NAU Game
Notes vs. Arizona (PDF)
Northern Arizona (0-0, 0-0
BSC) at Arizona (1-0)
7:00 p.m., Sept. 12, 2009, Tucson, Ariz.
Sodexo Lumberjack Radio Network/FOX Sports Arizona (TD-10:45 p.m.)
Broadcast
Information...
Sodexo Lumberjack Radio
Network
(Mitch Strohman/Kevin Stephens)
Station, Freq, Market
KAFF, 930 AM, Flagstaff
KRDE, 94.1 FM, Globe/Phoenix
Television: FOX Sports Arizona
(Dave Sitton/John Fina)
Web Video: See UA website
Web Audio: Stretch
Internet
Three Dot
Data...
NAU is playing its 96th season of football dating back to the 1915
season...NAU and UA are meeting for the fifth time in eight
seasons...The 24 points scored by NAU against Arizona in 2007
equaled the total from the previous seven matchups and were the
most scored by NAU in a game against Arizona and the most against a
FBS opponent since scoring 28 at New Mexico in 2000....NAU is
playing its ninth game against a Pac-10 Conference opponent in the
last nine seasons (Oregon State in 2001, Arizona in 2002, 2004,
2005 and 2007 and Arizona State in 2003, 2006, 2008)...NAU has not
beat a NCAA FBS or I-A opponent since 1987, posting a 7-42 all-time
record in match-ups against FBS/I-A opponents since 1957...See
chart later in the release...Arizona represents the first of two
FBS opponents for NAU, the second time in three seasons NAU has
played two FBS opponents in the same season...Head Coach Jerome
Souers has posted an 8-3 record in 11 previous season
openers...
Note of the Week...
NAU is one of three FCS schools playing two FBS schools this
season that both went to a bowl game in 2008 and won. Overall,
there are 16 FCS schools playing two FBS teams this season. Eight
of the 16 are playing two FBS schools that both went to bowl game
in 2008. Thanks to Jeff Pritsker for the research assistance.
FCS Schools Playing 2 FBS Bowl Winners
NAU at Arizona (Las Vegas)
at Ole Miss (Cotton)
Chas. Southern at Florida (BCS NC)
at S. Florida (St. Pete)
Jacksonville St. at Georgia Tech (Chick)
at Florida St. (Champs)
Southern Arizona Connections...
NAU has six players on its roster from Tucson/Southern Arizona
area high schools including four freshmen. Sophomore tight end Brian Riley
(Catalina Foothills) and long snapper Ben Bachelier
(Nogales) will likely be the only Tucson area natives on the travel
roster for the game. Riley was an All-Big Sky honorable mention
selection in 2008, seeing action in all 11 games with two starts.
He had 10 receptions for 191 yards (19.1 avg.) with two touchdowns.
Bachelier's father and grandfather played baseball at
Arizona. NAU SID Steve Shaff is a graduate of Arizona and former
student assistant in the UA sports information office.
#37 Scott Brown, S, Sabino
#50 Ben Bachelier, LS, Nogales
#55 Stuart Tawney, OL, Sabino
#75 Kyle Walker, OL, Sabino
#77 Gareth Facciano, OL, Ironwood Ridge
#86 Brian Riley, TE, Catalina Foothills
Arizona's Team...
NAU has 38 players on its roster from Arizona, tied for the most
of any of the three Arizona Division I schools. Arizona has 15
Arizona natives, while ASU also has 38 on its roster.
NAU's
Arizona Players
LS Ben Bachelier (Rio Rico), OL Dwight Boyd (Pinetop), LB Shad
Bride (St. Johns), S Scott Brown (Tucson), QB Trey Clarida (El
Mirage), RB Carlo Dale (Phoenix) WR Jeremy Dang (Glendale), WR
Ca'leve Deboskie (Chandler), LB Cody Dowd (Scottsdale), OL Gareth
Facciano (Tucson), TE Shaun Fitzpatrick (Gilbert), WR Stef Fulce
(Chandler), OL Trey Gilleo (Kingman), RB Jamil Hines (Phoenix), OL
Jeff Hines (Mesa), OL Matt Kron (Scottsdale), LB Anthony Llanos
(Phoenix), DB Josh Luck (Chandler), Raphael Mack (Gilbert), S
Taylor Malenfant (Scottsdale), TE Coleman McArthur (Buckeye), LB
Scott McKeever (Wickenburg), LB John Morrison, OL Kevin Nowicki
(Kingman), NT Vince Paciulli (Phoenix), DL Dan Pela (Phoenix), OG
Kris Poindexter (Phoenix), CB Phil Pollock (Glendale), TE Brian
Riley (Tucson), OL Sebastian Sica (Phoenix), WR Curt Sweeney
(Peoria), OL Stuart Tawney (Tucson), OL Kyle Walker (Tucson), K
Andy Wilder (Scottsdale), OL Anthony Williams (Pinetop), WR Mike
Williams (Chandler), OL Matt Wilson (Payson), S Max Zemezonak (Cave
Creek).
