Football Continues Preparation with Scrimmage

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona football team held its second scrimmage of  the fall practice period Saturday in preparation for the season opener against Western New Mexico in less than two weeks. The defense had a solid afternoon, recording five sacks and controlling the early matchups.

“Anytime you go into a game situation you see a clearer picture of where you are at,” said Head Coach Jerome Souers. “On the positive side, I think defensively our contact looked crisp and our tackling was better. Our offensive line created some nice creases (which) resulted in some nice runs. We had too many dropped passes and creating continuity in the passing games.”

Backup quarterback Chasen Stangel went 8-for-11 for 96 yards with two touchdowns, while Michael Herrick completed 6-for-10 for 75 yards with a touchdown. The play of the day came on a deep pass by Stangel 33 yards down the right sideline to wide receiver Khalil Paden for the first score of the drills.

“There are not enough reps for any of those guys,” said Souers. “They had about 20 reps a piece as a quarterback and it is really hard to get a whole lot of continuity.”

Souers was disappointed with the emotional enthusiasm of the squad and the ball security. The Lumberjacks had two fumbles during the practice.

“We play better when we are on that edge,” said Souers.

Souers credited the play at the cornerback position in fall camp and said the position has become more competitive. He mentioned the play of seniors Darren Watson and Taelor Worrell and freshman Randy Hale, Jr., among the standouts who have stuck out. Freshman Anders Battle and Blake Bailey have also made early impressions. Senior Daivon Dumas returns at one corner position after starting all 11 games and ranking fourth on the team in tackles in 2009.

The Lumberjacks open the season on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Walkup Skydome.

Offensive Statistics

Rushing

DeWitt 10-28-0; Bauman 6-24-0; Dixon 3-17-0; Perkins 6-14-0; Saldana 1-2-0.

Passing

Stangel 8-11 96 2 TD: Herrick 6-10 75 TD; Grossart 5-9 33; Cartwright 3-4 21.

Receiving

Curry-Chapman 3-45-1; Paden 2-43-1; Umodo 2-24-1; Shanks 1-24-0; Czyz 2-6-0; Emanuel 1-8-0Dang 1-6-0; Adler 1-6-0; Riley 1-5-0; Saldana 1-5-0.