Bengals Battle No. 19 Northern Arizona Tough, Fall 39-30

Box Score
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz.-  A halftime lead against No. 19 Northern Arizona wasn't enough as the Lumberjacks scored three touchdowns in the first eight minutes of the third quarter to beat Idaho State 39-30 on Saturday at the Walkup Skydome.

The Bengals led 14-12 at halftime but NAU scored 20 points in the first eight minutes of the third quarter to take a 32-14 lead. NAU led 39-14 before the Bengals scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes of the game cut the Lumberjack lead to 39-30.

The Bengal offense had 434 total yards and NAU had 474. Justin Arias was 30-57 for 390 yards and three touchdowns and Luke Austin caught eight passes for 100 yards. Mitch Beckstead led the Bengals with 10 tackles.

NAU led 6-0 with 5:16 left in the first quarter after the Bengal defense held NAU to two field goals. Idaho State took a 7-6 lead with 2:25 left in the first when Xavier Finney scored on a four-yard touchdown run. The Bengals extended their lead to 14-6 when Cameron Richmond caught a 15-yard pass from Arias with 5:56 left in the first half.

NAU scored a touchdown 2:18 left in the half but the two-point conversion failed, giving Idaho State a 14-12 lead at the break.

On the Bengals opening drive of the third quarter, ISU drove to the NAU 12-yard line but turned the ball over. NAU running back, Zach Bauman broke loose for a 57-yard run and would later score his first of three touchdowns that sparked NAU to the 20 point third quarter.

Broc Malcom scored on an 11-yard touchdown reception with 3:28 left in the game and ISU recovered the onside kick, allowing Richmond to score on a 20-yard reception from Arias to make the score 39-30.

Idaho State plays at Southern Utah on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m. The game will be heard live on 930 CBS Sports Radio and Rock 102.5 starting with the pregame show at 12 p.m.

Game Notes
- The 14-12 halftime lead was the first time Idaho State held a lead at halftime on the road was Sept. 29, 2007 at No. 8 Montana State. ISU led 17-14 but lost 40-20. The last time ISU did not trail at halftime on the road was Sept. 18, 2010 at Northern Colorado. The game was tied at 14 at halftime but ISU lost 35-21.
- CJ Reyes kicked a career-long 65-yard field goal.
Broc Malcom and Chad Hansen had career-games in receiving yards. Malcom caught six passes for 85-yards and scored his first-career touchdown as a Bengal. Hansen caught six passes for 82-yards.
- Madison Mangum caught a season-long pass of 29-yards.
- Austin Graves had two sacks and now has a team-best five sacks on the season.

Mike Kramer Post Game Quotes
Our defense just did a great job in the first half. I went for a fake punt on fourth down and three. Trevor cut it up inside and was a yard short but the defense went inside and held them. I like how our defense is playing. We carried a lot of momentum from last week into this weeks game for the first two quarters. In third quarter, once they got the long run down the sideline, we were in trouble. We really didn't get it going again until the six minute mark of the fourth quarter.

The one thing we did was we didn't revert back to where we were.  I am not worried about where we are at. I was going to be worried about us if we laid down like a bunch of lambs but we didn't and we fought back. We showed grit and converted two two-point conversions.

As long as we are making progress I don't care who we play or where we play.

The last time we played these guys it was 50-10 at home. We are making monstrous progress. We lost a little bit in terms of our progression at wide receiver. We cannot run this offense if our receivers will not dance. We are not making the plays that we need to make to be good enough to finish what we start.  With this being the first lead at halftime on the road since 2007 shows you we are making progress.

Cameron Gupton played well. I thought our defensive front guys played outstanding, especially early.

We are a resilient bunch and very mentally tough. I love our guys and they have a lot of positive things going for them. They are hurting right now but we will shower it up, get on the plane and get ready for SUU this upcoming week.