Austin Ewing earned a reputation for putting up gaudy stat lines during his three years as the starting quarterback for Konawaena.
His box score dominance has carried over to college, and his emergence has happened quicker than most expected.
The Southern Utah true freshman put up 210 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns Saturday against Idaho. Ewing was also 5 of 6 passing for 37 yards.
Despite his efforts, the Thunderbirds still lost to Idaho 31-12, falling to 1-6 this season.
Idaho was up 31-0 when Ewing started to do his damage in the second half. He led the Thunderbirds on a pair of long drives in the fourth quarter that culminated in touchdowns.
The first spanned 16-plays and covered 80 yards, with Ewing finishing it off with a QB keeper. He then led the team on a seven play, 60-yard drive late in the fourth quarter, again scoring on a short run.
“I think it just shows that no matter what happens we’re going to fight until the end,” Ewing said following the contest.
Ewing has become an integral part of SUU’s offense over the last two weeks. In last weekend’s game against Sacramento State, he notched two touchdowns — one rushing and one receiving on a trick play.
The Konawaena grad is still wearing a wide receiver number (87) and is referred to as the team’s wildcat quarterback. However, it has become evident that the frosh is one of the team’s top offensive weapons and he should only be finding more opportunity on the field in the weeks to come, especially with the team struggling.
SUU continues its season next week against Northern Colorado.
Volleyball
Kamehameha graduate Zoe Leonard produced a season-high 20 digs as well as a highlight-reel rally for Dartmouth last Friday at Harvard.
During one first-set play, Leonard made three diving saves to prolong a point, which the Big Green finally won – check out Pilipaa on Twitter for the details.
Dartmouth (7-11, 3-5 Ivy League) lost the match, but Leonard was named to the Ivy League’s weekly honor role for her efforts. Leonard, who has 205 digs and 56 assists on the season, will have her senior game next month.
Soccer
• Hilo graduate Kalei Tolentino-Perry scored his third goal of the season last Saturday for San Jose State, which beat Utah Valley State 2-1. The sophomore is tied for second on the Spartans (6-7-2, 4-3-1 WAC) in goals and points (seven).
• Hawaii Prep graduate Gabrielle Ewing continues to lead the way for Concordia (Ore.), which was ranked third in the latest NCAA Division II West Region rankings.
On Wednesday, Ewing, a senior, was named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s soccer all-academic for a third time, and she paces the Cavaliers (11-1-2, 8-1-1 GNAC) with seven goals and 18 points.