Northern Arizona 42 Southern Utah 39

Northern Arizona 42  Southern Utah 39

Lumberjacks hold off Thunderbirds

The NAU Lumberjacks jumped out to a 35-17 lead after 3 quarters, then had to hold off a furious rally by Southern Utah in the 4th quarter, prevailing over the Thunderbirds 42-39.

Alex Henderson led the way for the Jacks, with 32 carries for 168 yards and 2 TDs. He also recovered his own fumble in the end zone for a 3rd TD. Micheal Herrick completed 15 of 21 passes for 306 yards and a TD. 4 of those were complete to Conrad Meadows for 121 yards. Austin Shanks and Giovannie Dixon added TD Runs. NAU has 554 yards of total offense.

The Thunderbirds gashed the NAU defense for 540 yards of total offense, led by 425 yards passing by Cade Cooper. Cooper completed 33 of 48 for 4 TDs and no INTs. Austin Minifee had 89 yards rushing and 85 receiving, including 3TDs receiving. Tysson Poots had 6 catches for 109 yards and a TD.

The Lumberjacks evened their record at 1-1, while Southern Utah dropped to 1-2. The Lumberjacks will be in action Saturday September 26, hosting the Montana Grizzles.

Scoreboard
Final    1    2    3    4    T
Southern Utah  (1-2)    7    7    3    22    39
Northern Arizona  (1-1) «    14    14    7    7    42

Scoring Summary
NAZ    Daiveun Curry-Chapman 5 yd pass from Michael Herrick (SHAUN FITZPATRICK 2pt run)
NAZ    Alex Henderson 0 yd run (failed 2pt rush)
SUT    Austin Minefee 17 yd pass from Cade Cooper (Ryan Griffith kick)
NAZ    Austin Shanks 35 yd run (Matt Myers kick)
NAZ    Alex Henderson 3 yd run (Matt Myers kick)
SUT    Tysson Poots 25 yd pass from Cade Cooper (Ryan Griffith kick)
NAZ    Alex Henderson 57 yd run (Matt Myers kick)
SUT    Ryan Griffith 17 yd FG
SUT    Major Gray 1 yd run (Ryan Griffith kick)
NAZ    Giovannie Dixon 30 yd run (Matt Myers kick)
SUT    Austin Minefee 15 yd pass from Cade Cooper (Fesi Sitake 2pt pass from Cade Cooper)
SUT    Austin Minefee 40 yd pass from Cade Cooper (Ryan Griffith kick)

Team Stats
SUT    NAZ
First Downs    29    23
Third Down Efficiency    8-16    5-10
Fourth Down Efficiency    2-2    1-2
Plays-Net Yards    81-540    61-554
Rushes-Yds    32-109    40-248
Passing Yds    431    306
Kick Return Yds    74    82
Punt Return Yds    15    4
Passes    34-49-0    15-21-0
Punts    4-167    3-154
Fumbles-Lost    3-1    4-1
Penalties-Yds    10-105    7-118
Time of Poss.    34:10    25:50

Individual Stats
RUSHING
SUT: Austin Minefee 19-89, Trevor Ward 1-14, Ammon Olsen 1-12, Major Gray 3-2, Cade Cooper 8–8
NAZ: Alex Henderson 32-168, Giovannie Dixon 7-45, Austin Shanks 1-35
PASSING
SUT: Cade Cooper 33-48-425-0, Ammon Olsen 1-1-6-0
NAZ: Michael Herrick 15-21-306-0
RECEIVING
SUT: Fesi Sitake 10-80, Tysson Poots 6-109, Austin Minefee 5-83, Mitch Jessop 4-74, Jared Ursua 4-48, Karl Williams 3-29, Deckar Alexander 1-5, Abbel Aiono 1-3
NAZ: Conrad Meadows 4-121, Alex Henderson 3-64, Daiveun Curry-Chapman 3-47, Ed Berry 2-33, Ryan Rauschert 2-19, Giovannie Dixon 1-22

Southern Utah @ Northern Arizona Preview

Southern Utah @ Northern Arizona
6:05pm ET Saturday September 19, 2009

The Lumberjacks come into Saturday’s showdown with the visiting Thunderbirds off of a 34-17 loss at Arizona. The Jacks put up a good fight, being as close as 21-10 with the ball deep inside Wildcats territory. NAU will look to kick off the 2009 home season on a positive note.

