CLICK ON THE TEAM'S NAME FOR THIS WEEK'S GAME NOTES FOR NORTHERN ARIZONA AND SAM HOUSTON
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (August 31, 2021) – When the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks kickoff their season against the No. 1 Sam Houston Bearkats Thursday night, it'll be the first game in 650 days with fans filling up the Walkup Skydome.
Naturally, there's no better opponent to debut against than the defending FCS Champion Bearkats who enter the season coming off of a 10-0 spring season that concluded on May 16, a little more than 100 days ago.
Set for a 6 p.m. kickoff on ESPN+, NAU's first game on the Big Sky Conference's new home for all of its live sports, the Lumberjacks and their head coach
Chris Ball are well aware of all the emotions they will face.
"It's ok to be nervous and it's ok to be excited, but don't let that distract you from preparing," Ball said on Monday. "A lot of times you get into the first game and all the sudden you don't prepare like you should."
Sam Houston quarterback Eric Schmid enters the fall on the Walter Payton Award watch list, having finished the spring with 436 rushing yards and another 2,808 through the air. Responsible for 28 touchdowns, 20 passing and another eight on the ground, Schmid presents a threat Northern Arizona mostly neutralized during its five-game spring schedule.
Allowing just 22.6 rushing yards per game to quarterbacks, Northern Arizona's defense will rely on the 11 starters it brings back from last season. Led by safety
Morgan Vest, an All-Big Sky Unanimous First Team selection, and fellow conference honorees
Harrison Beemiller,
Tristen Vance and
Carson Taylor, the Lumberjacks have built depth at all three levels of their defense.
With COVID-19 necessitating teams to be creative in their lineups, Northern Arizona thrust multiple underclassmen into key positions just six months ago. The depth will come in handy against Sam Houston, with 5-10 receiver Jequez Ezzard leading a skill position group that averaged 37.5 points per game and knocked off North Dakota State, James Madison and South Dakota State in the FCS Playoffs.
Ezzard finished with a team-high 861 receiving yards in the spring, adding nine touchdowns through the air and one on the ground. Coupled with Schmid's running ability and running back Ramon Jefferson's 6.0 yards per carry on a team-high 126 attempts, Ezzard provides a formidable threat and also landed on the Walter Payton Award watch list.
Thursday's game against Sam Houston will be the first time Northern Arizona faces the No. 1-ranked team in the country since it upset the McNeese State Cowboys on the road in the 2003 FCS Playoffs. It will also be the first time since at least 2000 that the Lumberjacks host the nation's No. 1 program, as well as the first time Northern Arizona faces the defending FCS Champion since playing the Eastern Washington Eagles in 2011.
"It's the opening game, so you always want to start with a win obviously," Ball said." But this game is probably more of a measuring stick for us to see where we are at. Is it going to make or break our season? No, it will not. It would be a huge opportunity for our football program to gain some national recognition playing such a good football team."
The Lumberjacks also return all but one starter on offense, with
Keondre Wudtee back at quarterback,
George Robinson and
Draycen Hall forming a strong underclassmen duo in the backfield and
Hendrix Johnson,
Stacy Chukwumezie,
Brandon Porter,
Coleman Owen and
Matthew Kempton providing one of the strongest receiving groups in the Big Sky.
Just as they do on offense, the Bearkats enter the game with a pair of nationally recognized defenders. Both defensive back Zyon McCollum and defensive lineman Jahari Kay enter the season on the Buck Buchanan Award watch list, while linebackers Trevor Williams, Markel Perry and Quentin Brown all earned All-Southland Conference honors last season.
Garnering 39 of 50 first-place votes in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and 18 of 28 first-place votes in the FCS Coaches Poll, Sam Houston enters the season as the clear-cut No. 1 team in the nation.
"We worry about ourselves more than we do our opponent," Ball said. "After we play this game, the next one will be the biggest game. And the one after that will be bigger than that one. They are all big and you want to win them all.
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.
GAMEDAY INFO
Tickets for Thursday's season opener and all five of its home games this fall can be purchased online at
www.nauathletics.com/buy and questions can be directed to the Lumberjack Ticket Office at LumberjackTicketOffice@nau.edu or 928-523-0639.
The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a Jacks are Back rally towel, with doors opening at 4:30 p.m. Tickets for the season opener start at $16, with fans also able to purchase a Pick-Two Flex Mini Plan for as little as $36 and general admission season tickets available for as low as $75.
Northern Arizona will also be introducing mobile ticketing at both the Walkup Skydome and Rolle Activity Center this season. For step-by step instructions and resources, click
here.
Students will also need to claim their tickets this season with step-by-step instructions available
here.
Lots will open to tailgating at 2 p.m. while the Ponderosa will open at 3 p.m. ahead of the 6 p.m. kickoff.
The season opener will also include the annual Running of the Freshman as well as the Spring of the Sophomores this year. Students should line up at the horseshoe at Lot P67 beginning at 5:20 p.m. with the run set for 5:49 p.m.
