FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 17, 2022) – Following a scoreless third quarter, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks and the No. 22 North Dakota Fighting Hawks traded the lead three times in the final six minutes culminating in a dramatic finish.
Bringing in a 12-yard touchdown pass from
RJ Martinez with just 1:42 remaining in the game,
Coleman Owen put the Lumberjacks (1-2, 0-0 Big Sky) up by four with his second touchdown of the afternoon. However, the Fighting Hawks (2-1, 0-0 MVFC) responded with a go-ahead score 49 seconds later for the 27-24.
"This one hurts, especially the way it ended up at the end. We had a great effort by Coleman all day long," said Lumberjacks head coach
Chris Ball "That was a great catch to give us the lead. We've got to give it to them, they are a well-coached football team."
Owen finished the game with nine receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns, having also come down with another 12-yard touchdown catch just 28 seconds before halftime. The sophomore receiver recorded seven first downs in the game, including gains of 30 and 52 yards.
Northern Arizona's offense outgained North Dakota 448 to 318, while converting 9-of-16 on third down to the Fighting Hawks' 3-of-11.
Rolling right down the field on their first two drives of their home opener at the newly named Findlay Toyota Field, the Lumberjacks went 51 yards in 11 plays before attempting a field goal and then 63 yards in seven plays for the game's first score.
Opening the drive with a 30-yard catch by Owen, Northern Arizona immediately moved into North Dakota territory. While a holding penalty left the Lumberjacks with a first-and-17, a pair of runs by
Kevin Daniels around a 10-yard scramble for
RJ Martinez pushed the offense into the red zone.
Daniels then split through the middle of the Fighting Hawks' defense for a 14-yard score, his first touchdown of the season. Daniels finished with 54 yards on eight carries to lead the Lumberjacks on the ground, followed by 29 yards for Martinez and 24 for
George Robinson.
Despite gaining just 148 yards in the first half, North Dakota led 13-7 just before halftime thanks to an interception returned for a touchdown and a pair of field goals by Brady Stevens from 38 and 22 yards.
Stevens' third attempt of the first half helped set up Northern Arizona's scoring drive just before the half to regain the lead, as
Sheldon Newton blocked the kick through the middle of the defense, ending a 5:50 drive with no points for North Dakota.
Taking over at their own 31, the Lumberjacks converted a pair of third downs while in their hurry-up offense.
Elijah Taylor produced a 15-yard catch on the sideline and
Jamal Glaspie converted on third-and-10 with a 29-yard gain off a pass from Martinez. Four plays after Glaspie's big gain, the largest of the day by a player other than Owen, Martinez found the sophomore in the end zone and put the Lumberjacks ahead 14-13.
Northern Arizona and North Dakota combined for just 109 yards in the third quarter, including only one first down for the Fighting Hawks, before
Collin Robbins extended the Lumberjacks' advantage to 17-13 with a 42-yard field goal with 13:40 left in the game.
After trading punts, the Fighting Hawks capitalized on a short field, starting from Northern Arizona's 45, and drove 45 yards in seven plays for an 8-yard touchdown reception for Bo Belquist from Tommy Schuster.
An impressive 11-play, 78-yard drive for Northern Arizona followed, with Robinson snagging a deflected pass for a 5-yard gain to keep the drive alive on third-and-3. Robinson was one of five different players to catch a pass on the drive, including a 17-yard grab for
Hendrix Johnson and a 12-yard catch for Owen before Northern Arizona went ahead 24-20 on the latter's acrobatic grab near the back corner of the end zone.
However, North Dakota answered against Northern Arizona's strong defense with a 5-play, 75-yard drive that concluded with a trick play to score the game-winning touchdown. After pitching the ball off and then getting it back, Schuster found Jack Wright open for a 23-yard touchdown and a 27-24 lead.
The Lumberjacks' final drive, left with just 53 seconds on the clock, moved out to the Fighting Hawks' 39-yard line, but ended there before getting a shot at the end zone.
"Made too many mistakes to beat a team like that," Ball said. "They are very talented; they are a good football team, and we just didn't play very well. Some guys played really, really good and then there are some guys that didn't."
Northern Arizona remains at home next weekend to face the Idaho Vandals at Findlay Toyota Field as Big Sky conference play begins. Idaho (1-2, 0-0 Big Sky) enters the week coming off a 42-14 victory over Drake in Moscow, Idaho. The Vandals dropped a pair of games to FBS opponents Washington State and Indiana before defeating the Bulldogs in their home opener thanks to 35 unanswered points after trailing 14-7 early in the second quarter.
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