MOSCOW — Idaho receiver Cutrell Haywood rang up three touchdowns on seven catches in a 31-12 victory on Oct. 20, 2018, against Southern Utah.

To that point, it was his peak outing. But after Saturday’s 35-27 rivalry-creating win against No. 11 Eastern Washington, the game against the Thunderbirds has taken a back seat to one that, despite a stat line that’s solid, was not as flashy.

Haywood, the “2” in the 1-2 UI receiver punch with star Jeff Cotton, tallied 69 yards on five catches, one a 27-yard, go-and-get-it down the seam and another on a red-zone slant. The shifty sophomore shook one defender, swam over another and laid out for the touchdown.

They were a couple of reps good for highlights, certainly, but not what set apart the 6-foot, 204-pounder, who’s seen his time split between the inside and outside spots.

“By far, all-around, whole game — blocking, effort, toughness — that’s the best game Cutrell’s played,” coach Paul Petrino said, “and he had a game last year where he had three touchdown catches. It was just his effort.”

Quarterback Mason Petrino wouldn’t have been able to run in from 20 yards out to make it 21-0 if it weren’t for Haywood sealing the perimeter. The Vandals (2-2) set a physical tone immediately, including the skill players.

“Second play of the game, Cutrell just knocks their corner from me to you (10 feet),” Paul Petrino said. “He was just physical and he was having fun doing it. That makes it even better.”

Haywood, who’s prided his development from last season to this one on blocking, concurred. He said he “played as a complete receiver,” like the ones he looks up to — Julio Jones and Jarvis Landry.

Because he exclusively lined up at X (outside) last year, Haywood’s still working through some of the inside-blocking complexities. Statistically, he’s a bit back of Cotton, a senior workhorse who has 429 yards and three touchdowns on 38 receptions to Haywood’s 145 yards and one score on 16 catches.

But in accordance with Paul Petrino’s teachings, the numbers don’t worry Haywood.

“Hey, if he’s open, give him the rock,” Haywood said of Cotton with a laugh. “If I can’t eat, then my dogs are gonna. We can all produce the same, so I never get overwhelmed or something if one of my teammates is getting way more open. If he’s open, if he’s on fire, feed the hot man the ball.”

OFFENSIVE GAME MVPs — When UI’s offensive linemen meet, a decorated board rests nearby, displaying every player’s trackable stats and ranking each in the group accordingly.

Monitored are “Vandal blocks,” the favorites — i.e. pancake blocks. There also are successful cut blocks and “Idaho Effort” plays (IE for short), which are awarded for outworking everyone — driving a pile, for instance.

A lot of points were issued against Eastern Washington, across the board.

“I saw multiple Vandal blocks,” strong guard Noah Johnson said. “We feed off it.”

The quick start and physically dominant display by the Vandals in the trenches prompted Paul Petrino to award them his verbal MVP award on offense. The defensive line garnered the honors opposite them.

“That’s how you win games,” he said. “The skill guys get talked about the most, but the O-line and D-line is where you win games. At the very beginning of the year, I said it was one of the things I was excited about — we had the most experience coming back in our O-line since the bowl year.”

With center Conner Vrba sidelined and quick guard Matthew Faupusa exiting early with a leg injury, UI played hampered. However, its depth managed to win out. Backup guard Darius Archie was “more than adequate,” offensive coordinator/line coach Kris Cinkovich said. Strong tackle Logan Floyd played all four quarters at center and oppressed the Eagles in the run game.

“(Floyd’s) got a big, solid body,” Cinkovich said. “He can move well for an athlete his size.”

Vrba and Faupusa remain questionable.

But, not surprisingly, it was the All-American Johnson who had the most Vandal-block tallies. Johnson’s the reigning two-time champ in the board competition, which has been around as long as Cinkovich.

“By a mile,” Cinkovich said. “He runs his feet and gets guys on the ground. He gets a lot of ’em. He’s killing guys on the board right now.”

Cinkovich thought there was too much “scoreboard watching” in the second half, but lauded the line’s successes in “getting (Eastern) tired.”

DEPTH RULES ON DEFENSE TOO — The Vandals were down tackle Noah Elliss and end Kayode Rufai, but again, depth and physicality made the difference. Setting the pace was buck Charles Akanno, who ended with a breakout, national-award-earning day. Juco transfer tackle Jonah Kim is becoming a big-man revelation.

The Vandals’ line rotated in fresh legs every four plays and began to fatigue EWU’s highly acclaimed offensive line before intermission.

Even down the stretch, Eastern quarterback Eric Barriere had little time in the pocket. EWU had less than 100 rushing yards, gave up a fumble at the line of scrimmage, and was stopped in the backfield six times for a combined loss of 35 yards.

“Just came out with energy, came out wanting to beat them and executed our game plan,” Kim said. “Good things happen when you do what you’re supposed to.”

Clark may be reached at cclark@lmtribune.com, on Twitter @ClarkTrib or by phone at (208) 848-2260.