Las Vegas, Nev.- The Arizona Wildcats came out on fire early in Las Vegas, shutting out Dixie State 59-0 in a challenge match at the Las Vegas Invitational.

Center David Spencer scored two tries in the match, and center Jack Arnold added a try as well as two penalties and a conversion.

The victory moved the Wildcats to 2-1 on the season, while Dixie State dropped to 5-3. Arizona has played in the Las Vegas Invitational in the three previous seasons and won each time. With the victory over Dixie State, the Wildcats improved to 4-0 in the yearly tournament.

“We played many young players today and in general, they played well,” Arizona Head Coach Dave Sitton said. “We will need depth as we now enter the very difficult business of playing in the new PAC conference.”

Arizona will face a familiar foe on Saturday afternoon when it matches up against Utah. The teams have met four times in the past, with the Utes winning each time. Last season, Utah visited Tucson and, while Arizona held on to a halftime deficit, the Utes pulled away for the win with a 68-15 final tally.

Utah is currently ranked sixth by Rugby magazine and will be Arizona’s second ranked opponent on the season. Arizona is ranked 18th in the country.

The Utes lost 41-12 to Life on Friday.

Former USA player Blake Burdette handles coaching duties for the University of Utah. Burdette is coaching at his alma mater, where he also played football. He played on the US national team after college and competed in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Arizona is coached by former player Dave Sitton. Coach Sitton is in his 34th year coaching and his 39th with the Arizona program as he also played for the Wildcats.

"The Utes are one of those great brands,” Coach Sitton said. “They have been playing very good rugby and producing national team players for the past five years. Arizona needs to play a very  spirited and exacting match against Utah. They have turned our mistakes into Utah points for the last three matches."

The Wildcats were without starting loose head prop James Vecchio (knee), and junior wing Kyle Hadinger (concussion). Freshman center Andrew Matyas remains day to day (knee).

This game will be the first ever PAC Rugby Conference match for both teams. Kickoff is at 10 am PST.

“We are very excited to play our first PAC Conference match,” Sitton said. “For those of us who have been around for a while, our new league is without question the most dynamic, with some of the best brands in college rugby.”