FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – A scoreless Lumberjack second half and a record-breaking performance from Mike Sharp lifted the Thunderbirds over the Northern Arizona for a 48-21 victory to keep the Hinton-Burdick Grand Canyon Trophy in Cedar City.

Tyler threw five touchdown passes to tie the SUU all-time single game pass touchdown record.

Sharp grabbed three touchdown passes to mark the second all-time SUU career reception touchdown record with 29. Sharp sits behind SUU legend Tysson Poots, who finished his Thunderbird career with 43 reception touchdowns. 

"I'm really proud of how our guys bounced back all year long," head coach Demario Warren said. "What a great way to finish on the road against a quality opponent, and what a legacy that these seniors have left behind."

The first quarter concluded in a 14-14 tie before SUU grabbed a 28-21 edge at halftime. The Thunderbirds exploded with three Sharp touchdowns in the third quarter, which rounded out the scoring for a 48-21 win.

The victory marks a 6-5 winning season for the Thunderbirds. With last season's 8-4 winning record, the back-to-back winning seasons mark the first time the Thunderbird program has picked up two-straight winning seasons with at least 6+ Division I wins.

Tyler threw 20-35-1 for 275 yards and five touchdowns. Sharp led the game in receiving with seven catches for 139 yards. Brown rushed 32 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, Mike Needham led the Thunderbirds with 10 tackles and two interceptions for a gain of 56 yards. Needham also posted two interceptions for 56 yards. Josh Talbot and Junior Tufuga added seven tackles each. Sione Fukofuka posted 2.5 sacks for a loss of 18 yards.

Scoring Recap:

Tyler connected with Ty Rutledge just over one minute into the game on a 58-yard pass to post a 7-0 lead before Malik Brown added on a second touchdown on a seven-yard rush. NAU answered with back-to-back touchdowns to tie up the game at 14-14 to conclude the first quarter.

Brown punched in a second touchdown on a 31-yard run before NAU responded with a 26-yard passing touchdown to tie up the game once again, 21-21. Sharp grabbed his first touchdown of the game with under a minute to play in the first half on a 73-yard connection.

Sharp tacked on a second and third touchdown in the third quarter with a two-yard grab and a 35-yard grab. Rounding out the scoring, Tyler connected with Logan Parker on a 16-yard pass to seal the massive 48-21 victory.