Coconino News

Answering Idaho's game-opening touchdown drive with one of their own, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks played toe-to-toe with the Vandals through the first quarter of the game.

However, three consecutive scoring drives in the first half for the Vandals (2-2, 1-0 Big Sky) with their first punt not coming until the middle of the third quarter pushed the visitors past the Lumberjacks (1-3, 0-1 Big Sky) Saturday afternoon at Findlay Toyota Field.

Trailing by seven at the break, Northern Arizona went scoreless in the second half as Idaho closed out the Big Sky opener with a 27-10 victory.

"We've got to get it figured out. They are not going to stop the season and wait for us to get it together," said Lumberjacks head coach Chris Ball. "We have got to come back on Monday and get it fixed. We had a great opportunity today to win our first Big Sky game and it didn't happen."

With Idaho up 7-0 following a 13-play, 75-yard drive to begin the game, RJ Martinez and Northern Arizona's offense answered with a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive of their own.

A third-down conversion to Hendrix Johnson put the Lumberjacks near midfield and Draycen Hall crossed the 50 with a 16-yard run on a third-and-4. Coleman Owen made it 3-for-3 on third downs, catching a pass from Martinez for a 16-yard gain to set the Lumberjacks up at the Idaho 12.

Facing a fourth-and-3 at the Idaho 5, Northern Arizona elected to seek a tie rather than settle for the field goal attempt. Taking the snap and immediately turning to his right, Martinez found Alishawuan Taylor open a yard deep into the end zone. The catch, the second of Taylor's young career and first score as a Lumberjack, evened the game at 7-7 with 2:52 left in the first quarter.

The pair of extended drives ate up much of the first quarter, with both teams in possession of the ball essentially just three times apiece in the first half.

The Vandals added a field goal on their second possession, an 11-play, 68-yard drive, and found the end zone again on their third drive. Taking a 17-7 lead, the Vandals quarterback Gevani McCoy found Connor Whitney for a 2-yard touchdown pass just 3:08 before halftime.

Looking to rally and put points on the board before the break, Northern Arizona relied heavily on Hall to make a few plays in the hurry-up offense. After a 9-yard run on second-and-10 and a 26-yard catch on third-and-9 for Hall, the Lumberjacks moved into Vandal territory.

An 8-yard catch by Xander Werner on fourth-and-4 put the Lumberjacks at the 24, but three consecutive incompletions as well as an intentional grounding call left Northern Arizona at the Vandals 29-yard line with just nine seconds on the clock.

After Idaho attempted to ice Collin Robbins with back-to-back timeouts, Northern Arizona's kicker connected on his third field goal of 40 or more yards this season to cut the deficit back down to 17-10 entering the break.

However, a three-and-out by the Lumberjacks to open the half led to a short field for the Vandals, who capitalized with a 39-yard field goal by Ricardo Chavez and regained a 10-point lead. An interception on the Lumberjacks' next drive and an exchange of punts put Idaho back the Vandals at the Northern Arizona 39 thanks to a 28-yard return by Jermaine Jackson.

Six plays later, Idaho's Roshaun Johnson punched in a 9-yard score with the Vandals outgaining the Lumberjacks 116 yards to 15 to that point of the second half.

"If we are down, we have got to be able to respond," said Hall, who carried the ball 14 times for 64 yards and added three receptions for 25 yards. "That's on us, the offense we have got to bring more energy right after half."

Trailing by 17, Northern Arizona struggled to move the ball on its final two drives of the game as it turned the ball over on downs at midfield with 9:24 left in the game. Forcing an Idaho punt with 5:38 left on the clock, a fumble by Martinez while attempting to pass pushed Northern Arizona back 15 yards and effectively ended the final drive of the game.

After a pair of games in Flagstaff, the Lumberjacks return to the road next week as they head north to play the Portland State Vikings (0-3, 0-1 Big Sky). The Vikings fell to the No. 2-ranked Montana Grizzlies Saturday in Missoula, 53-16 coming off their bye week. Portland State opened the season with a pair of FBS opponents, San Jose State and Washington, before taking a week off ahead of conference play.

Original source can be found here.