The Thunderbirds are coming off of a 35-19 loss at San Diego State this past Saturday. They stand at 1-1 after starting the season off with a 36-7 victory over Dixie State.

Look for the Lumberjacks offense, under the direction of Micheal Herrick to attack the SUU defense through the air . San diego State had a great deal of seuccess through the air. Having success through the air will allow Alex Henderson to find some gaps in the Thunderbird defense.

Another key factor will be if the Lumberjack defense can force Southern Utah QB Cade Cooper into forcing throws and throwing interceptions. In the win for the Thunderbirds: 0 turnovers; the loss: 3 turnovers.

Prediction: The NAU defense force the Thuderbirds to turn the ball over numerous times, and Herrick has a big day.  NAU 31  SUU 20

Arizona 34 NAU 17

NAU Puts Up Fight, Bows to Cats

The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks gave the Arizona Wildcats all they wanted for a half, but the Wildcats proved to be too much, pulling away late for a 34-17 victory at home. The Lumberjacks trailed only 14-10 in the 2nd quarter, but Arizona outscored NAU 20-7 the rest of the way.

The Jacks had no answer for Arizona running back Nic Grigsby. Grigsby carried the ball 15 times for 207 yards and 2 TDs, with a long run of 94 yards in the 3rd quarter.

Micheal Herrick made the start at quarterback for the Lumberjacks, completing 20 of 30 passes for 2 TDs and 2 INT.

Grigsby led off the scoring with a 25 yard TD jaunt in the 1st quarter. After a 43 yard field goal by NAU kicker Matt Myers, Grigsby took it in from 30 yards out to give the Cats a 14-3 lead. The Lumberjacks then went on a 14 play, 79 yards scoring drive to cut the Wildcat lead to 14-10, early in the 2nd quarter. Micheal Herrick hit Ed Berry with a 4 yard TD pass to finish the drive.

The 2nd quarter was uneventful, until Matt Scott hit Terrell Turner with a 2 yard TD pass with 30 seconds to go before the half to give the Cats a 21-10 halftime advantage.

NAU’s last opportunity to get back in the game was foiled by a Terrell Wade INT near the Arizona goal line, stopping a Lumberjack scoring drive. Nic Grigsby went 94 yards on the next play to the NAU 1. Keola Antolin plunged in on the next play and the Cats took a 27-10 lead.

Arizona backup QB Nick Foles threw a TD pass early in the 4th quarter to make the score 34-10. Herrick and Berry teamed up again for a 19 yard TD completion to close out the scoring.

The Lumberjacks host Southern Utah on Saturday.

SCOREBOARD
Final    1    2    3    4    T
Northern Arizona  (0-1)    3    7    0    7    17
Arizona  (2-0) «    14    7    6    7    34

SCORING SUMMARY
AZ    Nic Grigsby 25 yd run (Alex Zendejas kick)
NAZ    Matt Myers 43 yd FG
AZ    Nic Grigsby 30 yd run (Alex Zendejas kick)
NAZ    Ed Berry 4 yd pass from Michael Herrick (Matt Myers kick)
AZ    Terrell Turner 2 yd pass from Matt Scott (Alex Zendejas kick)
AZ    Keola Antolin 1 yd run (missed kick)
AZ    Juron Criner 5 yd pass from Nick Foles (Alex Zendejas kick)
NAZ    Ed Berry 19 yd pass from Michael Herrick (Matt Myers kick)

Team Stats
NAZ    AZ
First Downs    13    27
Third Down Efficiency    4-9    8-13
Fourth Down Efficiency    0-0    3-4
Plays-Net Yards    49-226    75-559
Rushes-Yds    19-67    47-365
Passing Yds    159    194
Kick Return Yds    88    84
Punt Return Yds    0    0
Passes    20-30-2    20-28-1
Punts    4-169    0-0
Fumbles-Lost    1-0    1-1
Penalties-Yds    1-5    5-35
Time of Poss.    24:8    35:52

