FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 13, 2021) – Keeping Montana off the scoreboard throughout the first quarter, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks' defense successfully battled the No. 9 Grizzlies as it worked to shoulder the load for a short-handed offense.
Trailing by just 10 following a 43-yard field goal from
Luis Aguilar with 12:34 remaining in the third quarter, Northern Arizona's bid to knock off Montana (8-2, 5-2 Big Sky) hit a roadblock with a pair of defensive touchdowns in the game's final 20 minutes as the Grizzlies went on to a 30-3 victory.
Northern Arizona's defense held nationally-ranked Montana's offense to just 16 points as the Grizzlies settled for field goals of 27 and 49 yards in the second quarter before kicking a 24-yarder in the fourth.
"I know what they are capable of doing, I believe in that group," said Lumberjacks head coach
Chris Ball. We've got great leadership and they play hard. It doesn't really shock me, when we are firing on all cylinders, we can play. I thought we did a great job defensively."
Northern Arizona and Montana combined for just six first downs and 95 yards of total offense in the first quarter, with an
Eloi Kwete sack disrupting the Grizzlies' opening drive and the Lumberjacks' run defense stalling the visitors' rushing attack to 0.7 yards per carry on six attempts.
A pair of deep passes by Montana, with Cam Humphrey hitting Mitch Roberts for 26 and Cole Grossman for 44 yards, set the Grizzlies up for an 8-yard touchdown run by Isiah Childs. A three-and-out by the Lumberjacks sent their defense right back out onto the field, but a 16-play, 70-yard drive by Montana stalled in the red zone.
Facing first-and-10 from the 22, Northern Arizona defense kept Montana out of the end zone as
Morgan Vest broke up a pass in the end zone. A pair of runs set the Grizzlies up at the 10, but
Devontae Ingram broke up another pass in the end zone before Ingram and
Dyvine Wallace's defense helped force an incompletion on third down.
Tristen Vance led the Lumberjacks with 12 tackles as he and many others celebrated Senior Day Saturday in the Walkup Skydome. Recording 1.5 tackles for loss, Vance trailed only Vest's 2.0 tackles for loss while finishing the day with 11 total tackles.
Vance, along with
DJ Arnson and Aguilar, moved into first in Northern Arizona's program history with 48 career games played.
"I would probably say the best thing is just the people I went to war with. It sounds cliche, but it is different," Vance said of what he has appreciated most during his time with the Lumberjacks. "You see 11 games of battle, but it is a lot more than that. It is 365 days where guys are together. Guys are battling, fighting together, and crying together. That's what it is all about."
Trailing 13-0 at halftime, Northern Arizona put three points on the board right out of the break thanks to its first takeaway of the day.
Forced to punt from his own 32, Arnson dropped the ball in at the Montana 25 where Aaron Fontes muffed the ball before regaining control but fumbled again thanks to a strip by
Tyson Grubbs. After
Jorim Powell fell on the ball before it could roll out of bounds, Aguilar connected on his field goal.
Four plays into Montana's next drive, Northern Arizona came up with another takeaway. Ingram stepped right in front of Humphrey's pass to Samuel Akem and returned the ball back all the way to the Montana 24.
However, an interception for the Lumberjacks three plays later ended the scoring opportunity with Northern Arizona failing to drive as deep into Montana territory again for the rest of the game.
A strip sack by Montana was returned for 14 yards to push the Grizzlies ahead 20-3 late in the third quarter, but Northern Arizona defense once again held in the red zone early in the fourth. With Montana set up with a first-and-10 from the NAU 11, three consecutive run plays netted just four yards as Vest stopped Xavier Harris for a 3-yard loss on third-and-3.
Kevin Macias' 24-yard field goal pushed the Grizzlies' lead to 23-3 with 9:00 remaining on the clock, and the Lumberjacks held deep in their own zone one last time after an interception for Montana.
Stopping Montana on a fourth-and-goal from the NAU 7, the Lumberjacks took over deep in their own territory with under two minutes remaining. However, one final interception by the Grizzlies two plays later led to the final score of the game.
Northern Arizona (4-6, 3-4 Big Sky) wraps up the 2021 season next Saturday at the Cal Poly Mustangs with a 6:05 p.m. MST kickoff. Cal Poly entered Saturday with a 1-8 record overall and faced Idaho State at home looking for its first Big Sky victory of the season.
Gallery: (11-13-2021) NAU Football vs. Montana - 11/13/21