Series Information...
NAU and Arizona will be meeting for the 11th time in school
history. The two schools have played 10 times dating back to 1931.
The two schools met for the first time since 1945 in 2002 and are
playing for the fifth time in eight seasons. Arizona has won nine
of the 10 meetings, posting a combined score of 317-67. Northern
Arizona's lone victory in the series came in 1932 with a 7-6
victory in Phoenix. The 21 points scored by Arizona in 2004 were
the fewest allowed against a I-A opponent by NAU since held Tulsa
to 20 in a 24-20 win in 1987. In 2004, NAU helped Arizona to its
best attendance mark since 2000 at the time and largest crowd for a
home opener since 1998 with a crowd of 49,471.
For game recap from 2007, see later in the release.
Year Site Score
1931 Tucson L, 19-12
1932 Phoenix W, 7-6
1933 Tucson L, 24-0
1940 Tucson L, 41-0
1941 Tucson L, 41-0
1945 Tucson L, 52-6
2002 Tucson L, 37-3
2004 Tucson L, 21-3
2005 Tucson L, 31-12
2007 Tucson L, 45-24
Did You Know...
NAU's home playing surface in the Walkup Skydome installed
in 2008 is the same playing surface in the new Dallas Cowboys new
stadium. Unfortunately, the Cowboys have a bigger video board.
FBS Additions...
NAU had two transfers from Arizona State join the program in the
offseason in RB Giovannie Dixon and QB Chase Stangel. Both are
listed as backups entering the first game. Overall, NAU had four
FBS transfers this offseason including RB Mana Purdy (Boise State)
and K Drew Zamoa (New Mexico). S Brian Hunter (ASU), QB Michael
Herrick (Ole Miss) and K Matt Myers (Washington State) have joined
the program in past seasons.
Preseason Rankings...
NAU is ranked 37th in the preseason FCS Coaches poll with 34
points and 36th in The Sports Network preseason poll with 169
points. Montana, who visits the Walkup Skydome on Sept. 26, is
ranked No. 3 in both polls. Weber State (No. 9) and Eastern
Washington (No. 17, No. 18) were both ranked in the Top 25 in both
polls. NAU was ranked 21st in the annual preseason poll published
in The Sporting News.
Souers Passes Spilsbury...
NAU Head Coach Jerome Souers became the all-time winningest coach
in school history with a 42-10 win over Sacramento State in 2008.
Souers recorded his 59th career victory, surpassing Max Spilsbury's
58 wins from 1956-64. He enters the week with 61 wins, fifth on the
Big Sky win list. In his 12th season at the helm of the program, he
has the longest tenure of any football coach in school history. He
is one of seven coaches in conference history to coach his team for
100 or more games. The others...Don Read, Montana; Chris Ault,
Nevada; Dave Arslanian, Weber State; Tim Walsh, Portland State;
Mike Kramer, EWU/MSU.
True Blue Fridays...
Northern Arizona University fans, alumni and boosters are
encouraged to wear NAU gear and/or colors every Friday. The best
way to support this initiative is to gear up on NAU by using your
10% LAA discount at the NAU Bookstore (present your LAA membership
card at check out), and to wear your NAU gear proudly on Fridays.
If you own a business, we encourage you to ask your staff to wear
NAU gear on Fridays as well. If your workplace dress is formal, you
can still be True Blue by wearing an NAU lapel pin, tie, or other
accessory, or just wearing a navy blue suit or dress.
2008 Team Highlights...
* NAU secured a winning season for the third consecutive season,
finishing with a 6-5 overall mark and 4-4 record in Big Sky play to
finish fifth overall. NAU won six consecutive games overall after
starting with a loss at Arizona State, accomplishing the feat for
the first time since 1996. The Lumberjacks also started 4-0 in Big
Sky play for the third time in school history (1996, 2003).
