Football Notes: Second Scrimmage Shows Progress

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona football team had its second and final scrimmage in preparation for the season opener in two weeks at Arizona in Tucson on Sept. 12. The Lumberjacks had improved play on both sides of the ball with offense showing the ability to move the ball, while the defense was able to record three interceptions on the day.

“We want to see improvement in the quality of play and I thought we did,” said Head Coach Jerome Souers. “There were fewer mistakes, fewer penalties and fewer turnovers. I thought managed the ball better on offense. What we needed to improve was our backup guys and I thought they did a much better job. We held some players out to look at some of the other guys in different roles. I was excited it was a good scrimmage. We saw a good quality exchange with success on both sides of the ball and improvement on both sides. We are moving in the right direction.”

Senior running back Alex Henderson was given to the day off and backup Giovannie Dixon, a transfer from Arizona State, was impressive. He had four carries for 89 yards including a 65-yard run for a touchdown on the second play of the day.

“He is an explosive type back and I know getting into the rhythm and the way our schemes works is going to take some time,” said Souers. “But he sure showed some nice production today.”

Junior quarterback Michael Herrick was efficient, completing 4-for-5 for 108 yards and two touchdowns including a 55-yard strike to senior Ed Berry for a score.

“I thought our quarterbacks played with better poise today,” said Souers. “The protection was good and we ran the ball well at times. Michael Herrick looked sharp and I thought Cary Grossart showed real well today. I think we showed improvement.”

Junior Taelor Worrell had one of three interceptions on the day, returning the ball 42 yards for a touchdown for the defense. Nick Ragland-Johnsen and Matt Estrada also had interceptions.

Scrimmage Statistics
Rushing: Dixon 4-89-1, Hines 9-18-0; Saldana 3-20-0.
Receiving: Berry 2-72-2; Meadows 2-26-0; Rauschert 1-32-0; Czyz 1-022-0; Unger 1-17-0; Schenk 1-12-0; DeBoskie 1-10-0; Hines 1-8-0; Shanks 1-8-0; Sweeney 1-5-0.
Passing: Herrick 4-5-0 108 2 TD; Stangel 4-6-2 43; Grossart 3-7-1 54; Clarida 1-1-0 17.
Interceptions: Worrell, Ragland-Johnsen, Estrada.
Field Goals: Myers (37); Zamora (31), Wilder (32).

Game Time: With the countdown to the season opener 14 days away, Souers and his staff will turn their attention to game preparation. While the Lumberjacks have a bye week the first week of the season, it will be beneficial time well used.

“This really completes our large contact portion of our preseason,” said Souers. “Our emphasis now goes into our opponents. We will identify next week, solidify roles a little bit more and less shake ups in the lineup. We have a bye week but we get a chance to make up some conditioning work and get our team in better shape. We are going to use the week to rest, build and get us better prepared for the Arizona game.”

Arizona opens its season on Saturday against Central Michigan in Tucson.

Gerard Plays Tonight: Former Lumberjack K.J. Gerard will play his third preseason game with the Baltimore Ravens tonight in his quest to make the 53-man roster as an undrafted free agent. The Ravens will play their first road preseason game at Carolina before traveling to play the Falcons in Atlanta on Thursday, Sept. 3. Gerard has one tackle in the first two games. Saturday’s game will be shown on the NFL Network at 4 a.m. Sunday morning Arizona time.