ABILENE – Kyren Poe's 293 yards of passing helped 25th-ranked Northern Arizona University build a 24-7 third-quarter lead and hold on to beat Abilene Christian University 27-21 Saturday night in the Wildcats' 2014 home opener in Shotwell Stadium.
Down 27-21 with 2:48 left in the game, ACU blocked a 37-yard field goal attempt by NAU's Ryan Hawkins and marched downfield in an attempt to win the game. But ACU sophomore quarterback
Parker McKenzie was stopped at the Lumberjack 28-yard line on a fourth-and-17 scramble with 48 seconds to play.
NAU, which was 9-3 last year and qualified for the FCS playoffs from the Big Sky Conference, evened its record at 1-1 on the season. ACU's loss – the second straight week it had a chance to win in the closing seconds – gave the Southland Conference member an 0-2 mark for the first time since 2002.
"We're close," ACU head coach
Ken Collums said after the game. "We're right there with a chance to beat a top-25 team. But they played a cleaner game than we played. We've got to learn to win close games because we've got a chance to be a good team. But we've got to learn how to play down the stretch and come out on top in these types of games."
Both teams scored on their second drives of the game. NAU took a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter on a 27-yard field goal by Hawkins and ACU went on top 7-3 with 10:01 left in the second quarter when McKenzie scored on a 1-yard run to cap an 11-play, 75-yard drive.
The Lumberjacks regained the lead with 3:54 left in the half when Poe connected with wide receiver Alex Holmes for a 24-yard touchdown pass to put NAU back on top, 10-7. Poe kept the drive alive when he completed a 15-yard pass to Hunter Burton, turning a fourth-and-14 play into a first down deep in ACU territory. Poe sprinted around left end for a 3-yard scoring run with 17 seconds remaining to give Northern Arizona a 17-7 halftime advantage.
Parker McKenzie was intercepted at the ACU 45-yard line by Lumberjack safety Eddie Horn on the Wildcats' second play of the second half, and NAU used the turnover to take a 24-7 lead five plays later when running back Corbin Jountti dove over the line for a 1-yard TD with 13:02 remaining.
Wide receiver
Cedric Gilbert drew ACU to within 10 points when he caught a pass from McKenzie and sprinted down the left sideline with a 39-yard TD pass at the 1:20 mark of the third quarter, narrowing NAU's lead to 24-14. Gilbert has caught two passes on the season, both for touchdowns. He caught a 60-yarder in last week's 38-37 loss at Georgia State and the 39-yard touchdown pass Saturday night against NAU.
The Lumberjacks grew their lead to 27-14 with a 35-yard field goal by Hawkins with 9:48 left in the game, but ACU roared back to 27-21 with a three-play scoring drive punctuated by a 40-yard TD pass from McKenzie to junior wide receiver
Cade Stone.
ACU was led in rushing by freshman
De'Andre Brown's 109 yards on 14 carries. Junior
Herschel Sims, playing before a hometown crowd at Shotwell Stadium for the first time since he starred at Abilene High School in 2010, added 54 yards on the ground. McKenzie completed 14 of 22 passes for 165 yards and two TDs.
Holmes led Northern Arizona in receiving with nine catches for 119 yards and one score. Casey Jahn topped the Lumberjacks in rushing with 81 yards on 12 carries.
ACU travels to Alabama next Saturday for a game in Veterans Memorial Stadium with Troy University of the Sun Belt Conference. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m. CST with the game broadcast on ESPN3.