* NAU led the FCS and ranked second in Division I overall in
rushing defense allowing just 59.8 yards per game. NAU held four
opponents to negative yards rushing and a fifth to just 21 on the
game. For the season, NAU allowed 658 yards on 307 carries (2.1
yards per carry) with 99 plays for zero or negative yardage on the
season, including 72 for a loss on the season. It reset the NAU and
Big Sky Conference records for rushing defense and yards allowed in
a season.
* NAU gained 772 yards of total offense against the New Mexico
Highlands, shattering the school record set in 1989 against Nevada
of 674. It was the highest sigle-game total in the FCS and second
overall in all Division I.
* NAU earned a national ranking by the three Football Championship
Subdivsion polls for the first time in four seasons. The
Lumberjacks were ranked as high as No. 15 by The Sports Network and
the FCS Coaches Polls.
* NAU played 15th-ranked ASU in its season opener, representing
the highest-ranked FBS opponent played by NAU in school
history.
* The crowd of 62,707 fans at Arizona State was the largest crowd
a NAU team has played in front of in school history, breaking the
mark set in 2003 against ASU of 60,069.
* NAU played a ranked opponent at home as a ranked team for the
first time since the 2003 I-AA playoff game against Florida
Atlantic. Weber State represented the first regular season game at
home between two ranked teams since #15 Northern Arizona faced #10
Montana in 2003 on Nov. 1, 2003.
* Senior cornerback K.J. Gerard was named to the Buck Buchanan
Award Finalist List for the best defensive player at the FCS level,
finishing 14th overall. He earned All-America First-Team honors
from the Associated Press, College Sporting News, The Sports
Network and the Walter Camp Foundation in 2008.
* Senior kicker Robbie Dehaze was named a first-team All-American
by the AFCA at kicker and Walter Camp Foundation at punter. He
ranked second in the nation in punting (45.1) and tied for fourth
in field goals per game (1.45). He is the only player in the
country to rank among the top 10 in both categories. Dehaze broke
the career scoring mark against New Mexico Highlands. He surpassed
former kicker Micky Penaflor (1986-89). Dehaze was named the
Special Teams Player of the Week four times this season (9/1, 9/22,
10/6, 10/13).
* Eighteen student-athletes earned All-Big Sky honors and seven
were named to the Big Sky All-Academic team.
* RB Alex Henderson became the eighth running back in school
history to surpass 2,000 career yards in the game against New
Mexico Highlands.
* NAU Head Coach Jerome Souers became the all-time winningest
coach in school history in the game against Sacramento State.
* TE Shaun Fitzpatrick was lost for the season after suffering a
shoulder injury that required surgery. He had nine catches for 142
yards in three games. He is expected to apply for another season
and return in 2009.
* The J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome received a new football playing
surface, the removable REALGRASS™ Matrix system. It is the
first removable REALGRASS™ system to be installed in the
United States.
Tickets on Sale...
Single game tickets for the 2009 football season are on sale. They
can be purchased online at nau.ticketforce.com or by calling
928-523-5661. NAU's home opener is Sept. 19 against Southern
Utah.
Reserved Single Game --
Sections S, T, U - Lower -- $20
$25 Homecoming/Family Weekend
Reserved Single Game --
Sections S, T, U - Upper -- $18
$23 Homecoming/Family Weekend
Reserved Single Game --
Sections Q, R, V, W, F, G, H -- $18
$23 Homecoming/Family Weekend
General Admission Single Game -- $13 Adults
$18 Homecoming/Family Weekend
General Admission Single Game --
$9 Non-NAU Students, Faculty/Staff, Seniors & Children 12
& under
$14 Homecoming/Family Weekend
NAU Students---FREE
Big Sky TV...
The Big Sky Conference has signed a multiyear contract with B2
Networks to serve as the new distributor of Big Sky TV.
Big Sky TV, the league's comprehensive video streaming package, is
entering its fourth season of operation. Big Sky TV
(www.bigskytv.org) video streams all football, volleyball and men's
and women's basketball games played in Big Sky venues. For the
second straight season, the service will be free to viewers. Fans
can begin to create an account on Friday at 7:20 p.m. Mountain,
prior to the first event.
Big Sky TV brings more than 400 live events to viewers around the
world each season. In 2009, more than 20,000 fans registered to
view Big Sky TV events. Since its inception in the fall of 2006,
Big Sky TV has produced more than 1,200 games and press
conferences, including Football Championship Subdivision playoff
games, as well as Big Sky volleyball, soccer, track and field, and
basketball championships.
