Football Scores Late Comeback Win at Southern Utah
/ October 02, 2010
Box Score Game
Stats vs Southern Utah (PDF)
CEDAR CITY, Utah – After the
last two games in the series were decided in the final minutes, it
was no surprise when Southern Utah drove to within field goal range
to tie the game in the final two minutes. But the Northern Arizona
defense stopped the drive to preserve the 26-23 victory Saturday at
Eccles Coliseum.
"It seems like the type of game we
end up having with these guys," said Head Coach Jerome Souers.
"They threw some things at us that put us off balance. We got
behind early but our kids never quit and battled back into it. Our
special teams and our defense really stood out and made some things
happen."
NAU trailed for most of the game
and was down 23-19 with 6:46 left when quarterback Michael Herrick took
over on the final drive. Freshman Zach Bauman converted an
early third down in the possession with 7-yard run and Herrick went
5-for-5, including a 32-yard completion to Austin Shanks that put
the Lumberjacks in the red zone.
"We had Austin isolated in man
coverage and Michael threw a great ball," said Souers. "They had
great coverage on it and Austin did a great job of adjusting. It
was a play we had to have and it really set us up for the win."
Herrick then hit Bauman on a
15-yard scoring play for the winning play with 3:07 left.
SUU got the ball back on the
22-yard line and had no trouble moving early as Brad Sorenson
completed four straight passes to move down to the NAU 33-yard
line. After a short run and incomplete pass, the Thunderbirds
converted a third-and-eight but were called for holding, moving the
ball back to the 43. NAU forced two incompletions in a row to seal
the game.
"We played all four quarters," said
senior Matt
Estrada. "We emphasize that every week. It was a great job by
the defense and a good team win."
Bauman rushed for over 100 yards
for the third consecutive game, finishing with 109 yards with a
touchdown with three catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. Herrick
went 23-for-35 for 244 yards and a touchdown. Junior Austin Shanks
led the receivers with eight catches for 82 yards.
Estrada provided a big second half
spark with a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown to propel the
comeback effort in the second half.
"There was great blocking on the
play," said Estrada. "There was a huge hole. Anyone could have
scored on the one. I knew I had to spark our team some way."
Trailing 17-10 in the third
quarter, NAU forced a three-and-out on the initial SUU possession,
creating a punt which Estrada returned 66 yards down the left
sideline to pull within 17-16. Myers missed the extra point
attempt, the first PAT miss of his career.
NAU fell behind early when
Herrick's pass was intercepted by Colin Pretlow and returned 44
yards for a touchdown one minute and 26 seconds into the contest.
The Thunderbirds extended the lead to 10 after a 47-yard field goal
Ryan McNamara.
Bauman led the Lumberjacks first
scoring drive, carrying five times for 37 yards and adding a
13-yard reception. The big play on the drive was a 22-yard scamper
by Bauman on the initial third down.
Myers missed two field goals in the
second quarter (48, 47) as the Lumberjacks failed to get any
closer. SUU's Austin Minefee extended the Thunderbird lead to 10
points again, scoring on a 50-yard rush with 3:23 left in the half.
He accounted for 62 yards on the drive.
Myers got back on track with a
37-yard field goal with 35 seconds left to cut the halftime deficit
to 17-10.
The Lumberjacks return to Big Sky
Conference play next week, traveling to Eastern Washington. NAU
returns home for Family Weekend on Oct. 16 against Montana State,
ending a four-game road stretch.