The Weber State University football team fell 27–6 to the Northern Arizona University Lumberjacks on Nov. 2.
The first five minutes of the game were disastrous for the Wildcats. On the first play of the game, NAU quarterback Ty Pennington fooled the Wildcat defense and ran the ball himself for a 73-yard touchdown. On the Weber offense’s first play from scrimmage, sophomore quarterback Richie Muñoz threw an interception to Lumberjack cornerback DJ VanHook. The Lumberjacks took possession of the ball inside the Wildcats’ 25-yard line, and the drive led Pennington to find defensive lineman Tausagafou Ho Ching for the 9-yard touchdown to make it a 14–0 game.
On the first play of WSU’s next drive, a false start penalty was called on junior running back Damon Bankston, and on the very next play, Muñoz threw another interception, this time to safety Mikale Greer. The Lumberjacks capitalized with another touchdown run from Pennington. Despite the high scoring in the first few minutes of the game, the teams traded three-and-outs for the rest of the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Wildcats drove the ball down to NAU’s 33-yard line but turned the ball over on downs after Muñoz failed to find wide receiver Jayleen Record on fourth down. The Lumberjacks got the ball back and drove down to the Wildcats’ 21-yard line. However, their 39-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Weber State junior cornerback Jalon Rock.
After the teams traded punts, the Wildcats made it to Northern Arizona’s 20-yard line after a 50-yard run from Bankston and a 15-yard penalty on the Lumberjacks. However, the Wildcats’ drive stalled, and senior kicker Kyle Thompson made a 39-yard field goal to make the game 21–3.
On the final drive of the half, the Lumberjacks took to the Wildcats’ 26-yard line, where a 44-yard field goal was attempted. NAU kicker Samuel Hunsaker’s kick hit the upright, keeping the game at 21–3 at halftime.
On Weber’s first play of the second half, they got the ball down to the Lumberjacks’ 13-yard line, but the drive stalled again. Thompson hit his second field goal of the game, this time from 30 yards out. With that kick, Thompson tied former Wildcat kicker Trey Tuttle for second all-time in school history for field goals made in a career. Thompson is now six field goals away from the record held by Scott Shields.
After more punts for the rest of the third quarter, the Lumberjacks scored on the first drive of the fourth quarter when Pennington found wide receiver Ta’ir Brooks for a 20-yard touchdown to make the game 27–6. However, the snap was bobbled by NAU’s holder during the extra point attempt. The Wildcats turned the ball over on downs on their next two drives, and Pennington took a knee to seal the win for the Lumberjacks and keep the Red Rock Rivalry trophy in Flagstaff for another year.
