Postgame Quotes

Postgame Notes

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Northern Arizona (7-5, 5-3 Big Sky) fell to Southern Utah (3-9, 3-5) in the regular season finale. The victory gave the Thunderbirds possession of the HintonBurdick Grand Canyon Trophy, after NAU won it last year. Today's loss snapped a nine-game regular season win streak at home for the Lumberjacks dating back to 2012.

"Today was a tough way to end the season because our kids fought hard," said head coach Jerome Souers. "We could not maintain any kind of rhythm and we made some plays on offense but our consistency wasn't there. Our defense kept us in the game early with some stellar individual play. Austin Hasquet in particular, playing on one leg, showed a lot of heart tonight."

It was a slow day on offense today for NAU, as it hindered the Lumberjacks chances of converting yards into points.

The first half saw limited scores yet plenty of scoring chances, as neither team was able to convert points in the second quarter. Southern Utah got things started with a 21-yard field goal at the 12:43 mark, but NAU replied with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Chase Cartwright to Casey Jahn. The Thunderbirds were able to gain the lead when Ammon Olsen found Mike Sharp for the 56-yard touchdown catch with less than a minute to go in the first half.

In the third quarter, NAU made an incredible stop on 4^th and goal that got the crowd on their feet. Unfortunately, NAU was unable to get out of the end zone before Southern Utah recorded a safety to add two more points to its total.

The Lumberjacks were able to record some good plays, however they were unable to sustain a drive and find the end zone like they had in past home games.

The Thunderbirds scored a one-yard run early in the fourth quarter and then added a 39-yard field goal to take a 22-7 edge.

NAU would not be held to just seven points as Cartwright found Elijah Marks for the 35-yard touchdown catch with 1:47 left to go in the game.

SUU used timeouts to control the rest of the clock, as it beat NAU and regained the HintonBurdick Grand Canyon Trophy.       

Cartwright finished 18-for-31 for 280 yards, two thrown touchdowns and one interception.

Senior linebacker Austin Hasquet tallied nine tackles in the game to finish with a new NAU career tackles record (since 2000) of 256. The previous record – 251 tackles - was set back in 2005 by Bruce Branch. Hasquet also registered a 19-yard interception. In addition to Hasquet, junior safety Eddie Horn recorded nine tackles – five solo.

Before the game NAU honored its 2014 Senior Class – Andy Bachelier, Blake Bailey, Chase Cartwright, Quentis Clark, Louis Collins, Craig Frum, Roy Garcia, Beau Gardner, Joe Gurski, Randy Hale Jr., Austin Hasquet, Harrison Johnson, Hayden Renning, Jake Rodriguez, Shawn Sharkey, Ify Umodu, Junior Vicente and Rob Watson.

"As a senior class, we want to tell all of our fans thank you," said Cartwright. "We appreciate all of the support from our fans. We've had some great moments throughout these years with a crowd of 12,000 against Montana last year, the playoff game when we thought no one would show up because it was over Thanksgiving break, and this year against Eastern Washington and Cal Poly. We have the best fans in the conference and we appreciate all of the love."