FARMINGTON, Utah (September 20, 2021) – For the first time this fall, a pair of Northern Arizona Lumberjacks earned ROOT SPORTS Player of the Week honors from the Big Sky Conference.
Linebacker
Harrison Beemiller and punter
DJ Arnson earned Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week respectively following their roles in Northern Arizona's 21-19 victory over the Arizona Wildcats Saturday night in Tucson.
Beemiller, who was also named the College Sports Madness National FCS Defensive Player of the Week and the College Sports Madness Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sunday, recorded 10 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry in the win.
With Northern Arizona holding Arizona to just 106 yards on the ground, Beemiller's tackles for loss accounted for 13 yards and landed as the second-most for a single game in Northern Arizona history. The senior linebacker's strip also came deep in Arizona's own territory, setting Northern Arizona up in the red zone at the Wildcats' 20-yard line, and his hurry came on a third down to end an Arizona drive.
It's the first player of the week honor during Beemiller's three-year career for the Lumberjacks.
Meanwhile, Arnson's honor is the second of his career and second in the span of five weeks after winning the award in the spring finale against Idaho.
Punting nine times against Arizona, Arnson averaged an impressive 51.6 yards per punt as he set a new single-game career high with 464 punt yards. The senior booted six of his punts for more than 50 yards, with a game-long of 62 yards coming on his final kick of the day. Pinning Arizona at its own 15 with 4:30 remaining, Arnson's kick helped the Lumberjacks force the Wildcats to eat up more time on their final drive.
Three of Arnson's punts pinned Arizona inside its own 20-yard line, as the All-American and 2020 FCS Punter of the Year constantly helped lengthen the field against the Wildcats. The victory was the Lumberjacks' third in its past nine games against an FBS opponent, second-most in the Big Sky since the 2012 season. With the other wins coming against UNLV and UTEP, Saturday night's win was also Northern Arizona's first against the Pac-12 and first against a Power 5 opponent.
Northern Arizona opens Big Sky Conference play on the road this Saturday at 12 p.m. PT/1 P.M. MT in Greeley, Colo. against the Northern Colorado Bears.
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