NAU Tops Bobcats
11/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Northern Arizona scored nine points after a pair of third quarter blocked punts and held Montana State to 186 total yards in a 29-14 Lumberjack win in Bozeman on Saturday.
NAU quarterback Lance Kriesien threw for 149 yards and ran for 55 and three touchdowns to out-gain Montana State by himself. Kriesien and the Lumberjacks held the ball for 36:20, and outscored the Bobcats 23-0 in the second half.
Regardless of the statistics, Ash knew right where the game tipped to NAU. "I thought the game really turned on those two plays," Ash said of the punts Cyrus Igono blocked on consecutive possessions, which led to a field goal and a touchdown. "They were great individual efforts on their part, and poor technique on ours. The game completely turned on those two plays."
After NAU marched down the field to score on the game's first drive, the Bobcats regrouped. Brandon Bostick scored on a four-yard pass from Jack Rolovich early in the second quarter, and Josh Lewis caught a 12-yard pass from Rolovich on the team's next possession to give MSU a 14-6 advantage it took into the intermission.
After a three-and-out possession to start the second half, Igono blocked MSU's punt at the Bobcat 17. The Bobcat defense held NAU to a Robbie Dehaze field goal, but on the next possession the Lumberjacks blocked another punt, this time recovering at the MSU three. And this time, NAU punched it in on a Kriesien carry on the first play to take control of the game.
On MSU's next possession, Josh Lewis carried on a reverse to the Bobcat 41, but a fumble forced by Josh Luck was recovered by NAU. The Lumberjacks scored nine plays later, raising the team's lead to 22-14.
Montana State's only scoring threat of the second half occurred began on the last three plays of the third quarter. The Bobcats marched from their own 20 to the NAU 16, but on second-and-10 Josh Lewis was thrown for a three-yard loss on a reverse, and then Rolovich threw an incomplete pass to Mark Desin near the goal line on third down. Rolovich again threw incomplete on fourth down, and the Bobcats wouldn't gain another first down in the game.
Rolovich said it was hard to pinpoint the Bobcats' trouble spots. "Some things just didn't go our way in the second half," he said. We didn't respond very well to the negative plays, the blocked punts. We were excited at halftime, but at the same time we knew it was only 14-6 and we knew we had work left to do."
MSU dropped to 5-4 on the season with the loss, 3-3 in the Big Sky, while Northern Arizona plays for second place next week at home against Eastern Washington.
NAU quarterback Lance Kriesien threw for 149 yards and ran for 55 and three touchdowns to out-gain Montana State by himself. Kriesien and the Lumberjacks held the ball for 36:20, and outscored the Bobcats 23-0 in the second half.
Regardless of the statistics, Ash knew right where the game tipped to NAU. "I thought the game really turned on those two plays," Ash said of the punts Cyrus Igono blocked on consecutive possessions, which led to a field goal and a touchdown. "They were great individual efforts on their part, and poor technique on ours. The game completely turned on those two plays."
After NAU marched down the field to score on the game's first drive, the Bobcats regrouped. Brandon Bostick scored on a four-yard pass from Jack Rolovich early in the second quarter, and Josh Lewis caught a 12-yard pass from Rolovich on the team's next possession to give MSU a 14-6 advantage it took into the intermission.
After a three-and-out possession to start the second half, Igono blocked MSU's punt at the Bobcat 17. The Bobcat defense held NAU to a Robbie Dehaze field goal, but on the next possession the Lumberjacks blocked another punt, this time recovering at the MSU three. And this time, NAU punched it in on a Kriesien carry on the first play to take control of the game.
On MSU's next possession, Josh Lewis carried on a reverse to the Bobcat 41, but a fumble forced by Josh Luck was recovered by NAU. The Lumberjacks scored nine plays later, raising the team's lead to 22-14.
Montana State's only scoring threat of the second half occurred began on the last three plays of the third quarter. The Bobcats marched from their own 20 to the NAU 16, but on second-and-10 Josh Lewis was thrown for a three-yard loss on a reverse, and then Rolovich threw an incomplete pass to Mark Desin near the goal line on third down. Rolovich again threw incomplete on fourth down, and the Bobcats wouldn't gain another first down in the game.
Rolovich said it was hard to pinpoint the Bobcats' trouble spots. "Some things just didn't go our way in the second half," he said. We didn't respond very well to the negative plays, the blocked punts. We were excited at halftime, but at the same time we knew it was only 14-6 and we knew we had work left to do."
MSU dropped to 5-4 on the season with the loss, 3-3 in the Big Sky, while Northern Arizona plays for second place next week at home against Eastern Washington.
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