FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) -- Zach Bauman rushed for 122 yards and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass, leading Northern Arizona to a 21-7 victory over UC Davis on Saturday.
Austin Shanks broke open for a 78-yard TD run for 16th-ranked NAU, which improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Sky with its sixth straight win.
“It was a great win for us,” said coach Jerome Souers. “We knew UC
Davis was going to be a tough matchup for us. The telltale sign was
going to be how our defense matched against their offense and their
passing game.”
NAU quarterback Courtney Grossart threw the TD pass to Bauman and put the Lumberjacks on the board first with a 17-yard scoring pass to Nick Cole with 1:16 left in the first half.
Grossart finished 18 for 32 for 167 yards and two touchdowns.
“It felt great to get a homecoming win,” said Grossart. "... The
touchdown to Nick was a huge one for us to get us going,” said Grossart.
“It was good to get a throw down the field in the red zone. It was an
exciting play. It got our team and the fans into it. From there the
defense took over and got us the ball.”
UC Davis (3-5, 2-3) did not score until 8:05 remained in the game, those points coming on a 2-yard run by Courtney Williams.
Defensive back Anders Battle led Northern Arizona with 14 tackles and a forced fumble, and the Lumberjacks came up with a pair of interceptions -- one by Lucky Dozier and one by Devin Willis -- and eight sacks of UC Davis quarterback Ricky Wright.
"It was a defensive game,” said Souers. “I was excited to see that dimension of our team show itself. Sometimes our offense has carried the team, but tonight our defense did. They did a great job of containing a potent Davis offense."
NAU plays its next two games on the road, first at Northern Colorado and then at Idaho State, before finishing the regular season with a pair of homes games against Southern Utah and Cal Poly.
