Football September 11, 2019

NAU Football Returns to Skydome Saturday to Battle Western New Mexico

Lumberjacks & Mustangs slated for 4 p.m. kickoff on Hall of Fame Weekend

GAME 3: RV/RV Northern Arizona (1-1) vs. Western New Mexico (0-1)

DATE	Saturday, September 14, 2019
TIME	4 p.m. MST
LOCATION	Walkup Skydome (10,000) \| Flagstaff, Ariz.
TICKETS	START at $15 - BUY HERE
TV	Your Phoenix CW, NAU-TV & Pluto TV (Channel 539)
RADIO	Flagstaff: 93.5 FM & AM 930 KAFF Country Legends
	Prescott: 97.9 FM The Eagle
	Phoenix: NBC Sports KDUS 1060 AM
	Tucson: ESPN Radio 104.9 FM/1490 AM
MOBILE AUDIO	TuneIn App
INTERNET	Listen Live \| Watch Live
LIVE STATS	Northern Arizona - Western New Mexico Stat Feed
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GIVEAWAY	First 5,000 fans receive a free NAU Bobblehead!

NAU FOOTBALL GAME NOTES - WEEK #3 - WESTERN NEW MEXICO (PDF)

NAU OPENING DRIVE

The Lumberjacks return to the Skydome on Saturday, Sept. 14 to face Western New Mexico in a 4 p.m. MST kickoff that will be televised on YourPhoenixCW, NAU-TV and Pluto TV (539).
NAU will be facing the Division II Mustangs for the 24th time in program history and have won each of the previous four games in the series and own a 16-6-1 advantage overall.
The 'Jacks have shutout the Mustangs in three of the previous four meetings and have won the last four match ups by a combined average of 51.0-3.5.
Saturday's game will mark the second and only home game of a stretch that will see the 'Jacks play three of four games on the road. The 'Jacks played at Arizona last Saturday night and will follow this week's showdown with Western New Mexico with road clashes at #13/12 Illinois State (Sept. 21) and Montana State (Sept. 28) in the Big Sky opener.
Lumberjack senior quarterback Case Cookus currently boasts 78 career touchdown passes - just 16 shy of the NAU career record of 94 held by Jason Murrietta (2003-06).
Cookus enters Saturday's game with 12 games with 300 or more passing yards following his 373-yard effort at Arizona last Saturday night.
Chris Ball posted the first win of his head coaching career and officially became the 30th coach in program history on Thursday, August 29 when the 'Jacks defeated Missouri State 37-23 at the Skydome.

NAU RETURNS TO THE SKYDOME TO HOST WESTERN NEW MEXICO

The Lumberjacks will be back in action at the Skydome on Saturday afternoon when they take on Western New Mexico in a 4 p.m. MST kickoff that will be televised live on Your Phoenix CW, NAU-TV and Pluto TV (Channel 539) with Mitch Strohman (play-by-play), Kevin Stephens (analyst) and Ryan Peretti (sideline) on the call.
NAU's showdown with the Mustangs can also be heard on the Lumberjack Radio Network beginning with the pregame show at 3 p.m. MST.
Saturday's meeting with Western New Mexico marks NAU's third of four non-conference game this season and its second straight against an opponent from another NCAA Division after facing FBS member Arizona last week. The Lumberjacks will close out the non-league slate a week from this Saturday when they travel to face No. 10/9 Illinois State in Normal.
Western New Mexico is a member of the Lone Star Conference and is the first NCAA Division II opponent for NAU since the 'Jacks defeated New Mexico Highlands by a 73-3 margin on Sept. 17, 2016.
NAU is a perfect 15-0 against Division II foes dating back to 1995. The Lumberjacks have won those games by an average of 47.2 points. The only one of those games that saw a margin below 23 points was a 32-24 victory against Chadron State (Neb.) in 2000.

2019 NAU ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME WEEKEND

NAU will honor the members of the 2019 NAU Athletics Hall of Fame Class on Friday, Sept. 13 at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony beginning at 4:30 p.m. MST at the High Country Conference Center in Flagstaff.
Included in the 2019 NAU Hall of Fame Class are former football standout Zach Bauman (2010-13), former NAU hockey coach and program founder Dr. Gerald Caple, volleyball's Maggie Barrera and the 2003 Cross Country Team.
The 2019 NAU Athletics Hall of Fame Class will also be recognized during the Hall of Fame Football Game on Saturday, Sept. 14 vs. Western New Mexico at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.

NAU - NEW MEXICO CONNECTION

The Lumberjacks have one player who hails from New Mexico.

Below is a list of 'Jacks from New Mexico
Justin Hathoot, LS, Albuquerque, Junior

THE SKYDOME IS OUR HOME

Since 2013, the 'Jacks have won 26 of 34 games in the Walkup Skydome and have a total of six games on their home turf this season.
Overall, the Lumberjacks boast a record of 159-79 in games played at the Skydome since it opened in 1977.
The Skydome hosted five games in its first season, with an average attendance of 13,029. NAU football was previously played outdoors on natural grass at Lumberjack Stadium. The dome hosted the Big Sky men's basketball tournament in 1987, 1997, 1998, and 2006.
For its first six years, the Walkup Skydome was the world's largest clear-span timber dome, until the completion of the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, in 1983.
The architect was Wendell Rossman of Phoenix, also responsible for many other buildings on the surrounding NAU campus. The wood used in construction of Walkup Skydome was southern yellow pine.
At its launching in 1977, it was the third indoor football stadium in the Big Sky Conference: Holt Arena at Idaho State in Pocatello opened in 1970 (as the "Minidome") and the Kibbie Dome at Idaho in Moscow was enclosed in 1975.
The Skydome is named after J. Lawrence Walkup (1914–2002), the president of NAU from 1957 to 1979, a period of tremendous growth for the university.

