Six Turnovers Helps NAU Hold Off Incarnate Word 38-28
Updated: 3 days ago
The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks defeated the Incarnate Word Cardinals 38-28 on Saturday afternoon at the Walkup Skydome for the second straight season in front of several key in-state recruits including:
Canyon View ‘27 DL Andy Fierros (Official visit) - committed to NAU
AZ Compass ‘28 DL Issac Cattanach
Brophy Prep 4-star ‘29 OL Colin Itule
Brophy Prep ‘29 OL Cody Itule
Centennial 3-star ‘28 QB Titus Hill - received offer from NAU at game
Desert Mtn ‘28 RB Easton Conner
Desert Mtn ‘28 WR Kai Tschen
Desert Edge ‘27 ATH Rick Wilson
Liberty ‘28 DL Aidan Thompson
Millennium ‘28 DB Rowlen Greer
Queen Creek ‘28 QB Sawyer Hales
Williams Field ‘28 LB Mateo Gaines
For the Lumberjacks, their defense created six turnovers and was a huge factor in why they came away with the win.
NAU head coach Brian Wright said it was an outstanding job by that group.
“Six turnovers by the defense, just an outstanding job by them,” Wright said. “We capitalized and (got some) points off that.”
From the opening kickoff, the game was electric.
Incarnate Word elected to receive the opening kickoff, and they got downfield quickly.
The Cardinals run a fast-tempo offense a lot, which helped them move the ball down the field on their opening possession.
In fact, the drive was going so well that they got the ball deep into NAU territory, which gave them a golden opportunity to score first.
The Lumberjacks' defensive unit would come up huge, though, and create a turnover to prevent the Cardinals from getting in the end zone.
After the ball broke free, R-Fr. defensive lineman Jayden Baer fell on the ball to give his offense the ball.
NAU was not able to convert the turnover into any points, however.
Fast forward to the last few minutes of the first quarter, and NAU would get points on the board first.
True Fr. kicker and Mountain Pointe alum Francisco Orduno Jr. was the player to score first.
He went on to drill a 55-yard field goal that could’ve been good from 60+ yards out.
The Cardinals would also get it going on offense near the end of the first quarter, and they were able to score the first touchdown of the game.
One of the biggest plays for Incarnate Word took place on that drive when Sr. running back Lontrell Turner scampered for a 41-yard gain.
Scoring for the Cardinals was R-So. running back Jayden Hibbler, who scored from three yards out.
With less than a minute in the first quarter, the Lumberjacks' defense came away with another takeaway.
R-Jr. defensive back Jahaad Fort came flying out of nowhere to snag an interception for his team.
Two plays after getting the interception, the Lumberjacks punched the ball in to take the lead at the end of the first quarter.
R-So. running back Kenveon Stone was able to push his way forward to score a 3-yard rushing touchdown.
After the first quarter, NAU led 10-7.
Early in the second quarter, it was the Lumberjacks who added to their lead.
Stone was able to score his second touchdown of the game as he broke free for a 28-yard run for NAU.
Both teams proceeded to turn the ball over
NAU R-So. defensive back and Desert Edge alum Aundre Gibson forced a fumble that gave his team the ball back.
The offense for NAU would not be able to convert off the turnover, though, as they themselves proceeded to fumble the ball.
Incarnate Word Sr. defensive lineman Walt Gray recovered a fumble for the Cardinals with a minute left in the half.
The Cardinals could not get out of their own way, though, and for a fourth time in the first 30 minutes of the game, they turned the ball over.
R-Jr. defensive back Deliyon Freeman snagged an interception of his own, and it set the offense up with nice field position to score.
The Lumberjacks did just that as the offense tacked on one more score before halftime.
Sr. quarterback Ty Pennington connected with R-Jr. wide receiver and Cactus Canyon alum Myseth Curry in the corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown.
Heading into halftime, NAU led 24-7 and had all the momentum.
Incarnate Word needed to find a rhythm, and at the start of the third quarter, they were able to slice into the lead.
In what was one of the first plays of the third quarter, Gr. quarterback Emmett Brown launched a deep bomb to R-Jr. wide receiver Zach Phipps.
Phipps made an incredible contested catch and then proceeded to sprint to the end zone for a 56-yard score.
It was a play the Cardinals desperately needed.
While the touchdown drive was great for Incarnate Word, NAU kept their foot on the gas and relied once again on the run game to get back on the board.
NAU Jr. running back Quran Gossett was fed the ball, and he danced around multiple defenders to find his way into the end zone from 30 yards out.
With only one quarter to play, NAU led 31-14.
Starting off the fourth quarter with a hot start, Incarnate Word once again cut into the Lumberjacks' lead.
Not even a minute into the quarter, Gr. running back Damashja Harris scampered for a 12-yard touchdown.
Even though the NAU defense gave up 14 points in the second half, they responded well in the fourth quarter by scoring a touchdown of their own.
Incarnate Word started to compile another solid drive, but it was short-lived after the Lumberjacks sent a blitz.
R-Jr. defensive lineman Jordan Pigram recovered a fumble, then proceeded to stiff-arm a tackler and score a 47-yard touchdown.
The big man got the touchdown and had the crowd roaring.
Fast forward to the last few minutes of the game, NAU got their sixth and final takeaway of the contest to close it out.
A notable AZHS football alum would be the one to ice the contest.
Gibson created his second turnover of the game for NAU and snagged the game-sealing interception late in the game.
Wright has been impressed with Gibson’s impact since he got to NAU in January.
“He showed up well,” Wright said. “I think he was in good position in coverage on his play, a big play there.”
NAU held on and defended their home turf with a 38-28 win over Incarnate Word.
Next up: The 2-1 Lumberjacks travel to Utah to take on 0-3 Utah Tech.
Notable AZHSFB alum performances:
Northern Arizona
Myseth Currie (Cactus Canyon) - 3 catches for 33 yards and one TD.
Shahid Wilson (Millennium) - 7 total tackles, 1 QB hit.
Jackson Murray (Horizon) - 4 total tackles, .5 tackles for loss.
Noble Young-Blackgoat (Coconino) - 4 total tackles
Aundre Gibson (Desert Edge) - 2 total tackles, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble.
Francisco Orduno Jr. (Mountain Pointe) 55-yard FG, 5 PATS made.
Incarnate Word
Jeremiah Young (Chandler) - 1.5 sacks, 3 TFLs, 6 total tackles (2 solo), 2 QB hurries
Game footage can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1WegQc8D2loNFaAaoOzC-MzEdot3fMmE-
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