The 2014 Northern Arizona football season was a whirlwind. It was the 100th season for Lumberjack football, and that brought out the best of the Lumberjacks on-and-off the field, former and current.
In his 17th season, head coach Jerome Souers had hopes of repeating what NAU did the year before, and that was make an appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoffs. In order for that to happen, NAU had to get past some very tough opponents on the road and at home.
After losing an incredible senior class, the NAU lineup was filled with new faces that were ready to make their mark on Lumberjack football. Leading NAU on defense was the return of starters linebacker Austin Hasquet and cornerback Marcus Alford. For the offense, fullback Nick Butier and center Roy Garcia were very familiar faces. All four athletes earned Big Sky honors the year before.
With injuries to senior tight end R.J. Rickert and senior wide receiver Dejzon Walker prior to fall camp, NAU would be forced to rely on its underclassmen to get in the end zone.
The Lumberjacks opened the season at San Diego State, where they would play the Aztecs for the first time since 1966. NAU fell to SDSU in its season opener 38-7.
Bouncing back from the loss at the Aztecs, NAU went to Abilene Christian and defeated the Wildcats 27-21 to earn its first win of the season.
In front of 9,505 fans, NAU routed New Mexico Highlands 62-23 in its home opener.
NAU struggled at South Dakota, but the following week it returned home to sting Cal Poly with a last second touchdown that left the Mustangs dazed.
The Lumberjacks' first league loss came on the road at Northern Colorado. NAU was able to recover after a bye week, and went to Portland State returning with a 21-17 victory. The Vikings were the first to score, but the Lumberjacks recorded a pair of touchdowns in a span of four minutes to take the lead, as they never looked back.
In a game that will be remembered for many years to come, NAU hosted No. 2 Eastern Washington at the Walkup Skydome for Homecoming. Down 27-22, backup quarterback Jordan Perry let the ball sail with 12 seconds left on the clock, and it landed in the hands of true freshman Dan Galindo for the game winning touchdown that garnered NAU's biggest win over a ranked opponent at home.
Hot off the heels over a win versus the Eagles, NAU staged another comeback win the next week. With winds blowing over 20 miles per hour plus a dose of rain in the second half, NAU was able to overcome a 22-0 deficit to start the game to capture the 29-22 win over Weber State.
Souers recorded his 100th career win on Nov. 8 in a 23-21 defeat over UC Davis, as NAU won its fourth straight game. Souers became the second coach in league history to amass 100 victories while coaching in the league, and the 15th active FCS coach to win 100 games at his current institution.
The Lumberjacks were in line to make their second straight FCS Playoff appearance entering the final two weeks. If NAU won out, it would have earned at least a share of the Big Sky title and the conference's automatic bid to the playoffs.
After a rough start at North Dakota, the Lumberjacks took the game down to the final seconds, but a late field goal by UND sunk NAU on the road. With two conference losses under their belt, the Lumberjacks headed back to Flagstaff for their regular season finale versus Southern Utah.
In a battle for the HintonBurdick Grand Canyon Trophy, the Lumberjacks and Thunderbirds faced off for what is always an exciting game for both sets of fans. Unfortunately, an injury plagued NAU team was unable to grab the win, ending a nine-game regular season home win streak.
NAU finished the 2014 season 7-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play to tie for fifth.
Fifteen Lumberjacks earned All-Big Sky honors, while Alford and Butier received Beyond Sports Network All-American honors; the first All-American accolade in their careers.
Junior kicker Ryan Hawkins was the only Lumberjack to earn ROOT SPORTS Big Sky weekly honors. Hawkins was named the ROOT SPORTS Special Teams Player of the Week for three consecutive weeks from Week 9-11. For his performance during Week 11, Hawkins was named The Sports Network National Special Teams Player of the Week; the first national honor of his career.
In the classroom, Hasquet and Patrick Baldenegro were named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-District 8 team. Hasquet went on to earn Capital One Academic All-America® Division I football team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The honor was the second straight for Hasquet. With the accolade, he became one of three NAU student-athletes to repeat the honor, and the first football player to do so. In addition to All-American Academic honors, Hasquet earned NAU's first ever National Football Foundation (NFF) National Scholar-Athlete recognition and was a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.
Some of the most famous names in NAU football history were honored during the season. First up was former All-American and Walter Payton Award winner Archie Amerson. The running back became the first Lumberjack football player to have his jersey retired. He also set various national records with 2,429 all-purpose yards, 25 rushing touchdowns, seven rushing/total touchdowns in a single game versus Weber State on Oct. 5, 1996, as well as scoring 42 points. Amerson finished his two-year career at NAU with 526 carries for 3,196 yards (6.1 per rush average) and 37 touchdowns.
Next in line to be honored was former offensive lineman Dan Finn, who was inducted into the 2014 NAU Athletics Hall of Fame class. He was a two-time All-American (Sports Network, 1996-97; AFCA, 1997; Walter Camp, 1997; Football Gazette, 1996), three-time All-Big Sky first-team selection, and team captain. Finn started 45 games at left tackle and was part of most prolific offense in the nation. He anchored the offensive line which produced a 2,000-yard rusher and 3,000-yard passer in the same season, the only time that been accomplished in NCAA history. Finn went on to play professional football with the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos in the NFL and Frankfurt Galaxy in NFL Europe.
With their eyes now set on the 2015 season, NAU will look to the leadership of Alford and Butier to guide the Lumberjacks in the new year.