SENIOR JALEN COOK LEADING D

Senior defensive back Jalen Cook leads the Lumberjacks in tackles through the opening two games of 2019 with 14.
Cook posted six stops in the season-opening win over Missouri State and followed that with a team-high eight tackles at Arizona on Sept. 7.
Entering 2019, Cook had totaled 29 tackles over his previous 30 games.

DEFENSE STRONG IN SEASON OPENER

While the Lumberjack offense had many big plays in the season opening win over Missouri State, it was the NAU defense that set the early tone allowing the offense time to find its early season footing.
NAU held the Bears to just 40 rushing yards on 32 carries and enjoyed a stretch where it held Missouri State without a first down on five of six drives in the first half.
A total of four Lumberjacks posted seven stops in the victory, including junior Carson Taylor who registered a team-best 2.5 tackles for loss (-8 yards).

COOKUS CAREER TOUCHDOWN WATCH

Senior quarterback Case Cookus enters Saturday's game vs. Western New Mexico with 78 career touchdown passes - just 16 shy of the NAU career record of 94 currently held by Jason Murrietta.
Cookus has already thrown four scoring tosses this season and has posted multiple TD passes in each of the opening two games to increase his career total to 21 in that category.

COOKUS INTERCEPTION STREAK SNAPPED IN TUCSON

Senior quarterback Case Cookus tossed two interceptions in the Lumberjacks' loss at Arizona on Sept. 7 - marking the first time since Sept. 2, 2017 - when he threw a pair at Arizona – a span of 13 games.

NATE STINSON POUNDS IN FIRST RUSHING TD OF CAREER

Junior running back Nate Stinson scored the first rushing touchdown of his career on Sept. 7 at Arizona with a seven-yard plunge in the third quarter.
Stinson had played in 13 previous games and had registered 55 carries prior to his first rushing score.

FRESHMAN TERRELL HAYWARD SNAGS FIRST CATCH - FOR A TD

Freshman wide receiver Terrell Hayward snagged the first touchdown reception of his collegiate career at the 7:12 mark of the fourth quarter on Sept. 7 at Arizona on a six-yard pass from Case Cookus.
The touchdown grab came on Hayward's first career reception at the collegiate level.

CHUKWUMEZIE FINDING BIG PLAYS EARLY

Junior wide receiver Stacy Chukwumezie has enjoyed a hot start to 2019 with touchdown catches in each of the Lumberjacks' opening two games against Missouri State and Arizona.
Chukwumezie has totaled four catches for 135 and a pair of scores, including a 55-yard TD catch in the season opener vs. Missouri State.
Chukwumezie has already netted 3 catches over 20 yards this season with yardage totals of 55, 24, and 43 yards.

BRANDON PORTER DOES IT ALL IN OPENER VS. BEARS

Sophomore Brandon Porter was displaying his arsenal of weapons in the 'Jacks' season-opening win over Missouri State as he hauled in a career-high six catches for a career-best 140 yards and two touchdowns.
Porter wasn't done however as he also tossed a 55-yard touchdown pass on the back end of a double pass to Stacy Chukwumezie that helped spark the NAU scoring burst.
In addition, Porter's 62-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter vs. the Bears marked the longest reception of his career.

COOKUS ECLIPSES 8,000 PASSING YARDS

Senior quarterback Case Cookus became the fifth signal caller in NAU history to record 8,000 passing yards in a career with his completion to Hendrix Johnson in the first quarter of NAU's win over Missouri State on Aug. 29.
Cookus boasts 8,631 yards and is 1,008 shy of Jeff Lewis (9,639) for the fourth-highest total in program history.
Cookus also currently holds the top yards per attempt total (8.4) in program history entering this week's match up with Western New Mexico.

COOKUS HALFWAY TO NCAA FCS RECORD FOR TD PASSES

Junior quarterback Case Cookus boasts 78 career passing touchdowns, over halfway to the FCS record of 140 currently held by Grambling State's Bruce Eugene (2001-05).
His 78 passing TDs currently rank as the third-highest total in Lumberjack history and are 16 shy of tying the program's all-time leader Jason Murrietta's total of 94 (2003-06) and eight short of Travis Brown's second-best total of 86.

AGUILAR PERFECT THRU TWO GAMES

Junior kicker Luis Aguilar has been perfect on all of his kicks through the opening two games of 2019.
Aguilar has connected on all five of his field goal attempts and each of his nine extra point opportunities.
In addition, Aguilar entered the season with a career-long field goal of 42 and has already surpassed that on three occasions with connections from 48, 46 and 43 yards out.
He entered 2019 with four career field goal makes.

AGUILAR NAMED BIG SKY PLAYER OF WEEK (Sept. 2)

Junior kicker Luis Aguilar had a career performance in the Lumberjacks' 37-23 victory over Missouri State in the season opener on Aug. 29 and was honored as the season's first Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week (Sept. 2).
He is the first Lumberjack honored with a weekly honor by the conference this season.
Aguilar was a perfect 3-for-3 on his field goal attempts and nailed a total of seven kickoffs for touchbacks - both career-best efforts. He was connected on all three of his extra point attempts.
Aguilar drilled a 48, 46 and 21-yard field goal - the 48-yarder represents a career long - which was previously 42 yards.

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