Individual Stats
RUSHING
NAZ: Alex Henderson 14-56, Giovannie Dixon 2-13, Austin Shanks 1-6, Team 1–1, Michael Herrick 1–7
AZ: Nic Grigsby 15-207, Keola Antolin 9-60, Matt Scott 7-48, Greg Nwoko 9-32, Nick Booth 3-17, Terrell Turner 2-6, Nick Foles 1–2, Delashaun Dean 1–3
PASSING
NAZ: Michael Herrick 20-30-159-2
AZ: Matt Scott 14-20-150-1, Nick Foles 6-8-44-0
RECEIVING
NAZ: Ed Berry 7-71, Daiveun Curry-Chapman 4-34, Conrad Meadows 4-18, Alex Henderson 2-16, Mike Czyz 1-12, Austin Shanks 1-7, Curt Sweeney 1-1
AZ: Terrell Turner 5-46, David Douglas 5-43, Delashaun Dean 2-26, A.J. Simmons 2-21, David Roberts 2-17, William Wright 1-21, Nic Grigsby 1-12, Juron Criner 1-5, Chris Gronkowski 1-3

NAU-Arizona Preview

Northern Arizona @ Arizona Preview

10:00pm ET Saturday September 12, 2009

 

The Arizona Wildcats are coming off of a season opening victory over the Central Michigan Chippewas, 19-6. New Wildcat quarterback Matt Scott completed 19 out of 30 passes for 202 yards and an interception. Nic Grigsby led the Wildcat rushing attack with 23 carries for 118 yards and a touchdown. Scott added 83 yards on 9 carries. Alex Zendejas jr. added a career high 4 field goals. The Wildcats owned a time of possession advantage of 38 minutes to 22 minutes, thanks to a balanced offensive output of 246 yards on the ground and 202 yards through the air.

 

The Wildcat defense was spectacular, holding a potent Central Michigan offense to under 300 yards of total offense. Central Michigan QB Dan LeFevour never got going against the Wildcat defense, throwing for only 108 yards and an INT.

 

This is a tough opener for the Lumberjacks. Starting the season with a new QB, new RB and rebuilding the defense is tough enough, but beginning the season with an FBS opponent on the rise makes an already tough task even tougher. Look for the Lumberjacks to put up a fight, but the Cats to be too much.

 

Score Prediction: Arizona 41  NAU 7

Predictions

Here are my Big 12 and other predictions for this weekend./

OU 45   BYU 21

 

Losing Jermaine Gresham will hurt, but the Sooners have plenty of weapons to make do.

 

 

OSU 35  Georgia 24

 

Cowboys will open up in a big way. Look for a big day from the Cowboy offense.

 

Nebraska 42  Florida Atlantic 14

 

Huskers dominate to open up the year.

 

Illinois 35  Missouri 31

 

Offensive shootout expected in this rivalry. 1^st to have a 3 and out loses.

 

Baylor 31  Wake Forest 28

 

Baylor picks up a huge road win for Art Briles. Griffin has a big day.

 

Texas A&M  27  New Mexico 17

 

Aggies start off 2009 right.

 

Kansas State 31  UMASS 0

 

Bill Snyder gets win #1 for his 2^nd go-round.

 

Kansas 45   Northern Colorado 10

 

Jayhawks dominate in one of their few easy games.

 

Texas Tech 56  North Dakota 14

 

Red Raiders put on another offensive show.

Mistake

Sorry folks. I jumped the gun on the NAU-Arizona preview. That will be next Wednesday.

 

I guess I am just ready to get the first Saturday of the season here.

Ready for Saturday!

I am so ready to kick off the College Football Season.

I will have a preview of the Northern Arizona vs Arizona on Wednesday, as well as previews of other college games.

Let’s get rockin!

