After a nightmare start to a season once filled with lofty expectations, Northern Arizona has built some momentum with an old nemesis coming to town.
NAU, the preseason pick by the Big Sky Conference coaches and affiliated media to win the league, stumbled to a 1-4 start that included four straight losses to Division I teams. A stout strength of schedule — three of the losses came to FBS Arizona State and ranked FCS teams Western Illinois and Eastern Washington — combined with a slew of injuries, a penchant for penalties and a plague of turnovers in the red-zone all contributed to the disappointing beginning.
But the Lumberjacks broke threw with a 20-14 win over Montana State in Bozeman two weeks ago to earn their first Division I win and their first Big Sky win simultaneously. With star sophomore quarterback Case Cookus still on the shelf, senior backup Blake Kemp has looked more comfortable each week. Last week, he threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns as NAU scored 52 unanswered points in a 52-7 win over Idaho State in Flagstaff.
NAU head coach Jerome Souers/by Brooks Nuanez
The ties between the Montana Grizzlies — NAU hosts UM on Saturday night — and the Lumberjacks run deep. NAU 19th-year head coach Jerome Souers coached at Montana from 1986 until 1997, serving as UM’s defensive coordinator from 1989 until 1997 and helping the Griz to the 1995 Division I-AA national championship.
NAU defensive coordinator Andy Thompson has helped lead Souers’ defense since 2009 and has been on Souers’ staff for 12 years. Thompson played linebacker for Montana from 1999 until 2003 and was on UM’s 2001 national title team.
Second-year wide receivers coach Aaron Pflugrad was born in Missoula when his father, was an assistant for the Griz from 1986 until 1994. Aaron Pflugrad played at Oregon and Arizona State, his last two years with the Sun Devils spent while Robin was the head coach at Montana in 2010 and 2011.
Northern Arizona hosts Montana (5-1, 2-1) on Saturday. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. MST.
QUICK HITS
Location: Flagstaff, Arizona
Nickname: Lumberjacks
Founded: 1899. The high research institution has 36 satellite campuses across Arizona.
Enrollment: The university has 27,715 students and an endowment of $136 million.
Stadium: The Walkup Skydome. Opened in 1977, the 10,000-seat stadium received a $26 million facelift in 2011. Flagstaff’s elevation of more than 7,200 feet about sea level makes the Skydome a venue with some of the thinnest air in America. NAU averaged 8,226 fans per game in 2014 and 7,501 last season. In two home games, NAU is averaging 9,445 fans per game.
THE TEAM (2-2 in Big Sky, 3-4 overall in 2016)
The Coach: Jerome Souers, 19th season at NAU. The Godfather of the Big Sky enters his 19th season in Flagstaff this fall. He’s 109-98 overall and helped the ‘Jacks to the 2003 Big Sky title. In 2013 ago, NAU made its fourth playoff appearance under Souers.
THE OFFENSE
Emmanuel Butler, wide receiver, 6-4, 229, junior — Butler burst onto the scene last season as one of the best deep threats in the FCS. He averaged 18.9 yards per catch and his 15 touchdowns ranked behind only Cooper Kupp of Eastern Washington for the most in the Big Sky.
This season, Butler has been kept in check more often, but is still among the Big Sky leaders in several categories. He caught two touchdowns last week against Idaho State, pushing him into a tie with Eastern Washington’s Shaq Hill for the top mark in the Big Sky. This season, Butler, has 41 catches for 565 yards (13.8 yards per catch) and his 80.7 receiving yards per game ranks seventh in the league.
Butler is sure to have an even more prominent role with Elijah Marks on the shelf with a shoulder injury suffered against Montana State. Marks averaged 95 yards per game, 17.8 yards per catch and scored five touchdowns before the injury.
Blake Kemp, quarterback, 6-1, 205, senior — Kemp will get the nod for a third straight week as Cookus has no chance of playing in Flagstaff against Montana’s quarterback hungry defense on Saturday.
Kemp is from Arizona powerhouse Hamilton High in Chandler. As a prep, he led the team to 53 straight victories, the best total in the nation, including state championships in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Hamilton lost in the state title game in 2011, Kemp’s senior year. He went to Mesa Community College for two years before transferring to East Carolina and redshirting during the 2014 season.
In 2014, Kempt completed 260-of-375 passes for 2,658 yards (242 per game) and 16 touchdowns. He transferred to NAU in the off-season.
In his first FCS start at Northern Colorado, Kemp was 35-of-46 for 273 yards and a touchdown. Against EWU, he was 9-of-12 for 77 yards and a score but his two fourth-quarter interceptions helped the Eagles to the win. Kemp threw for 195 yards against Montana State.
Last week in NAU’s 52-7 win over Idaho State, Kemp had his best outing. The lefty completed 23-of-37 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns.
Joe Logan, running back, 5-11, 200, freshman — Logan’s playing time fluctuated the first month of the season but he’s been NAU’s go-to running back over the last three weeks.
Logan rushed for more than 5,500 yards and 85 touchdowns at Estrella Foothills High in tiny Buckeye, Arizona, earning Arizona Republic and Arizona small-school Player of the Year honors. He came to NAU highly regarded but did not earn a carry in the Lumberjacks’ first two games. Logan rushed for 172 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown in NAU’s 73-3 win over New Mexico Highlands but did not carry the ball the following week in a 50-35 loss to Eastern Washington.
Logan rushed for 98 yards on 11 carries in a 21-8 loss to Northern Colorado before his breakout game against Montana State. Agianst the Bobcats in Bozeman, Logan rushed 21 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns, including a 65-yard score in NAU’s 20-14 win, its first Division I win this season. Last week, Logan rushed 14 times for 40 yards against Idaho State.
THE DEFENSE
Siupeli Anau, defensive tackle, 6-3, 250, senior — The former Scottsdale Community College standout earned honorable mention All-Big Sky honors in 2014 by registering 33 tackles, four tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks despite starting just eight games. But he missed all of last season with an injury.
He’s back now to anchor NAU’s interior defensive line. He has been a beat of late, notching 5.5 sacks over the last two weeks to move into the league lead with six sacks. His 10 tackles for loss are tied with Montana State’s Mac Bignell for second in the Big Sky behind Montana linebacker Josh Buss’s 12.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Anua had two sack-strips against Montana State, including one in the final minute to sew up NAU’s win.
LeAndre Vaughn, safety, 5-10, 170, senior — The former junior college transfer is the veteran in an otherwise green NAU secondary.
Last season, Vaughn ranked fourth on NAU with 62 tackles. He also broke up two passes. This season, he has 28 tackles, including a tackle for loss last week. Against Eastern Washington, he notched nine tackles and his lone pass breakup this season.
Jake Casteel, linebacker, 5-11, 200, sophomore — The undersized sophomore is NAU’s leading tackler in his first year as a full-time starter. As a redshirt freshman, he played in all 11 games, starting two and notching 39 tackles, including seven tackles for loss.
This season Casteel has 48 tackles, including two for loss and a sack. He also has three pass breakups. He has had 10 tackles twice this season.
Photos courtesy of Northern Arizona Athletics or noted. All Rights Reserved.
