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Northern Arizona to take on Idaho State in Big Sky football matchup

Northern Arizona football returns home this week for a Big Sky Conference battle against Idaho State (3-4, 1-2), at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Lumberjacks (3-4, 1-2) are coming off their second straight conference loss after falling to Montana on Saturday. As a result, NAU finds itself back outside the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, which ranks teams in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. They were No. 24 before the loss in Missoula.

Here is a recap and look-ahead for NAU football.

Last week

The Lumberjacks took on Montana on the road. The Grizzlies who previously were ranked No. 14 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. With the 31-20 win, Montana moved up to No. 11 in this week’s poll and NAU fell from their No. 24 slot in the Stats Perform poll.

PJ London got his first career start at quarterback for NAU with Ty Pennington missing time from an injury sustained at Idaho on Oct. 5. London completed eight of his 18 passing attempts for 131 yards and one touchdown. He also led the team in rushing with 67 yards.

Alex McLaughlin and Zach Lewis, who both graduated from Hamilton High in Chandler, produced for the Lumberjack defense. McLaughlin forced a sack-fumble, which was recovered by Brandon Wong and returned 45 yards for a touchdown. Lewis added 10 tackles for NAU, just one behind Tommy Ellis’s team-high 11.

NAU held a 13-3 lead at halftime, but was outscored 28-7 in the second half.

From the coach

“It was tough having the outcome on the scoreboard go the other direction. I’m proud of our guys. I’m proud of how they fight, how they battle and come to work every day through a tough stretch in the schedule and on the road. Our guys fought until the end, and Montana made more plays than we did,” head coach Brian Wright said after the game, according to an NAU news release.

Saturday’s game

NAU returns home for a Big Sky matchup…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/northern-arizona-idaho-state-big-220729313.html

Author : AZCentral | The Arizona Republic

Publish date : 2024-10-17 22:07:29

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

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