ST. GEORGE, Utah – A fumble recovery for a touchdown. A punt return for a touchdown. A safety.
 
Take those 16 points off the scoreboard for visiting Simon Fraser on Saturday night and Dixie State is celebrating its first win of the year.
 
But, those three big plays in conjunction with one offensive TD and two field goals to give the Clan a 29-19 win over Dixie State at Hansen Stadium. The loss snaps Simon Fraser's four-game losing streak to start the season (1-4, 1-1), while the Red Storm slipped to 0-5 for the year, 0-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.
 
On a night where Dixie State outgained Simon Fraser in total yards (330-280), it was the missed opportunities that hurt the Storm the most.
 
Ben Longshore (Santa Clarita, CA/Canyon) passed for 315 yards and two scores, but his first two interceptions on the year stymied second half comeback efforts. Nate Stephens (Redding, CA/Shasta) caught nine of Longshore's passes for a season-high 126 yards for the Red Storm. Senior receivers Conor Sklarsky (Norco, CA/Notre Dame) and Brock Johnson (South Weber, UT/Northridge) each hauled in touchdown receptions, the first of the year for both respectively.
 
The Storm amassed only 15 yards of rushing for the night. Longshore provided the longest jaunt for 27 yards in the first quarter. Three plays later, Longshore connected with Sklarsky, who displayed nifty footwaork to stay in bounds near the right sideline, for the score.
 
Dixie State led 6-0 after one quarter, but sacks and runs for loss of yards prevented a balanced DSU offensive attack in the rest of the half.
 
SFU answered with a TD and a field goal to take a 10-6 lead into the break.
 
Dixie State took over the ball to start the third quarter. On the second play from scrimmage, Longshore completed a pass to Dalton Groskreutz (Santa Clara, UT/Snow Canyon). In an effort to gain yards after the catch, Groskreutz juked and slid away from defenders. From behind, Jordan Herdman knocked the ball out of Groskreutz's hand and onto the turf, where it was scooped up and returned for a touchdown by Jordan's brother, Justin.
 
Zac Christian (Plain City, UT/Fremont) tried to turn the momentum around later in the third quarter by picking off his first pass of the year. The ensuing drive stalled out, as did the following for Dixie State.
 
Simon Fraser sacked Longshore in the end zone for a safety to build the lead to 19-6.
 
Later in the quarter, Earl Anderson ran back a punt 61 yards for his second career special teams touchdown against the Storm. As the quarter ended, Longshore made a long connection with Jamal Smith (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard) to set up a one-yard touchdown run for Joel Davis (Natchez, MS/Natchez). Dixie State cut the lead to 26-13 heading into the fourth.
 
SFU would add their final points with a second Tiernan Docherty field goal midway through the final quarter.
 
Despite throwing a pair of picks, Longshore led the Storm's final scoring drive. It began with the longest play offensively, a 46-yard pass completion to Stephens inside the Clan red zone. Two plays later, Johnson brought in a nine-yard TD catch. Dixie State attempted an onside kick, but the Clan recovered the ball.
 
Kendall Prescott (South Summit, UT/South Summit) made nine tackles out of the Storm secondary to the lead the way for DSU. Jake Miller (Tremonton, UT/Bear River) and Trevor Oakley (Santa Ana, CA/Foothill High School ) each had eight stops while Robert Metz (Tucson, AZ/Canyon Del Oro) and Jordan Curtis (Perry, UT/Box Elder) added seven. SFU had two with double-digit tackles: Mitchell Barnett (11) and GNAC leader Jordan Herdman (10).
 
Dixie State plays its next two GNAC games on the road starting with a trip to Western Oregon on Saturday, Oct. 11 for a 1 p.m Pacific time kickoff at McArthur Field.