Cal Poly football loses a heart-breaker to Northern Arizona, 31-29
Cal Poly dropped its second Big Sky game in a back-and-forth 31-29 loss at Northern Arizona that was marked by a handful of easy points left on the field and a late comeback attempt that fell just short.
Trailing by 8 points in the fourth quarter, the Mustangs scored on a 31-yard pass from Spencer Brasch to Josh Cuevas but were unable to convert the second of two 2-point conversion attempts. That left the score at 28-26.
But after forcing a fumble on the next NAU drive, Cal Poly moved the ball into the red zone and took the lead on a 27-yard Jaden Ohlsen with 4:18 left, only to see the Lumberjacks return the favor when NAU kicker Collin Robbins nailed a 40-yarder that proved to be the eventual game-winner.
Cal Poly did get the ball back with 1:27 on the clock, but after crossing midfield and dodging a near fumble on a 26-yard catch-and-run by Adam Garwood, the drive stalled at the NAU 39 yard line when the Mustangs were unable to complete four straight passing plays.
The team is now 1-4 on the season and 0-2 in Big Sky play.
Cal Poly got out to a good start in the game, driving 75 yards on an opening possession that was capped by a 7-yard Garwood touchdown run.
The score only ended up being 6 points, however, when the Mustangs couldn’t convert its first 2-point conversion try. NAU then followed with two first-quarter touchdowns of its own, to take a 14-6 lead.
A 14-point second quarter, however, brought the Mustangs to within one point at halftime, down 21-20.
After NAU scored again in the third quarter to take a 28-20 lead, the Mustangs drove from their 32 yard line to the Northern Arizona 5, only to have Ohlsen hit the post on a 22-yard field goal attempt.
Quarterbacks put up similar showings
After a week where the Mustangs struggled to make big gains after the catch and first contact, four receivers had a catch of 25 yards or more.
Quarterback Spencer Brasch converted on 29 of 51 passes for 374 yards and three touchdowns to go along with two interceptions. Northern Arizona’s RJ Martinez connected on 31 of 45 attempts for 358 yards and three scores of his own.
Running back Garwood took over as the workhorse back from Shakobe Harper who didn’t play due to an injury, rushing for 86 yards on 17 carries and one touchdown. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry, and his longest run of the day was 23 yards.
Murltiple players did damage in the air for the Mustangs. Tight end Cuevas had eight receptions on 12 targets for 93 yards and two touchdowns.
Following Cuevas was receiver Chris Coleman, who had five catches for 118 yards and a touchdown. Coleman had a big 44-yard reception as well.
Receiver Bryson Allen added five catches. Garwood had four receptions from the backfield.
Brian Dukes led Cal Poly’s defense with 11 tackles, and David Meyer added 10. Drew Sulick and Elijah Ponder each recorded sacks for the Mustangs and Dylan Wyatt earned a tackle, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, all on one play, to set up Cal Poly’s last-minute drive, which fell short.
The Mustangs will take on Idaho State on the road on Saturday, Oct. 15, at noon in their next Big Sky matchup.
