FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 28, 2017) – Northern Arizona's
Wes Sutton and
Kam'ron Johnson each returned an interception for a touchdown to lead the Lumberjacks to their sixth consecutive victory with a 37-17 victory over Sacramento State on Saturday night at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.
The win over the Hornets extended the Lumberjacks current winning streak to six games – their longest since the 2013 season – and moved their overall record to 6-2, including an unblemished 5-0 in conference action. Sacramento State slips to 4-4 on the season and 3-2 in the Big Sky following the defeat.
Johnson's pick-six marked his team-best fourth interception overall. He snagged a pass by Sacramento State's Roman Ale and cruised 46 yards for the score with 7:03 remaining to put away a game that was separated by just six points entering the final quarter.
"I'm really proud of our team, we've been on a roll," NAU head coach
Jerome Souers said.
"Sometimes you come out to play and everything doesn't roll out for you like you thought it was going to," Souers said. "This was a challenging Sacramento State team that is much improved. We knew it was going to be a battle. The thing we were most concerned about today was the self-inflicted mistakes that we had. We had an inordinate amount in the first half. We have not had ball security issues that we had today. We haven't had penalties like we committed today on both side of the ball. What I loved was the passion we showed for the game. I love it when we play hard, our guys battled and they didn't stop. The defense was inspirational, making big plays."
Despite playing without his leading receiver
Elijah Marks, NAU sophomore quarterback
Case Cookus directed the 'Jacks offense to over 400 yards for the sixth straight game with a total of 533 while completing 35-of-57 pass attempts for a total of 407 yards and a touchdown.
His top target in the win was freshman
Chancellor Brewington who hauled in eight passes for a season-best 119 yards while also scoring his first collegiate touchdown.
Sophomore
Joe Logan led the 'Jacks on the ground with 67 yards rushing and notched his fourth touchdown on the ground this season. Junior
Cory Young added 62 yards on 15 carries.
Sophomore kicker
Griffin Roehler also had a solid performance as he connected on all three of his field goal attempts, including matching a career-long from 41 yards out while also placing six of his eight kickoffs in the end zone for touchbacks.
The NAU defense set the tone early as it limited Sacramento State to just five first downs and seven passing yards in the opening 30 minutes (108 total yards). Freshman
Damahny Whittle paced the defensive unit with a team-high eight tackles, including three tackles for loss.
The Lumberjacks got on the board on their first drive of the game as Roehler connected on a 31-yard field goal just 3:39 into the opening quarter to cap an 11-play, 61-yard drive that was sparked by a 23-yard completion by Cookus to
Hunter Burton.
Following a stop by the NAU defense, Cookus connected with Brewington for an 18-yard touchdown strike to increase the Northern Arizona lead to 10-0 with 6:47 left in the first quarter. The score marked the first touchdown reception of Brewington's collegiate career.
The NAU defense, which limited the Hornets offense to just nine yards on 13 plays over the opening 17 minutes of action, got into the scoring column as Sutton logged his second interception of the season at the 12:45 mark of the second quarter and dashed up the sideline 63 yards for a touchdown to up the margin to 17-0.
Sacramento State responded two plays later as running back Joseph Ajeigbe broke free for a career-long 71-yard touchdown run – to bring the Hornets to within 17-7 with 12:06 left in the opening half.
Hornets' kicker Devon Medeiros connected on a 27-yard field goal to trim the margin to 17-10 with 3:28 left in the second quarter. The drive was set up by Sacramento State linebacker Marcus Bruce, who sacked Cookus on the preceding drive and forced a fumble that he picked up and returned 35 yards to the Lumberjacks' 15-yard line.
Roehler extended the Lumberjacks' lead back to 10 points at 20-10 as matching a career-best by connecting on a 41-yard field goal attempt with 6:24 remaining in the third quarter to cap an 11-play, 61-yard drive.
Sacramento State cut the margin to 20-17 with a 48-yard scoring toss from Roman Ale to Elijah Dotson. Dotson caught the ball in the flat and rumbled the remaining 25 yards after NAU defenders
Clarence Smith and
Nate Perkins collided when trying to make a play on the ball.
Roehler answered again for the 'Jacks on the following drive as he connected on his third field goal of the game, this time from 25 yards out, to give NAU a six-point lead at 23-17 with 1:12 remaining in the third.
Logan gave the Lumberjacks some breathing room as he upped the advantage back to double digits at 30-17 as he broke free for a 13-yard touchdown run, his fourth of the season, with 11:39 left in regulation.
The Lumberjacks return to action next weekend as they hit the road to take on the University of Montana in a 2:30 p.m. MST kickoff from Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula.
The Big Sky clash between Northern Arizona and Montana will be televised live on ROOT Sports and will also be available via the Lumberjack Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 1:30 p.m. MST.
Postgame Notes – vs. Sacramento State
- Northern Arizona's 533 yards of total offense marked the sixth straight contest and seventh time in eight games this season it has registered over 400 yards.
- The Lumberjacks' current six-game winning streak marks their longest since the 2013 season – which was also the last time NAU qualified for the NCAA FCS Playoffs.
- Saturday's win marked NAU's sixth consecutive win during its Homecoming Game and improves its overall record in such games to 56-34-2.
- Northern Arizona leads the all-time series with Sacramento State 13-7 and has defeated the Hornets in each of the last four meetings overall.
- Sophomore quarterback Case Cookus has totaled 2,104 yards along with 17 touchdowns against just one interception over the Lumberjacks' current six-game winning streak.
- NAU is 3-0 this season when it enters the game ranked in the NCAA FCS Coaches Top 25.
- Sacramento State linebacker Manoah Pearson was ejected in the first quarter for targeting.
- Pearson's ejection marked the fourth straight game a player on the opposing team has been ejected for targeting an NAU player.
- NAU freshman wide receiver Chancellor Brewington's 18-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter marked the first of his collegiate career.
- NAU's defense limited Sacramento State to six yards on nine total plays in the opening quarter. The Hornets also were held without a first down in the opening 15 minutes of action.
- Junior Wes Sutton's second quarter interception, which he returned 63 yards for a touchdown, marked the Lumberjacks' third "pick-six" this season. It also represented NAU's 13th overall interception over eight games this season.
- Junior Kam'ron Johnson's fourth quarter interception, which he returned 46 yards for a touchdown, marked the Lumberjacks' fourth "pick-six" this season. It also represented NAU's 14th overall interception over eight games this season.
- Kam'ron Johnson leads NAU with a total of four interceptions this season.
- Sacramento State's Joseph Ajeigbe's 71-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter marked the longest run of his career.
- NAU quarterback Case Cookus pinned the Hornets on their own two-yard line with a 38-yard "pooch" punt at the 7:44 mark of the second quarter.
- Sacramento State was held without a passing yard by the NAU defense until there were less than four minutes remaining in the opening half.
- Northern Arizona totaled 21 first downs in the first half while limiting Sacramento State to five.
- The Lumberjacks entered Saturday's game with a total of six fumbles (four lost) on the season and suffered three fumbles (two lost) vs. Sacramento State.
- NAU's Griffin Roehler connected on a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter – which matches a career long.
- NAU's Jalen Cook was ejected from the game in the fourth quarter for targeting.
- Roehler connected on a season-best three field goal attempts without a miss in Saturday's win over Sacramento State.
- Freshman receiver Chancellor Brewington posted his first 100-yard receiving effort as he hauled in eight passes for a total of 119 yards vs. Sacramento State.
- Northern Arizona improves to a perfect 6-0 when it leads at half this season.