Northern Arizona 2009 Football Preview

August 6th, 2009 by RWPatten<!– in Big Sky–>

Northern Arizona 2009 Football Preview

 

2008 Record: 6-5, 4-4 Big Sky

 

Postseason: None

 

Head Coach: Jerome Souers

 

Returning Starters: 14 (7 Offense, 7 Defense)

 

Preseason Ranking: #21 by the Sporting News

 

Schedule

 

Sep 12, 2009 at Arizona Tucson, Ariz. All Day

Sep 19, 2009 Southern Utah Flagstaff, Ariz. 3:05 PM

Sep 26, 2009 Montana* Flagstaff, Ariz. 3:05 PM

Oct 03, 2009 Northern Colorado* (Family Weekend) Flagstaff, Ariz. 3:05 PM

 Oct 10, 2009 at Montana State* Bozeman, Mont. 12:35 PM

Oct 17, 2009 at Portland State *Portland, Ore. 1:05 PM

Oct 24, 2009 Idaho State* (Homecoming) Flagstaff, Ariz. 3:05 PM

Oct 31, 2009 at Sacramento State Sacramento, Calif. 2:00 PM

Nov 07, 2009 at Ole Miss Oxford, Miss. All Day

 Nov 14, 2009 at Weber State Ogden, Utah 12:05 PM

Nov 21, 2009 Eastern Washington* Flagstaff, Ariz. 3:05 PM

* Big Sky Conference

 

OFFENSE

NAU must replace multiple skill position performers. Junior Micheal Herrick (6′1″ 195lbs) takes over the quarterback responsibilities for NAU. He appeared in 10 games last year for the Lumberjacks, completing over 65% of his passes for 1043 yards, 3 TDs and 6 INTs. His best performance last year was in the season finale vs Eastern Washington, throwing for 283 yards. At running back, senior Alex Henderson (5′10″ 205lbs) takes over after an injury plagued 2008 season. He ran for over 400 yards at a 5.9 yards per carry clip, but only appeared in 6 games due to injury. The Lumberjacks return their top 3 receivers from 2008 in senior Ed Berry (5′9″ 185lbs), senior Curt Sweeney (5′11” 179lbs) and senior Conrad Meadows (5′9” 180lbs). The 3 combined for 128 catches, 1722 yards and 6 TDs.

DEFENSE

The Lumberjacks boasted one of the best defenses in the NCAA FCS in 2008, ranking in the top 10 in many defensive categories. The leader of the 2009 defensive unit will be preseason Big Sky ALl Conference pick, LB Cody Dowd (Sr. 6′3″ 250lbs). Dowd is the only Lumderjack to be picked preseason All Big Sky. Sr. DE Micheal Battisti (6′3″ 235lbs) will anchor the NAU defensive front. Battisti had 6 QB sacks last year and was named to the Big Sky Honorable Mention team in 2008.

 

Outlook

The Lumberjacks are coming off of their 3rd consecutive 6-5 season in 2008, looking to challenge Montana and Weber State for supremacy in the Big Sky Conference. Facing the Lumberjacks are many different challenges in the 2009 season.

The schedule provides both challenges and opportunities for NAU. The Lumberjacks face two FBS (formerly Division I-A) opponents in the Arizona Wildcats in the season opener, and the Ole Miss Rebels on November 7. Both teams won 8 or more games, as well as their bowl games. The Lumberjacks must also travel to Ogden, Utah to face Big Sky power Weber State, as well as Bozeman, Montana to challenge Montana State. NAU does get to host Big Sky preseason favorite Montana on September 26 and Eastern Washington on November 21. The other home games for NAU are: September 19 against Southern Utah; October 3 against the Northern Colorado Bears; October 24 against the Idaho State Bengals for homecoming. The other road games for the Lumberjacks are: October 17 at Portland State; October 31 at Sacramento State.

 

Season Prediction:

Overall Record: 7-4

Conference Record: 6-2  3rd Place

Big Sky Football on TV

Here is a link to a list of the Big Sky games that will be on TV this fall:

 

http://www.bigskyconf.com/Sports/football/2009/2009TVGAMESFB.asp?nl=33?tab=tv

Big Sky Preseason Media and Coaches Predictions

Here is a link to the Coaches and Media predictions for the 2009 season.

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=105772102319&h=LUWUX&u=xiRcE&ref=mf

Vote in my poll on the right.