Spring Break
NAU Football Match
"A Night to Remember"
Eric Boyles
Issue date: 10/28/04 Section: Sports
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A night that will not be forgotten: that was the consensus as I sat there in the stands of Northern Arizona University after Saturday's game had concluded. The final score that lit up the scoreboard (34-14) did not tell the true tale of the game.
Coming into the game the Mustangs were huge underdogs, considering they were playing a Division 1AA team that shared the Big Sky Conference title last season. The Mustangs opened the game timid, but in time found their composure. In the first quarter the 'Stang defense managed to hold the Lumberjacks to only 10 points: one touchdown and a field goal. The offense could not muster any points due to a costly interception.
The second quarter found the same results as the first, with NAU only managing to score 10 points bringing the game to 20-0. The Mustang defense bailed out the offense again, holding back the powerful Lumberjack offense at key moments in the game. These could have turned the tide of the game. The Lumberjacks got the ball after a failed fourth down conversion and a penalty on the Mustang 15 yard line, and the defense stepped up and held NAU to a field goal. If NAU scored seven on that drive the final outcome would have been worse then it ended up. Later in the second quarter, the defense came up big again on an interception by Steve Terrill. But, the Mustang offense once again managed no points on a missed field goal, taking them to the end of the first half.
I do not know what was said at half time, but NAU was not ready for Western in the second half. NAU scored early to bring the score to 27-0, and at that point most teams would have laid down and died. Just a few seasons ago the Mustangs would have too, but not this time. From that point on, it was the toughest game that the Lumberjacks have played this season. Backed down on their own two-yard line, Tate Gunning completed a 98-yard pass to Hurtis Chinn, which revitalized the Mustangs. NAU would only score once more after that, to bring the score to 34-6.
Coming into the game the Mustangs were huge underdogs, considering they were playing a Division 1AA team that shared the Big Sky Conference title last season. The Mustangs opened the game timid, but in time found their composure. In the first quarter the 'Stang defense managed to hold the Lumberjacks to only 10 points: one touchdown and a field goal. The offense could not muster any points due to a costly interception.
The second quarter found the same results as the first, with NAU only managing to score 10 points bringing the game to 20-0. The Mustang defense bailed out the offense again, holding back the powerful Lumberjack offense at key moments in the game. These could have turned the tide of the game. The Lumberjacks got the ball after a failed fourth down conversion and a penalty on the Mustang 15 yard line, and the defense stepped up and held NAU to a field goal. If NAU scored seven on that drive the final outcome would have been worse then it ended up. Later in the second quarter, the defense came up big again on an interception by Steve Terrill. But, the Mustang offense once again managed no points on a missed field goal, taking them to the end of the first half.
I do not know what was said at half time, but NAU was not ready for Western in the second half. NAU scored early to bring the score to 27-0, and at that point most teams would have laid down and died. Just a few seasons ago the Mustangs would have too, but not this time. From that point on, it was the toughest game that the Lumberjacks have played this season. Backed down on their own two-yard line, Tate Gunning completed a 98-yard pass to Hurtis Chinn, which revitalized the Mustangs. NAU would only score once more after that, to bring the score to 34-6.
