Trent time: QB Tompkins’ late touchdown lifts UC Davis football past Idaho State
Coming soon to a UC Davis sporting event: Fans.
The Aggies have played two football games at their marvelous home venue, capacity 10,743, this spring season, but outside the cardboard cut-out images — dogs included — on the berm below the UCD Health Stadium scoreboard, about the only live beings not coaching and playing has been Aggies campus staffers and security.
This included Saturday’s last-minute 31-27 Aggies triumph of Idaho State in a Big Sky Conference game in 73-degree weather worthy of fans.
There will be an attendance for UCD’s regular-season home game, April 3 against Eastern Washington as Yolo County is now in a more favorable orange pandemic tier, thus the clearance to allow fans. Not 10,743, mind you, but up to 1,800 hearty souls will be allowed in.
And what a product to cheer. Ranked No. 15 in the Football Championship Subdivision, UCD is 3-1 this shortened season, losing only 18-15 at No. 2 Weber State. The Aggies have dazzled with junior quarterback Hunter Rodrigues, the Whitney High School and American River College product who led a record-setting team effort last week against Cal Poly and had good moments against Idaho State in passing for 168 yards.
The Aggies have a wealth of quarterback depth, including freshman Trent Tompkins of Fresno. He has been used on short-yardage run plays, some of which he’s broken for huge gains, and the quarterback won it Saturday with a 4-yard touchdown bolt up the middle with 8 seconds to play for a change-of-pace look for the Bengals to ponder.
His score offset the gritty effort of Tyler Vander Waal, the Christian Brothers High School graduate who fired a 32-yard touchdown laser to Xavier Guillory on the run for a 27-24 lead with 4:57 to play. Vander Waal had 226 yards passing and two scores.
UCD true freshman Lan Larison, a rodeo grinder from Idaho, rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns as he admirably filled in for injured leading rusher Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. who did not play. He walked the sideline with a walking boot on his left foot.
Next time, welcome in, fans.
Among to giddy to this announcement is Aggies Director of Athletics Rocko DeLuca.
“Next Saturday will be our first home event with fans, which is awesome,” DeLuca said. “It’s a great opportunity to test drive for the fall. It’s long overdue.”
This story was originally published March 27, 2021 at 4:32 PM.