CEDAR CITY, Utah (September 13, 2025) – Ty Pennington's two-point conversion to
Jayson Raines put No. 18/19 Northern Arizona ahead 50-49 with 29 seconds left and the Lumberjacks came up with a key safety to propel them past Southern Utah, 52-49, Saturday night at Eccles Coliseum.
The win was the Lumberjacks' fourth consecutive in the Grand Canyon Trophy rivalry and upped their record to 2-1 this season. Southern Utah fell to 1-2 in the team's final non-conference game before the Thunderbirds rejoin the Big Sky Conference next season.
"I'm proud of the fight of our team and the way we battled until the end," said head coach
Brian Wright. "This team has a lot of character. It wasn't pretty, but it's a win on the road. I'm so proud of that offensive drive at the end and it was led by #6 (
Ty Pennington). That guy is special."
Ty Pennington finished the game with a career-high 366 touchdowns, completing 20-of-31 passes and three touchdowns, which was also a career-high. He also added a touchdown on the ground, while battling through being sacked on four occasions.
Pennington engineered the game-winning drive, after Southern Utah erased a 42-28 NAU lead going into the fourth quarter with three unanswered touchdowns. NAU converted two fourth downs before
Seth Cromwell punched in his second touchdown of the night – and fourth in two games – from five yards out. Cromwell's touchdown brought NAU within 49-48 and Pennington's conversion to Raines put NAU on top, 50-49.
"Ty is the toughest man I've ever seen," said
Kolbe Katsis, who finished the night with six receptions for 135 yards and two touchdowns, the latter of which were career-highs. "He wants to win, he wants to put on for NAU and show what NAU Football looks like. I can't say enough about Ty."
Even after NAU moved ahead, Southern Utah got one last shot with 29 seconds remaining. However, a holding penalty in the end zone resulted in a safety, and gave NAU the ball back with the 'Jacks leading 52-49 with 13 seconds on the clock.
NAU rolled up a season-high 508 yards of offense, while Southern Utah finished the evening with 447 yards. Three Lumberjacks (Katsis,
Isaiah Eastman and
Joey Stout) posted at least 60 receiving yards, while Cromwell gained a team-high 87 yards rushing on 12 carries.
The Lumberjacks' offense clicked from the opening kickoff, immediately driving 75 yards for an opening drive touchdown. Pennington completed 5-of-5 with two completions each to Stout and Katsis, with Katsis capping the drive with a 12-yard score.
Like NAU, Southern Utah wasted no time in punching it in on its first drive and set the tone for the offense-filled rivalry matchup. On the Thunderbirds' 10th play, Joshua Dye went around the right side for a 15-yard scoring run to tie the game at 7-7.
The Thunderbirds surged ahead with a 17-play, 77-yard touchdown drive that took the game well into the second quarter. Taking more than eight minutes off the game clock, Braedon Wissler put the home team on top, 14-7, with a 1-yard score.
But just as the Thunderbirds did, the 'Jacks responded. Consecutive completions of 15 yards and 37 yards from Pennington to Eastman spurred the game-tying drive as NAU knotted the game at 14-14 with 4:31 left in the first half on Cromwell's first of two touchdowns.
With the game squared up, special teams played a critical role in shifting the momentum squarely in NAU's favor, for the moment. With seconds before the intermission, Southern Utah's Jayden Rogers' 46-yard field goal was wide right ensuring the 14-14 halftime score, and on the opening kickoff of the second half,
Samuel Hunsaker successfully executed an onside kick with
Elijah Taylor on the recovery.
The onside kick sparked the Lumberjacks' offense, as NAU racked up 245 yards in the third quarter and scored on all four drives.
Following the onside kick, Pennington cashed it in with a 4-yard keeper – two plays after Cromwell raced for the Lumberjacks' longest rush of the season of 43 yards. After a Southern Utah three-and-out, Pennington connected with
Jeter Purdy from 22 yards on fourth down for Purdy's first career touchdown.
Pennington also hit a streaking Katsis for an 88-yard house call for Katsis' second touchdown of the game, while tying Katsis' longest reception of his career.
Quran Gossett also got in on the scoring action, recording his first touchdown as a Lumberjack with a 3-yard plunge.
While NAU was scoring four touchdowns, Southern Utah remained in striking distance with Dye's second rushing touchdown of the game and a 95-yard kick return touchdown by Ran Sawyer, to send the score into the fourth quarter in favor of the 'Jacks, 42-28.
The fourth quarter was dominated by the Thunderbirds, until it wasn't. Dye got into the end zone for the third time with a 59-yard rush and Southern Utah evened the scoreboard at 42-42 with nine minutes remaining on a 42-yard strike from Bronson Barron to Shane Carr. Dye later added his fourth rushing touchdown, becoming the first opponent to rush four scores against the Lumberjacks since Weber State's Josh Davis in 2019.
Dye's last score with 4:31 left, set the stage for NAU's final drive, as the Lumberjacks will bring back the Grand Canyon Trophy to Flagstaff ahead of their last non-conference game next weekend at Findlay Toyota Field at the Walkup Skydome.
Travis Arena led the Lumberjacks' defensive effort with 10 tackles – his second consecutive double-digit tackle effort – with two sacks. It was also Arena's pressure that forced the holding penalty that halted Southern Utah's last efforts.
NAU hosts Incarnate Word in the Walkup Skydome for Family Weekend next Saturday at 2 p.m.
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