Offense Shines Again as NAU Retains the Grand Canyon Trophy in 59-35 Victory

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 16, 2021) – Just about every offensive mark Northern Arizona reset two weeks ago against Idaho State fell on Saturday as the Lumberjacks produced another offensive explosion on their way to another victory in the Walkup Skydome.
 
Jumping out to a 24-0 lead against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (1-6, 0-4 Big Sky), Northern Arizona (3-3, 2-1 Big Sky) cruised to a 59-35 win to celebrate a successful Homecoming and maintain possession of the Grand Canyon Trophy for the foreseeable future.
 
"Coming off of a bye, I am really proud of our offense and what they did," said Lumberjacks head coach Chris Ball. "Each week we have gotten better and better, and down the stretch here we are really going to need to score some points to be successful."
 
Not only has Northern Arizona's offense improved week to week, Saturday's 721 yards of total offense is the highest for the program since running up a program record 774 in 2009 against Eastern Washington. The total ranks third all-time, also trailing the 772 recorded against New Mexico Highlands in 2008.
 
What neither of those games produced, and possibly no game in Lumberjack history, is a 200-yard rusher and a pair of 100-yard receivers. Kevin Daniels' 229 yards on the ground combined with Hendrix Johnson's 174 yards receiving and Coleman Owen's 163 marks the first time the Lumberjacks have produced two 150-yard receivers in the same game with a 100-yard rusher, let alone a back breaking the 200-yard mark.
 
Daniels total landed in a tie for the 14th-most rushing yards in a single game throughout Northern Arizona's program history. Johnson's receiving yards tied for the 19th most for a Lumberjack in a single game while Owen's landed just outside the top 25. However, no pair of receivers have combined for more yardage than the two did on Saturday.
 
Much of the performance is credited to freshman RJ Martinez, who produced another sensational game in the Walkup Skydome. Throwing for 417 yards and five touchdowns, the quarterback added another two scores on the ground while rushing for 65 yards on 10 carries.
 
The 417 yards through the air ranks 11th all-time for the Lumberjacks, and the freshman needed just 29 passes to do so and finished at an astounding 14.4 yards per attempt.
 
"It's really easy when you have a quarterback who can put it right where you need it every single time. He might not even see you, but he puts it there because he knows what you are running and the way you play," Johnson said. "We are blessed to have this group of guys and RJ is a great leader."
 
It started early for Northern Arizona, with Martinez capping off an 80-yard drive from 1-yard out after Owen broke free for a 75-yard reception on the opening drive. One drive later, aided by a strip sack from Carson Taylor and recovery by Eloi Kwete, Owen found the end zone from four yards out for the first of two touchdowns in the game.
 
A 21-yard field goal by Luis Aguilar wrapped up the first quarter scoring before another fumble, forced by Tristen Vance and recovered by Brady Shough, set up a 10-yard touchdown catch for Draycen Hall.
 
"We have been preaching all season about starting our first drive off and scoring, it's been something that we haven't been able to do," Owen said. "That first play of the first drive was a penalty and the word we have used for the past two weeks is respond. We just responded. After that play, after that drive and after scoring, it gave us all the momentum we needed."
 
Southern Utah got on the board with a 4-yard touchdown run by Justin Miller to finish off a 12-play, 75-yard drive, but Johnson found himself wide open on the left sideline two plays into Northern Arizona's next drive and Martinez made the connection for a 73-yard touchdown, again the first of two scores for the receiver.
 
Amazingly, Johnson's score wouldn't be the longest of the day for the Lumberjacks. Leading 45-35 early on in the fourth quarter after another touchdown run for Miller cut the lead to 10, Northern Arizona nearly set another program record.
 
Breaking free through the middle of the Thunderbirds' defense, Daniels sprinted to the end zone from 86 yards out to tie the second-longest rush in program history and the longest since 1978. 
 
"It was crazy," Daniels said after looking at the final stat line. "I didn't think I had that many, I thought I just maybe got to 200. I am just blessed to even have this opportunity to run that many times and be behind this o-line. It's a dream come true honestly."
 
Following a pair of home victories to celebrate both Family Weekend and Homecoming, the Lumberjacks now head to Sacramento State to face the Hornets. Sitting at 4-2 overall and 3-0 in the Big Sky, Sacramento State is coming off a 28-21 victory in Missoula against the No. 5/6-ranked Grizzlies.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento. Stay up-to-date on all NAU Football news this season by visiting NAUAthletics.com and following NAU Football on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates throughout the fall season.