FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 13, 2019) – Beginning a new tradition of taking it to the road for spring practice, the Northern Arizona football team held a spirited 100-plus play scrimmage on Saturday afternoon at Chandler High School on Saturday afternoon.
The scrimmage marked the ninth practice of the spring season for the Lumberjacks and the large crowd that came out to support NAU under sunny skies in the East Valley saw a number of big plays by both the offense and defense, as well as a nice performance overall by the Lumberjacks' specialists.
In addition the scrimmage, the 'Jacks spent time working on special team situations and the beginning of the practice session working on position specific fundamentals.
The Lumberjacks will return to the Skydome practice fields on Tuesday, April 16 beginning at 4 p.m. MST.
All spring practices and scrimmages are open to the public and free to attend.
Highlights
- The scrimmage opened with fireworks on the initial play as the offense executed a double-pass to perfection with Justis Stokes hauling in an initial screen pass before unloading a strike to Stacy Chukwumezie for an 80-yard touchdown.
- Linebacker Tristen Vance responded for the defense by returning the ensuing PAT for a two-point conversion.
- The defense held strong on the following possession after the offense drove inside the 10-yard line but came away empty following a fourth-down pass breakup by sophomore Cejai Parrish.
- Senior Chris Jules also had a key play for the defense on the same possession with a batted pass at the line of scrimmage on second and goal.
- Sophomore Aramis Aldredge had a strong drive to lead the offense to the red zone with a 25-yard catch and run on a swing pass and following that with a physical rush for 10 yards to get the 'Jacks inside the 10.
- Senior running back Joe Logan had a number of big plays both with his feet and hands during the scrimmage. During one stretch which featured the first-team offense and defense, Logan compiled 34 yards on a total of six carries.
- Freshman running back Jacob Mpungi ripped off a 35-yard run and capped the drive with an 11-yard scoring run on a fourth-and-two play for the offense.
- Senior Marcel Myers picked off a pass and raced 65-yards for a defensive score in addition to a number of other pass breakups and solid play on the edge against the run.
- Running back Cole Fisher posted a 25-yard scoring burst for the offense.
- Sophomore Seth Long and senior Brandon Worthy each registered sacks for the defense.
- Freshman linebacker Jason Pisano recorded an interception.
- Junior Stacy Chukwumezie hauled in a 49-yard reception before being stopped at the one-yard line, setting up a score by Gino Campiotti on a quarterback keep.
- Senior Marcel Myers made another big play for the defense when he tipped a pass that was then intercepted by teammate Anthony Sweeney.
- Freshman wide receiver Cody Coleman hauled in a 70-yard touchdown pass from Gino Campiotti.
- Junior place kicker Luis Aguilar was consistent on numerous field goal attempts at distances between 25 to 45 yards throughout the scrimmage.
Quotable
NAU Head Coach Chris Ball
"From standing back there, there are a lot of things that we have to work on but I was really pleased with the energy and the effort. I thought our communication was good on both sides of the ball. We have to eliminate some penalty and some big plays. We turned the ball over more than I thought, but good for the defense getting it back. I think anytime it is balanced you have to be pleased with it, but we have a lot of work to do."
"I thought this was a great turnout and a great event for us. We came down here and created some adversity. We got up early this morning, got dressed, drove down and had long scrimmage. I thought the players handled it very well."
"When I thought about it to create an adverse situation. We have a little trip and we have to prepare for a physical practice. As we starting talk about it, we thought it would be great for our alumni and former players to be able to come out and watch us."
Up Next
The Lumberjacks will return to the Skydome practice fields on Tuesday, April 16 beginning at 4 p.m. MST.
All of NAU's spring practice sessions are free and open to the public, including the NAU Football Spring Showcase, which is slated for Friday, April 26 at 6 p.m. MST.
