controlling field position and not letting St. Mary’s get in another score.

It was yet another hugely entertaining and physical game, one worthy of a sold out crowd at South Field on BYU’s campus in Provo, and once again, BYU came out on top, led by a sterling effort from their captain, and overall a hard-nosed game from their pack.

 

BYU 35

Tries: Kofe, Whippey, Linehan, Laie

Convs: Linehan 3

Pens: Linehan 3

 

St. Mary’s 26

Tries: Audsley, Maloney

Convs: Audsley 2

Pens: Audsley 4

 

St. Mary’s Starting Lineup

1. Ryan Pratt

2. Mike O’Neill

3. Dino Waldren

4. Mike Tilllson

5. Vili Helu

6. Casey Reilly

7. Alec Barton

8. Kevin O’Connor

9. Holden Yungert

10. Mike McCarthy

11. Kingsley McGowan

12. Dylan Audsley

13. Corey Kruger

14. Mason Colombo

15. Cooper Maloney (c)

 

BYU Starting Lineup

1. Zane Mendenhall

2. Alex Vorster

3. Kody Thompson

4. Kyle Lontine

5. Dan Hubert

6. Kyle Sumsion (c)

7. Joe Jensen

8. Ara Elkington

9. Luke Mocke

10. Jonny Linehan

11. Josh Anderson

12. Seki Kofe

13. Josh Whippey

14. Tua Leai

15. Ryan Blaser