Northern Arizona Scores 27 Straight, Holds Off Southern Utah Rally
Northern Arizona trailed 10-0 and did not score a touchdown in the first half. It still led 27-10 by the end of the third quarter, after 27 straight points, and that was enough to survive a late rush from Southern Utah for a 34-27 win.
Southern Utah got off to the start it wanted. Floyd Chalk ran 10 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and Jayden Rogers kicked a 28-yard field goal. Francisco Orduno Jr. answered with field goals of 46 and 25 yards in the second quarter, and Northern Arizona went into halftime down 10-6.
The third quarter changed everything. Quran Gossett scored from a yard out at 11:54, Pennington found Jeter Purdy for 41 yards at 9:39, and Pennington ran in from 2 yards at 4:13. That is 21 points in under eight minutes, and it made the score 27-10. Pennington added a 12-yard touchdown pass to Luke Edgecomb with 7:52 left in the fourth to make it 34-17.
Will Burns hit Jack Fairchild for 11 yards to make it 27-17, Rogers kicked a 25-yard field goal at 4:36, and Chalk scored from 2 yards out with 2:23 left to cut it to 34-27. That was the last score of the game. Southern Utah outscored Northern Arizona 17-7 in the fourth and was still seven short.
Northern Arizona gained 525 yards to Southern Utah's 322, and it did it with only 32 rushing attempts for 233 yards. Northern Arizona is 7-1, Southern Utah is 3-5. If you started Pennington, Gossett or Chalk, you had a good Saturday.