Vandal defense seals another victory

From local reports, wire and news services 

MOSCOW — A bounceback win is a bounceback win. 

Style points are not necessary. 

The Idaho Vandals, ranked 10th in FCS, took control of the game against No. 25 Northern Arizona in the second quarter and early in the third on Saturday. 

The Vandals couldn’t quite put the Lumberjacks away, but Idaho’s stingy defense came through when it mattered in a 23-17 victory before 14,066 at the Kibbie Dome. 

Idaho (4-2, 1-1 Big Sky) was coming off a 28-26 loss at UC Davis last week. NAU (3-3, 1-1) came into town off a home win over then-No. 10 Sacramento State. 

“Our defense did a great job overall,” Idaho coach Jason Eck said. “Didn’t love the last touchdown drive they had, and that first touchdown drive we had some coaching errors that really wasn’t on the kids. That starts with me. I do like the way we ran the ball, particularly in the first half — and even the first series of the third quarter we ran the ball well. I think we can finish better running the ball."

Idaho led 20-10 at halftime, and NAU quarterback Ty Pennington was out of the game following a sack by Keyshawn James-Newby in the second quarter. 

“He’s a really good quarterback; and to be honest, I didn’t even know who their backup was,” Eck said. “Tough situation, to come in and play against our defense. I think they had another quarterback who might have been out as well; we were expecting somebody else to come in when he was hurt. Anytime you’re impacting the game and hitting the quarterback, it’s a really good thing. And Pennington’s a good quarterback; I hope it’s not a season-ending injury or anything.” 

Jack Wagner, nicked up in the UC Davis game, started at quarterback for the Vandals, but Nick Josifek also saw action at QB in the first half. Wagner started the second half, but Josifek also played. 

Eck said he played two quarterbacks “by design. Nick Josifek earned playing time with how he played last week, and Wags came back this week and showed some toughness. So those were all planned rotations.” 

The Vandals went up 23-10 early in the third quarter on Cameron Pope’s 40-yard field goal. 

NAU answered with a long kickoff return, but Idaho linebacker Jaxton Eck intercepted Lumberjacks backup quarterback PJ London. 

London was also intercepted later in the quarter on a deep throw snagged by Mathias Bertram. 

Early in the fourth quarter, Josifek was hit as he threw. The ball sailed backward, and an NAU player recovered it and returned it to the Idaho 5-yard line, with running back Elisha Cummings’ tackle saving a touchdown. 

On fourth and goal, NAU tried a run off right tackle. But Zach Johnson, a redshirt freshman linebacker from Lake City High, stopped Seth Cromwell’s progress just short of the goal line, and Vandal teammate Spencer Fisher helped finish off the TD-saving tackle. 

“That defensive stop on the goal line ... that’s inspiring,” Bertram said. “That’s what we play for. To go out there with all my guys and get that done, that was pretty exciting.” 

London ran 2 yards for a touchdown to pull NAU within six points with 4:11 remaining.  

The Lumberjacks forced a three-and-out, and took over at its 21 with just over 2 minutes left. 

NAU drove to midfield, where on fourth and 7 on the Lumberjacks 48, London’s pass was incomplete and the Vandals kneeled out the win. 

“Third time this year somebody’s had a two-minute drive to win the game (against Idaho), and they have not allowed them to,” Eck said. “That’s really a credit to them, in winning a close game.”

Idaho is the first team in the FCS with three ranked wins this season after playing its fourth ranked opponent in a row. The Vandals’ first two opponents were FBS squads. 

Cummings ran for 119 yards for Idaho, which totaled 193 yards on the ground. Wagner and Josifek combined to throw just 13 passes. 

“Winning the trenches game, and running the ball is a big factor in winning that game,” Cummings said.  

Eck had a team-high 11 tackles; Johnson finished with six. Malachi Williams also had a sack for the Vandals. 

As Idaho celebrated homecoming, Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Kramer was the honorary captain for the Vandals and was out at midfield before the game for the coin toss. 

Idaho plays at Montana State, another ranked FCS opponent, next Saturday (7:15 p.m., ESPN2).  

N.Arizona    7    3    0    7    —    17 

Idaho    6    14    3    0    —    23 

First quarter 

IDAHO — Martinez 9 pass from Wagner (kick failed), 4:27 

NAU — White 50 pass from Pennington (Lye kick), 1:45 

Second quarter  

IDAHO — Thomas 13 run (Pope kick), 11:20 

NAU — FG Lye 50, 4:43 

IDAHO — Dwyer 23 pass from Josifek (Pope kick), 2:01 

Third quarter 

IDAHO — FG Pope 40, 10:24 

Fourth quarter 

NAU — London 2 run (Lye kick), 4:11 

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS  

RUSHING — NAU, Evans 6-35, Eastman 4-29, London 5-16, Hubbard 7-14, Pennington 4-13, Cromwell 5-11. Idaho, Cummings 17-119, Thomas 15-67, Wagner 2-12, Williams 1-8, Cortez-Menjivar 1-0, Josifek 3-(minus 13). 

PASSING — NAU, Pennington 12-17-0-114, London 11-16-2-82. Idaho, Josifek 6-7-0-109, Wagner 2-6-0-15. 

RECEIVING — White 4-72, Lanier 4-50, Hubbard 4-30, Katsis 3-20, Fleming 4-14, Gerena 2-9, Evans 1-4, Cromwell 1-(minus 3). Idaho, Hamper 3-48, Harste 1-33, Dwyer 1-23, Martinez 1-9, Mini 1-6, Cummings 1-5. 

    Photo by IDAHO ATHLETICS Idaho tight end Mike Martinez (80) celebrates after scoring a first-quarter touchdown on a pass from Jack Wagner on Saturday against Northern Arizona at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.