FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Oct. 29, 2024) – Fresh off the bye week, the Northern Arizona football team is preparing for its final four regular season games of the season. It begins with the third-annual Red Rock Rivalry game on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Findlay Toyota Field inside the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff against Weber State.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Mountain Standard time for Military Appreciation Day on ESPN+ and the Northern Arizona Healthcare NAU Lumberjack Radio Network with Mitch Strohman, Kevin Stephens and Lindsey Ridgway on the call. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased
HERE.
The Lumberjacks sit at 4-4 on the year and 2-2 in Big Sky Conference play. They welcome the Wildcats, who are also coming off a bye, who are 3-5 this season and 2-2 in conference action.
Northern Arizona is a perfect 3-0 at home this year for the first time since 2019 and have won five-straight dating back to 2023. NAU is looking to reach five wins for the second-straight season and the third time in the last four years.
Saturday marks the third installment of the Red Rock Rivalry Trophy, which was introduced during the 2022 season. After Southern Utah departed the league for the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), it left NAU and Weber State as annual rivals under the Big Sky's scheduling format. Playing two of the other 11 Big Sky schools annually, NAU also faces Northern Colorado each season while the Wildcats face Idaho State annually.
Weber State and Northern Arizona have each won the trophy on the road. WSU won 33-31 in 2022, but NAU brought the trophy back to Flagstaff in 2023 after defeating the No. 13/14 ranked Wildcats 27-10 in 2023 in Ogden.
While the trophy is relatively new, the history is not. Saturday marks the 57
th meeting between the two squads, as the Wildcats are NAU's most common opponent dating back to 1964. Weber State technically leads the all-time series 29-27 due to a forfeit by Northern Arizona of their 1999 36-19 victory in Ogden. Northern Arizona holds an 18-9 record in the series when playing in Flagstaff while Weber State leads 19-10 (20-9 adjusted for the forfeit) with the series in Ogden.
WSU has won three out of the last four meetings with the Lumberjacks, but NAU won four-straight from 2014 to 2018.
Prior to the bye week, Northern Arizona edged visiting Idaho State 30-26 on Homecoming. The Lumberjacks opened a 10-point lead over the Bengals and led 10-6 at the half. Northern Arizona was outscored 17-6 in the third quarter and entered the fourth down 23-16.
Seth Cromwell, who found the endzone twice for the second time in his career, scored twice in the fourth – once to tie the game and the eventual game-winner.
It would be
DJ VanHook who helped the Lumberjacks secure the victory, picking off ISU's quarterback in the endzone with seconds remaining in the game. True freshman
Samuel Hunsaker made his collegiate debut, coming on to connect on a 44 and a 28-yard field goal attempt, was 2-for-2 on extra point attempts, and kicked off five times for 309 yards and three touchdowns – good for 61.8 yards per kick.
Ty Pennington has handled most of the signal calling duties for NAU so far this season, completing 101 of 159 pass attempts without an interception while throwing for seven touchdowns and 1,222 yards. On the ground, he's Northern Arizona's second-leading rusher with 253 net yards and three touchdowns.
Fifteen 'Jacks have caught a pass this year, but Pennington's top targets have been
Bryzai White,
Kolbe Katsis,
Ta'ir Brooks and
Tay Lanier. White leads NAU with 342 receiving yards on 21 catches with three touchdowns. Katsis, who transferred in from Pittsburg State with Pennington, has caught 22 passes for 232 yards. Brooks and Lanier have combined for five touchdowns, and each have over 220 receiving yards.
Darvon Hubbard and Cromwell have each scored four touchdowns this year, with Hubbard rushing for 361 yards and Cromwell adding 232.
NAU's special teams game has also been strong, as
Isaiah Eastman is averaging 15.1 yards per punt return to rank second in the FCS. As a team, the Lumberjacks are second nationally in net punting and second in kick returns defense.
Three Lumberjacks have already totaled over 50 tackles this year, led by
Alex McLaughlin who has 57 tackles, 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles that have been returned for touchdowns.
Ammon Allen adds 55 tackles while
Tommy Ellis rounds things out with 53. VanHook leads the team with six pass breakups and two interceptions.
Much like the Lumberjacks, Weber State has been in and out of the national rankings this season. The Wildcats are coming to Flagstaff on a two-game losing streak. After beating Montana in Missoula in overtime, 55-48, WSU lost its next two games to Northern Colorado (21-17) and at Sacramento State in double overtime (51-48). Four of WSU's five losses have been decided by four points or less.
Weber State averages 30.9 points per game and will face an NAU defense that ranks second in the conference in points allowed at 22.4 per game. The Lumberjack defense also leads the league in opponent third down conversions at 27.3 percent.
The Wildcats boast the league's second-leading rusher in Damon Bankston who has racked up 926 yards and six touchdowns. Richie Munoz has played six games at quarterback and 13 passing touchdowns and one interception this year. His favorite target is Jacob Sharp who ranks fourth in the league with 645 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Kemari Munier-Bailey leads the team with 12 tackles for loss and six sacks.
Northern Arizona heads back out onto the road to play its final regular season away games consecutively. First, NAU travels to Cal Poly on Nov. 9 for a 5 p.m. Mountain Standard time matchup in San Luis Obispo, Calif. After taking on Northern Colorado in Greeley on Nov. 16, Northern Arizona returns home to host Eastern Washington for Senior Day and Native American Heritage Day on Nov. 23 in Flagstaff.
