The Grizzlies, 7-0, feature Lex Hilliard, who had a strong game last week after a couple sub-par ones. Northern Arizona, 5-3, features Alex Henderson and Lionel Scott, though the latter didn't play in the Lumberjacks' win at Weber State last week because of an injury. Whoever gets the most yards on the ground should be telling for Saturday's game, set for 4:05 p.m. (MDT) inside the Walkup Skydome.
All Henderson did for NAU last season was gain 1,014 yards and earn Big Sky Newcomer of the Year honors. This year the Jacks added Scott, a transfer from Delta College who sat out the 2006 season while waiting to be cleared by the NCAA.
“I was surprised how Lionel learned the offense so fast, how fast he picked everything up,” NAU receiver Alex Watson said.
On the other side is Hilliard, who rallied from some injuries to notch a 112-yard game against Northern Colorado. Montana coach Bobby Hauck said after that 52-7 win that they'd hoped to get the 230-pound senior from Kalispell the ball as many as 35 times. He had 19 carries and a catch against the Bears.
“But their defensive scheme made us check out of some run plays,” said Hauck. “Cole (Bergquist) did a good job of getting us into the right play, probably the best he's done all season at that.
“They did some things where it just wouldn't have been productive running the ball. You can insist on running it, which we do to a degree - we're flat going to be balanced - but there are certain defensive calls where you have to pick your time and place.”
It's been 10 years since Northern Arizona scored a football victory over the Montana Grizzlies, and that 27-24 landmark win is remembered fondly by some of those 1997 Lumberjacks.
A story in Friday's Arizona Daily Sun quoted a few of the core players of that team: receivers Francis St. Paul and Dion Black, linebacker Jake Crissup and quarterback Travis Brown.
A crowd of 15,417 crammed into the Skydome. It was loud throughout and reached a crescendo when Mike Goldstein hit a 39-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining.
“When Goldstein was kicking the field goal, I was looking at the crowd,” said Brown, who played in the NFL and is now NAU's radio color analyst. “I couldn't even look at the field. I'm not normally like that, but I just couldn't watch.”
QUICK KICKS: The Grizzlies arrived at about 2 p.m. Arizona time on Friday. They flew straight into Flagstaff, but will bus down to Phoenix and fly out of Sky Harbor after the game. The shortness of the runways at the Flagstaff airport makes it difficult for a full plane to take off. Š Here are the satellite coordinates: Galaxy 26 09K Digital; 93 Degrees W; Downlink frequency 11890.000; SR 6.148936; FEC þ. For support contact Bob Bonner at 702-648-7775. Š NAU officials are hopeful that 10,000-plus fans will attend Saturday's game. Š The Lumberjacks are 113-58 all-time at the Skydome, including 3-0 this season. Their first game in the dome was a 25-24 win over UM in 1977. Š As of Friday morning there were seven seats still available on the Griz-Cat booster bus. Cost is $125 for the day trip, which leaves at 7 a.m. from Adams Center on Nov. 17, and ends back in Missoula that night. Purchase a seat by stopping by the Grizzly Scholarship Association in the Adams Center or call Brynn Molloy at 406-243-5405.
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