When a new head coach is hired, especially in FCS football, there are typically some bumps in the road during the first season as the team tries to rebuild and create a strong identity. The best way for a team to get some momentum is to prove the naysayers wrong by earning some kind of a statement victory.
For the Idaho Vandals (4-5, 2-3), that statement victory was on Halloween night against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (5-4, 2-3) in the J. Lawrence Skydome on ESPN2. The Vandals marched into Flagstaff and took care of business with a 35-32 win in an overtime thriller that marks the first road victory of head coach Thomas Ford Jr.’s young career.
“If we come in every week and we’re confident, we execute, we play together, we’re really hard to beat,” Ford said. “It felt alleviating in a lot of ways. To be able to come in, get a road victory, especially an overtime victory, that just tells me that this team’s resolve is true. This team believes in each other, this team is a tough team, and we’re really ready to take on anything that comes our way over these next three weeks.”
During their four-game losing streak earlier in the season, the Vandals ran into a pattern of struggling to score in the first half and being forced to play catch-up in the second. Playing on the road against an FCS-ranked opponent, having a slow start was not an option.
Despite NAU drawing first blood with a blocked punt return touchdown in the first quarter, the Vandals found the endzone three times in the second quarter and took a 19-7 lead into halftime. Idaho started its big quarter with a three-yard touchdown pass from Joshua Wood to freshman Ryan Jezioro.
Jezioro was the team’s primary target in nonconference play, but he has been banged up with a shoulder injury throughout conference play. According to Ford, Jezioro was determined to play in this game, being an Arizona native, and it paid off as he scored his team-leading fourth touchdown reception of the season.
“He’s one of those guys that we wish we had a couple more of,” Ford said. “RJ is a tough dude as well.”
Elisha Cummings followed up his signature performance against Portland State by totaling 184 yards from scrimmage against NAU, which included two explosive second-quarter scores.
“Stayed in there and believed in my o-line,” Cummings said. “They did a great and awesome job tonight blocking their behinds off. They are a great group of guys on and off the field; I believe in them in everything that they do. Following them is a great way to the promised land.”
Cummings battled a knee injury earlier in the season, forcing him to miss two games, while also not being at full health for several of the games he was active during. Over the past two games, Cummings has had elite production, and his agility and acceleration have been through the roof.
“There was just a sense of urgency for me to get back and provide my team with what they really needed,” Cummings said. “I think me being on the field is a very big contribution to the offense.”
Idaho had a chance to add on to its 12-point lead when it received the kickoff at the start of the second half. Though the team turned it over on downs after a 48-yard drive, NAU only had the ball for five plays before the big turning point in the game.
Lumberjack quarterback Ty Pennington dropped back to pass, and was instantly pressured by redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Frederick Lujan III. Lujan slipped between the guard and the tackle on the left side of the line, sacking Pennington and forcing the ball loose. The ball rolled into the backfield, and Cruz Hepburn returned it 63 yards on the scoop-and-score.
The Vandals had a 19-point lead and were in firm command. The Lumberjacks kept battling, holding the Vandal offense scoreless for essentially the entire second half. Pennington was surgical in the second half, finishing with 267 passing yards, and leading the comeback effort for the Lumberjacks. Kolbe Katsis scored two long touchdowns in the fourth quarter, continuing his impressive senior campaign for NAU, and helping his team score 22 points unanswered to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
“Obviously, we’d love to have made that a little less stressful, but at the end of the day, our kids just kept fighting,” Ford said. “Our ability to play for each other really showed in this football game.”
Ford was impressed with the defense in this game, and he credits defensive coordinator Cort Denison with helping that group improve by utilizing the specific skillsets of his defenders.
Owen Adams made a 42-yard field goal as time expired in regulation, knotting the score at 29 and sending the game to overtime. NAU took the lead with a field goal on their overtime possession. On the first play of Idaho’s overtime possession, Elisha Cummings caught a short pass and ran 24 yards to the 1-yard line. That was all it took to set up the 1-yard game-winning carry from Hayden Kincheloe, as Idaho prevailed victorious in a Halloween thriller in Flagstaff.
Despite the fact that NAU successfully mounted the comeback, Ford was impressed with the resilient effort of his team to stick with it and win by any means in overtime.
“They’re a Division 1 football team with a ton of scholarship athletes. They got a good program, and they made plays, and our guys just kept fighting,” Ford said. “No matter how many plays they made, we just knew we had to make one more than they did.”
Liam Bradford can be reached at [email protected].