Photo by Jamie Hines

Football Game Notes vs. Fort Lewis (PDF)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona football team got back to work on Monday with a short workout in the Walkup Skydome. The Lumberjacks got back to Flagstaff at 3 a.m. Sunday after the long bus ride up the hill and took the day off. With the Labor Day holiday and no school on Monday, the Lumberjacks worked out for one hour in the Skydome to start the preparations for the home game against Fort Lewis this Saturday.

Junior Cary Grossart Efficient in 1st Start...Grossart had an efficient first collegiate start, completing 20-of-26 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown in his debut against Arizona last week.

"For his first start, there is a ton of room for improvement," said offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren. "But as far as distributing the football and making some decisions, I thought he did a really good job with his pocket presence and making the first guy miss."

He completed 16 straight passes at one point, two short of the school record set by Jeff Lewis of 18 in 1995 against Northridge. His 76.7 completion percentage is the best by a NAU quarterback in his first start in the last 35 years. He had a 139.8 passing efficiency rating, ranking fourth in the Big Sky and 37th in the NCAA after the first week of action.

"There is a lot to take from the game," said Khalil Paden, who scored the Lumberjack touchdown. "Cary did an amazing job. If you complete 16 passes in a row in your first start against a Pac-12 school and it is the first time you played a college football game, it means we have a lot to look forward to and he is going to be our leader."

Offensive Evaluation…The Lumberjacks had some success against the Wildcats on offense, especially in the second quarter that produced a field goal and a touchdown that capped a 91-yard drive.  At halftime, NAU was 16-for-17 passing and had 163 yards of total offense to the 230 for the Wildcats and trailed just 14-10.

"There were some good things and some things we can learn from," said Lindgren. "We are young at some positions and that showed Saturday. We just made too many mistakes as far as fundamental execution. It was disappointing to see because I think we left some yards and some points out there."

NAU had just 96 yards the rest of the game in the final two quarters, just five more than the second quarter drive that produced the touchdown from Grossart to Paden.

"When you get a 91-yard drive against a quality Pac-12 defense, it always going to give you confidence," said Lindgren. "To convert some third downs and move the ball against that defense was promising."

First Timers...The Lumberjacks had 10 players make their first collegiate start or first start in a NAU uniform against Arizona including seven on the defensive side of the ball. Quarterback Cary Grossart, lineman Kyle Walker and wide receiver Ify Umodu got their first starts on offense, while defensive linemen Alex Hutton and Tim Wilkinson, linebackers Craig Frum and Ryan Reardon and secondary players Taylor Patton, Randy Hale and Blake Bailey also started. Frum and Bailey are the youngest in the group as redshirt freshmen. Three freshmen tight ends made their collegiate debuts including true freshmen Dejzon Walker and R.J. Rickert, as well as true freshmen linebackers Tevin Ray and Austin Hasquet. Overall, 19 players saw action for the Lumberjacks for the first time.

Paden Hits Pay Dirt...Senior wide receiver Khalil Paden likes playing on the big stage against the FBS state schools. He scored a touchdown Saturday against Arizona at Arizona Stadium Saturday. He also had one score last season and it came against Arizona State.

"It is always a good feeling to score on a team of that level," said Paden, who transferred to NAU from San Jose State before the 2010 season. "To be able to experience that and put it in my memories of my college football career is a great feeling."

Playing Up...The Big Sky went 1-6 in its games against FBS teams over the weekend. Sacramento State was one of two FCS teams to beat an FBS team. Richmond of the CAA beat Duke of the ACC 23-21. The Big Sky and CAA had as many victories over FBS teams as the WAC and Sun Belt, both FBS conferences. The Sun Belt went 0-7 in non-conference games with its only Division I victory coming in a conference matchup. The WAC went 1-6 in non-conference Division I games.

Estrada Makes It…Former Lumberjack Matt Estrada was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad on Saturday, looking up his spot on the team for the first week of the NFL season. The Jaguars play Tennessee in the opening week.

Looking Back…Ten years ago this week the Lumberjacks were scheduled to travel to Oklahoma State for a non-conference slate against the Cowboys. The tragedy at the World Trade Center on Sept 11, 2001 changed the plans for NAU and most college football teams that weekend. The game was canceled and NAU ended up playing at another OSU – Oregon State University – later in the season before losing in the first round of the I-AA playoffs. It was the first game for NAU against a Pac-10 team since 1950. Ironically, NAU's opponent last week, Arizona, is playing at Oklahoma State on Thursday this week.

Northern Arizona to use StatBroadcast Live in 2011-2012…Northern Arizona University and StatBroadcast Systems reached agreement for StatBroadcast to provide its StatBroadcast Live and StatMonitr products for athletic events on the school's campus for the 2011-2012 school year. In addition to providing a web stats feed for media covering the school, StatBroadcast will provide a live broadcast of statistics to fans on the web and mobile devices for all home Lumberjack athletic events.

Football Program to Host Alumni Weekend Sept. 10...The Northern Arizona football program is planning a special weekend for all Football Alumni for the home opener for the 2011 season and Walkup Skydome grand opening.

Alumni can register for the event on the NAU Website. Questions? Call Director of Football Operations Matt Howdeshall at 928-523-6800.

Quoting…"The second quarter was disappointing, our inability to get off the field They controlled the ball almost the whole second half. They went on a long drive. Our coverage just wasn't what it needed to be. I thought that they had a very effective plan." -- Arizona Head Coach Mike Stoops.