FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. –  Northern Arizona football opened home play with a bang, as they captured a 62-23 win over New Mexico Highlands at home in the Walkup Skydome. The victory gave the Lumberjacks their sixth straight regular season home win dating back to last season.

"I am very proud of our football team tonight," said head coach Jerome Souers. "We had a lot of guys involved in our game plan today and we had a lot of guys carry the football for us, which allowed us to work down our depth chart."

NAU eased its way into the game, as it held a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter after an Alex Holmes 23-yard touchdown catch, and a Ryan Hawkins 44-yard made field goal.

The Lumberjacks decided to rack up the points in the second quarter after a 24-point performance. Aiding to the Lumberjacks' score total in the second quarter was Hawkins who got it started with a 43-yard field goal early in the quarter. True freshman Bryant O'Georgia recorded his first career touchdown when he caught a six-yard pass from junior quarterback Kyren Poe.

"Tonight was great because we were able to incorporate a lot of different players into our offense," said Poe. "Our offensive line did a great job of giving me time in the pocket allowing us to make plays and our running backs stepped up big tonight."

Less than one minute later, junior transfer Darius Lewis blocked New Mexico Highlands punt and junior cornerback Marcus Alford hopped on it in the endzone for the score. With everyone in the Skydome riding the wave of energy, redshirt freshman Corbin Jountti ran 11 yards into the endzone to give NAU a 34-3 lead with under two minutes to go in the half.

The Cowboys used quick ball movement to get up the field and record a touchdown with 1:05 left in the half. Despite the late score by NMHU, NAU was able to take a 34-10 lead into the half.

True freshman Emmanuel Butler caught a two-yard pass from Poe to get the scoring started in the second half. Lewis' second blocked punt of the day came at the 9:09 mark in the second half. The momentum carried to the offensive side of the ball that led to a five-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Chase Cartwright to senior wide receiver Ify Umodu.

The Cowboys were able to put points on the board when Kirt Terry-Springs caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Lance Orender to cut NAU's lead to 48-17 4:24 in the third quarter.

Freshman rusher Marquice Paige put on a solid performance tonight and with 3:28 to go in the third quarter, Paige ran 21 yards for the score - his first career touchdown.

"It felt great to be finally playing at home," said Paige. "This was my first game in the Skydome and I just wanted to show what I can do on the field coming from Agua Fria (Ariz.). The offensive line did an amazing job tonight of creating space for all of the running backs so all the credit goes to them." 

NMHU was able to record a 40-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, but that would be all the Cowboys would produce on offense.

The Lumberjacks managed to score within the first-five minutes of each quarter, and the fourth wasn't any different. Butler caught a three-yard pass from Cartwright to give NAU its final points of the game.

NAU pulled away with the 62-23 victory for the most points scored at home since a 62-14 win over Portland State in 2010.

Eddie Horn, Blake Bailey, and Wes Sutton each registered six tackles apiece, while Josh Bamrick and Lorenzo Melvin both recorded a sack. Lewis was credited with both of NAU's blocked punts, in addition to his four tackles.

"Defensively there were times where we looked really good and then as we started playing our less experienced guys we had some trouble executing but those are things you have to go through when you are playing young and inexperienced players," said Souers. "Overall we were looking for a total team performance and offensively we were efficient and our special teams continues to improve so with that in mind, I think we are going in the right direction."

Poe finished 14-for-23 with 241 yards and three touchdowns. Cartwright completed five of seven passes for 42 yards and two touchdowns.

Paige recorded a career high of 136 yards, while Jountti also hit a career mark of 124 rushing yards.

NAU hits the road next week as it travels to South Dakota to face the Coyotes. Kickoff at the DakotaDome is slated for 12 p.m. PT. The two teams have met once before, with the Lumberjacks earning the 22-16 win last year at the Walkup Skydome.

Notes: First career touchdowns for Marquice Paige and Bryant O'Georgia…First touchdowns of the season for Ify Umodu and Marcus Alford…NAU was unable to record an interception tonight, snapping a seven-game streak with a pick…Darius Lewis recorded both of NAU's blocked punts…Five freshmen scored touchdowns tonight…The last time NAU had two players with 100 or more yard rushing yards in the same game was Nov. 2, 2010 versus North Dakota - Zach Bauman (162) and Casey Jahn (106).