By Spencer Rodak , Stadium Sportzz
CEDAR CITY – Hosting the NAU Lumberjacks in the first Grand Canyon Rivalry game in four years,
Northern Arizona would take the lead early, scoring a touchdown on the game’s opening possession. Needing just three minutes, quarterback Ty Pennington delivered a 12-yard strike to Kolbe Katsis for the 7-0 lead to finish a 5-play drive.
Southern Utah responded right away, marching down the field on a 9-play, 75-yard drive that took 4:15 off the clock. Josh Dye would break the plane of the goal line on a 10-yard run, tying the game at 7-7.
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Following a few empty possessions, the T-birds would jump in front for the first time.
Taking over eight minutes, SUU would work its way down the field before a Braedon Wissler 1-yard run made it 14-7 with 7:23 on the clock in quarter two.
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NAU had a response, however, needing just six plays to tie the score. Seth Cromwell ran the ball into the endzone for a 1-yard score, making it 14-14 with 4:31 remaining in the first half.
Neither side would add points the rest of the half, as the game remained deadlocked heading to the break.
Second half
Quarter three saw the Lumberjacks take a 28-14 lead as they added touchdowns on their first two possessions of the second half.
The game was far from over, however, as a plethora of touchdowns saw the game flipped on its head.
First, SUU would cut the deficit to 28-21, needing just three and a half minutes to find a touchdown on a drive that began at the NAU 40-yard line. Capping an eight-play drive, Joshua Dye scored a 1-yard touchdown – with the help of the offensive line – with 5:56 left in the third quarter.
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The Lumberjacks answered just one play later, as Pennington found Katsis for an 88-yard touchdown to restore the visitors’ two-score lead, 35-21.
Southern Utah would make it 35-28 just seconds later, as Ran Sawyer would take the kickoff 95 yards for another score.
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Following the three touchdowns in 29 seconds, Northern Arizona would add one more in the final moments of the third quarter. With 27 seconds left, Quran Gossett found the endzone from three yards out on the ground to make it 42-28.
Fourth quarter fireworks
The T-birds wouldn’t go down without a fight, however.
Just over a minute and a half into the final period, Dye would rip off a 59-yard rushing touchdown to cut the NAU lead to 42-35.
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After a short Lumberjacks’ possession, SUU struck quickly to tie the score. On just the fourth play of the drive, quarterback Bronson Barron found Shane Carr for the 42-yard score, making it a 42-42 game with 9:16 remaining.
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Southern Utah’s defense would make a big play next, forcing a fumble on the next NAU drive. Just over two minutes later, a 4-yard Dye touchdown put the T-birds in front, 49-42.
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It looked as if the Thunderbirds would pull off the improbable comeback, as they forced the NAU offense into a fourth down with just seconds remaining.
Having to go for it to keep the game alive, the Lumberjacks threw an incomplete pass, appearing to seal the win for SUU. Instead, a flag was thrown, and the T-birds were called for pass interference, giving NAU a first down at the 6-yard line.
Just two plays later, Northern Arizona scored a touchdown. Electing to go for two and the win, Jayson Raines broke across the goal line to make it 50-49 with only 29 seconds left.
SUU would need to get into field goal range to have a chance at the win, but a mistake on the kickoff return put them at the 3-yard line. Two plays later, a holding penalty on the T-birds gave NAU two free points, sealing the 52-49 result.
Bronson Barron delivered a solid game on offense for Southern Utah, completing 22-of-32 passes for 269 yards and a touchdown.
Shane Carr was Barron’s favorite target on the night, hauling in 3 catches for 89 yards and a score. Gabe Nunez also had a solid game, tallying 6 catches for 83 yards.
Joshua Dye led the T-birds’ ground game, as he racked up 171 yards and 4 touchdowns on 25 carries.
While the offense had no problem lighting up the scoreboard in the loss, the same could not be said for the SUU defense.
The Thunderbirds’ defense allowed a staggering 508 yards of offense to NAU (366 passing, 142 rushing), on its way to allowing a season-high 52 points.
The 52 points are the most allowed by an SUU defense in a single game since the 2024 season opener at Utah (49).
Late-game penalties prove costly
Leading 49-42 down the stretch, it looked as though the T-birds would notch the upset win in the Grand Canyon Rivalry game.
Instead, a last-minute penalty gave NAU a lifeline, one that they would take on their way to a win in the final seconds.
Sound familiar?
Just last week, SUU was in a similar position against San Diego.
Battling back from a 14-point deficit in the final six minutes of regulation to tie the game, the T-birds would take a 27-24 lead after their first overtime drive.
As the Toreros faced a second-and-five from the 20-yard line, Southern Utah would commit a pass interference infraction, putting the ball on the 6-yard line.
An offside penalty then put the ball on the three, and on the next play, San Diego scored a touchdown for the walk-off 30-27 win.
SUU football postgame
Up next
Southern Utah (1-2) travels to face No. 9 UC Davis on Saturday, Sept. 20.
The matchup with the Aggies is slated for an 8 p.m. MT kickoff and can be seen on ESPN+.