Football Loses Game at Weber State in Snow Storm

Photo by Mackenzie Kasper

OGDEN, Utah  -  Weber State scored three touchdowns in the second half to break open a close game to post a 27-9 victory over Northern Arizona that was influenced by a snow storm that hit Ogden prior the game.

"If you look at our offense and their defense, I think that was the critical matchup in the game," said Head Coach Jerome Souers. "They run a lot of numbers in the box pressure and press man with a lot of one-on-one.  You need change of direction and you need your receivers to be able to break to penalize them for that. You need to be able to throw the ball. At the end of the day I do not think we managed the field conditions as well. It was really difficult to get a grip on the ball and run routes."

NAU lost its third consecutive game to drop to 5-5 on the season and 4-3 in Big Sky play.

The Lumberjacks passing attack that ranked fourth in the nation entering the game was silenced with the snow forcing the game into a rushing contest. Senior Alex Henderson rushed for 111 yards on 30 carries but did not score a touchdown.

NAU got inside the Weber State 20-yard line four times, including two times inside the 10-yard line, but managed just four field goal attempts on the day. Kicker Matt Myers hit 3-of-4 attempts, including attempts from 28, 24 and 23 yards.

Quarterback Michael Herrick was able to complete just 6-of-25 passes for 66 yards with a streak of 12 consecutive incompletions at one point in the game.

 Tim Toone of Weber State, who also had eight catches for 91 yards, made the play of the game in the third quarter, returning a Ryan Rauschert punt 90 yards for a touchdown and a 13-9 Wildcat lead.

The Wildcats extended the lead to 20-9 when Tyrell Francisco caught the first of two fourth quarter touchdowns from 15 yards out from Higgins. The play was setup by a 39-yard run by Trevyn Smith, who had 84 yards on the ground. Bo Bolen added 92 yards for the Wildcats.

NAU had taken a lead with the help of a botched punt snap that was downed inside the Weber State 10-yard line. NAU converted the botched snap into its third field goal of the game by Myers to take a 9-6 lead.

The snow that blanketed the field forced the game into a running contest. Both teams combined to rush the ball 41 times in the first half and were limited to a pair of field goals each, tying the game at six after the first 30 minutes of action. The Wildcats were about to take the lead at halftime, converting a 20-yard pass play to receiver Tim Toone on top of 15-yard face mask penalty to push the ball inside the NAU 15-yard line.

Freshman Taylor Julio then recorded his first career interception on the goal line, securing the ball after initially bobbling ball and downing it on the end zone, ending the Wildcat threat.

NAU returns home to play its regular season finale next Saturday against Eastern Washington at the Walkup Skydome. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:05 p.m.