K.J. Gerard intercepted a pass in the end zone with 23.4 seconds remaining to end Southern Utah's upset hopes and cement a 19-14 win for Northern Arizona over the Thunderbirds Saturday night.

    NAU took a 13-7 lead at halftime but the Thunderbirds came back to take a 14-13 lead on a five-yard pass from Cody Stone to Jared Ursua with 10:51 to go in the fourth quarter. NAU answered back, however, going 74 yards in 11 plays, and regained the lead when quarterback Lance Kriesien dragged four Thunderbirds into the end zone with 5:17 to go.

    Southern Utah mounted a final drive, however, starting on its own 14 and driving all the way to the one-yard line as Stone completed 4-of-10 passes, including an 11-yard completion to Nick Miller on fourth-and-10 on his own 47. The drive stalled at the one, however, as Deckar Alexander was pushed back to the six on a second-and-goal run, then Stone was interecepted by Gerard to seal the outcome.

    “I'm proud of our team, they fought, they had a goal to protect their home turf,” SUU Coach Ed Lamb said. “They came up short of it but we can learn a lot from this loss and I think they can still hold their heads high about their  efforts, which is the best thing you can take from a loss.”

    Two of NAU's three first half scores came after Thunderbird turnovers. The first, a 32-yard Robbie Dehaze field goal, came after a bad snap sailed over Jared Usura's head and was recovered by Adam Wright at the SUU 27 yard line. The second came after Nick Miller fumbled a punt return at the SUU 43; eight plays later Michael Herrick found Preston Saunders on a 10-yard touchdown route to give the Lumberjacks a 10-0 lead with 4:03 to play in the half.

    Southern Utah cashed in on its ensuing possession when Cody Stone and Tysson Poots hooked up on a 47-yard pass to pull the Thunderbirds within 10-7, but NAU tacked on another 32-yard Dehaze field goal to take a 13-7 advantage into the break.

    NAU, which came into the game as the the number-one team in the country as far as total offense, controlled the ball for 42:54 , including 22:28 of the first half. NAU finished with 401 total yards to 278 for the Thunderbirds, who finished with minus-26 rushing yards. The Thunderbirds passed ro 304 yards while NAU had a balanced attack, with 233 through the air and 168 on the ground.

    Stone completed 17-of-48 pass attempts, tying the mark for the second-highest number of attempts in a game by a Thunderbird, while the 302 yards tied the 10th-highest total in SUU history. Seven of the passes went to Poots, who finished with 136 receiving yards, while Miller finished with 102.

    Kriesien, who came on in relief of  Herrick in the fourth period, completed 4-of-5 passes for 37 yards but was the game's leading rusher, with 12 carries for 75 yards. Herrick completed 20-of-34 passes for 196 yards.

-- SUU --