NAU Football Drops Season Opener, 42-16, to No. 1 Sam Houston

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 2, 2021) – The Northern Arizona football team hung tough with the defending FCS National Champions for two and a half quarters, but the Lumberjacks ultimately fell to No. 1 Sam Houston, 42-16, in their season opener Thursday night in the Walkup Skydome.
 
"We played a really good football team tonight," said Lumberjacks head coach Chris Ball. "We made way too many mistakes. You can't make those mistakes and beat a team that's No. 1 in the country and won the national championship. We turned the ball over too many times in the second half. We didn't stop the run and we didn't run the ball, so it was a bad combination of stuff."
 
Thursday's game marked the first time in 650 days that fans filled up the Skydome with an announced crowd of 8,564 in attendance.
 
Preseason All-American kicker Luis Aguilar put his first field goal of the season through the uprights from 30 yards out, capping NAU's longest drive of the night, to pull the Lumberjacks within 21-10 with 9:36 left in the third quarter. The Lumberjacks got another shot of momentum on freshman Colby Humphrey's first career interception on the ensuing possession, halting Sam Houston's drive just outside the NAU red zone.
 
Redshirt freshman Jeff Widener then drove NAU down the field, with a big 24-yard completion to sophomore Hendrix Johnson on 3rd-and-9, before the turning point in the game. Facing 3rd-and-6 on the Sam Houston 26-yard line, Widener's pass was intercepted by Trevor Williams, who took it 75 yards the other way for a game-defining pick-6.
 
Williams' touchdown made it a 28-10 game with 5:09 on the third quarter clock, and a second consecutive Bearkat interception gave the reigning champions a short field. The Bearkats capitalized by finding the end zone for the second time in less than three minutes turning what was an 11-point game into a 35-10 advantage.
 
Although the takeaways were even at two apiece, the Lumberjacks' two came at inopportune times in the eventual defeat.
 
Sam Houston finished the game with 562 total offensive yards, including 294 yards on the ground, while NAU gained 383 yards of offense.
 
"We had a couple of big fourth-down stops, but we gave up too many big plays in between," Ball said. "We were undisciplined and didn't stay in our gaps and that's something we talk about. To be a successful run defense, you have to stay in your gaps. We didn't do the things that we needed to do to win a football game, and if you do that against a great team, you're not going to win."
 
Widener came on in relief of starting quarterback Keondre Wudtee, who left the game early with an injury. Widener finished completing 20-of-34 for 275 yards and a 4-yard touchdown pass to redshirt junior Brandon Porter for NAU's first points of the season. Widener also led the 'Jacks with 33 rushing yards.
 
Despite picking up just two first downs on three first-quarter drives, the Lumberjacks trailed just 7-0 at the end of the initial period in large part due to their defense. NAU forced a fumble on the game's opening drive when redshirt sophomore Cejai Parrish popped the ball loose from Eric Schmid and redshirt sophomore Johnathan Phenix recovered it.
 
After Sam Houston got on the board first courtesy of a 41-yard connection between Schmid and Brennon Tibbs, NAU stopped Sam Houston on a crucial 4th-and-1 to turn the ball over on downs on its own 30-yard line.
 
The 'Jacks could not convert on the defensive momentum, and would surrender two more touchdowns before Widener found Porter in the right flat with 2:42 remaining before the half. The Widener to Porter touchdown stopped a string of 21 consecutive Sam Houston points to start the game and chopped NAU's deficit down to 21-7 at the half.
 
NAU got the second half's first possession and immediately turned it into Aguilar's 30-yard field goal on a 10-play, 62-yard drive covering 5:24. Widener completed three passes – two to Porter – on the drive and added 24 yards on the ground to set up the field goal, only for the Lumberjacks to turn the ball over on their next two possessions.
 
Trailing 35-10, NAU's final points of the game came on its last drive of the third quarter. Following big completions by Widener to Stacy Chukwumzie for 21 yards and Coleman Owen for 33 yards, redshirt freshman Cale Millen found Chukwumzie for an 18-yard catch and run touchdown. The ensuing two-point conversation missed and a fourth quarter Sam Houston touchdown wrapped up the game's scoring.
 
Chukwumzie was NAU's leading receiver with 113 yards on six receptions. Defensively, redshirt junior Morgan Vest had team-leading 10 tackles to go along with one pass breakup.
 
The Lumberjacks will begin a challenging stretch of three consecutive road games next Saturday at South Dakota. Kickoff from the DakotaDome will be 11 a.m. MST and the game will be available on ESPN+.