HILLSBORO, Ore. (October 1, 2022) – Trying to battle back from a 22-point deficit, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks held the Portland State Vikings to just seven points in the second half.
However, a 20-point fourth quarter came just short of evening up the game as the Lumberjacks (1-4, 0-2 Big Sky) fell to the Vikings (1-3, 1-1 Big Sky) with the 35-27 final. Holding possession of the ball for the final 4:11 of the game, the Vikings ran out the clock before the Lumberjacks could get one last look at tying the game.
Northern Arizona's fourth-quarter rally began with a 2-play, 70-yard drive capped off by a 53-yard touchdown reception for
Stacy Chukwumezie. Scoring for the first time this season, and first time since last year's season opener, Chukwumezie added a second score with 4:12 left in the fourth.
Returning last week from a yearlong recovery from a knee injury, Chukwumezie finished with a team-high 104 receiving yards, five receptions and the two scores. Catching the first touchdown along the Lumberjacks' sideline, Chukwumezie outran the Portland State defense for the final 30 yards and into the end zone.
While the touchdown cut Portland State's lead to 28-13, the Vikings added on seven more four plays later to push the lead back to 35-13. Riding their pair of running backs,
Draycen Hall and
George Robinson, the Lumberjacks drove 63 yards in nine plays to add another six points on the board.
After a 19-yard kick return by
Jorim Powell set the Lumberjacks up at their own 37, a pair of 8-yard gains by Robinson put Northern Arizona past the 50. After an incomplete pass, Robinson broke off another 12-yard gain and
Isaiah Gerena added 14 on a pass from
RJ Martinez. Joined by Hall in the backfield, Martinez hit his running back for a short 2-yard pass before the former broke free for an 18-yard run.
Set up on the goal line, Martinez punched in a 1-yard score two plays later, his second rushing score of the day.
Ending Portland State's next drive after just five plays, Northern Arizona drove 80 yards in 12 plays for the final score of the day. Aided by a 33-yard reception for
Jamal Glaspie and a pair of catches by
Ethen Cluff for 27 total yards, the Lumberjacks scored from 10 yards out as Chukwumezie caught Martinez's fourth-and-3 pass in the left corner of the end zone.
Martinez finished 30-of-42 for 318 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Along with Chukwumezie's receiving totals, Glaspie added 59 yards on four receptions and five other Lumberjacks finished with at least 25 yards through the air. Hall added 54 yards on the ground to his 34 receiving yards while Robinson ran for 47 on 10 carries.
Northern Arizona fell behind 28-7 in the first half as the Vikings scored in their first three possessions of the game and added a fourth touchdown midway through the second quarter. The Lumberjacks answered the second score, cutting the lead to 14-7 as Martinez scored his first rushing touchdown of the game, finishing off a 7-play, 65-yard drive. Both sides went scoreless in the third quarter, as Northern Arizona held Portland State to just 41 yards in the quarter.
Returning home for Family Weekend, the Lumberjacks host the Cal Poly Mustangs at Findlay Toyota Field Saturday at 1 p.m.
