Cal Poly to Host No. 16/19 No. Arizona on Parent and Family Weekend
10/25/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly (3-4, 2-1 Big Sky), which defeated Northern Arizona for the first time in nine tries a year ago, clinching a share of the Big Sky championship in its first year in the conference as well as a berth in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, hosts the same Lumberjacks (5-2, 3-1 Big Sky) for its Parent and Family Weekend game Saturday night in Alex G. Spanos Stadium (11,075).
Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m. PDT and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio (1280 am) with Tom Barket providing the play-by-play and Kyle Shotwell serving as an analyst. Links for video and audio streams as well as live stats are available at www.GoPoly.com.
The Mustangs, who fell out of the top 25 in both the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision coaches poll and The Sports Network media poll after losing to Yale 24-10 three weeks ago, let a 14-7 lead slip away in the final two minutes of regulation as Montana rallied for a 21-14 overtime triumph last Saturday in Missoula. Northern Arizona, ranked No. 19 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 16 in The Sports Network Media Poll, maintained its Big Sky title hopes with a 39-30 win at home against Idaho State.
A year ago, Cal Poly finished 9-3 overall, falling 18-16 in the second round of the FCS playoffs to Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas. In earning their third FCS playoff berth, the Mustangs finished with a winning record for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons.
Northern Arizona was 8-3 in 2012 following its season-ending loss to Cal Poly, finishing fourth in the Big Sky, one game behind the trio of co-champions. The Lumberjacks opened the 2013 campaign with a 35-0 loss at Arizona, but have reeled off five wins in their last six contests, losing only at Montana State 36-7 on Oct. 5. Northern Arizona returned two fumbles for touchdowns in a 34-16 win over Montana on Sept. 28 and Zach Bauman rushed for a career-high 266 yards and two touchdowns and caught seven passes, one for a score, in last week's win over Idaho State.
Cal Poly football, presented by French Hospital Medical Center, opened Fall Camp with 58 returning lettermen, including 17 players who started at least four games in 2012. Topping the list of returnees were a pair of second-team All-Big Sky honorees -- linebacker Johnny Millard and defensive tackle Sullivan Grosz -- and eight others who earned All-Big Sky honorable mention praise.
Junior Willie Tucker returned at wide receiver after leading the team with 28 catches a year ago while three of the five starters on the offensive front -- Giovanni Sani, Mike Freeman and Lefi Letuligasenoa -- returned as well. Tucker is lost for the season due to a knee injury. Also returning were junior Kristaan Ivory, the No. 2 rusher a year ago with 728 yards and eight touchdowns, and fellow slotback Cole Stanford with 241 rushing yards and 17 catches for 486 yards and four scores.
On defense, all four starting defensive linemen of a year ago -- ends Andrew Alcaraz and Jake Irwin plus tackles Grosz and Chris Lawrence -- returned. At linebacker, junior Nick Dzubnar moved from the outside to replace Kenneth Jackson in the middle (Mike) while Millard shifted from Will to Sam. Junior Cameron Ontko took over at Will. Eight of the nine defensive backs who played six or more games last fall returned along with senior three-year letterman Bijon Samoodi, who sat out the 2012 season with a hip injury.
Bobby Zalud, who handled all kicking duties (55-for-55 PATs, 12-for-16 field goals, 40.6 punting average), and return specialist Chris Nicholls (24.0 average per kickoff return, 8.5 average per punt return) returned as well.
Seven games into the current season, Ivory is ranked No. 2 in the Big Sky and No. 13 in the FCS with his average of 115 rushing yards per contest. The junior is averaging 6.2 yards per carry, scored three touchdowns against San Diego on runs of 81, 2 and 61 yards en route to a 185-yard performance, accumulated 184 yards and one score against Portland State, made a career-high eight catches against Yale and scored three times, two via rushing and one on a pass, against Weber State, rushing for 100 yards. He added 121 yards, his fourth 100-yard game of the season and fifth of the year, in the loss at Montana last week. Ivory also leads the Mustangs in receiving with 23 catches for 123 yards and a score.
Cal Poly's three linebackers top the chart in tackles. Middle linebacker Nick Dzubnar has a team-leading 73 tackles, 12 against Montana, while outside linebacker Cameron Ontko has made 63 tackles, 14 against the Grizzlies. Outside linebacker/rush end Johnny Millard has 60 stops, including a career-high 13 in the loss to Yale.
Sophomore quarterback Dano Graves, who earned his first collegiate start two weeks ago against Weber State and responded with 116 yards on the ground and 169 yards passing, completing 13 of 16 passes, three for touchdowns, was 13-for-18 against Montana for 95 yards and rushed for 91 yards on 14 trips. Graves is the third Mustang to start at quarterback this fall, following Vince Moraga (two starts, knee injury) and Chris Brown (three starts, hip injury).
Cal Poly has had difficulty putting together two solid halves of football this season. In their first three road games, the Mustangs were outscored 82-17 in the first half and outgained 926-375 in total offense. In the second half, Cal Poly outscored its first three road foes 63-26 and compiled a 926-515 advantage in total yards.
Against Montana, Akaninyene Umoh scored twice on short runs as Cal Poly overcame an early 7-0 deficit and led 14-7 with 2:17 to play before the Grizzlies drove 88 yards on 15 plays, most on short sideline passes, tying the game on fourth down with 12 seconds to play in regulation. Montana scored on the second play of overtime and Cal Poly was intercepted on its third play of the extra period.
In the first three quarters, the Mustangs held Montana to eight first downs and 146 yards of offense, including just 61 on the ground. The Grizzlies entered the game averaging 474 yards in total offense and scoring almost 41 points a contest. Ontko (14 tackles), Dzubnar (12) and Grosz (10) all produced double-digit tackles while Alcaraz (pictured above) had three tackles and a trio of pass breakups. Dzubnar also forced two fumbles, safety Alex Hubbard recovered a fumble and Jordan Williams, also a safety, intercepted a Montana pass.
Coached by Jerome Souers (16th season, 89-87, (Oregon '83), Northern Arizona returned 42 lettermen, including 18 offensive and defensive starters, off last year's team which went 8-3 overall and finished fourth in the Big Sky at 6-2. The Lumberjacks have earned three FCS playoff berths (1996, 2001, 2003), shared the Big Sky title in 2003 and has posted nine winning seasons in the last 15 years. Ten former Lumberjacks have played in the Super Bowl.
In the win over Idaho State, the Lumberjacks trailed 14-12 at halftime before Bauman scored on runs of three and 52 yards in the third quarter and caught a nine-yard scoring pass from Chase Cartwright to turn the game around. Cartwright completed 17 of 26 passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns.
For the season, Bauman has rushed for a Big Sky-leading 884 yards and seven touchdowns (6.1 yards per carry) while Cartwright, who replaced starter Kyren Poe in the starting lineup just two weeks ago, has connected on 33 of 45 passes (73 percent) for 365 yards and six scores. Bauman has 32 catches, Alex Holmes 31 and Nick Cole and Jesse Brantley 26 each.
Middle linebacker Austin Hasquet has 53 tackles and strong safety Lucky Dozier 47 to lead the Northern Arizona defense, which has notched 13 sacks and six interceptions in seven games. The Lumberjacks have scored six touchdowns by means other than rushing or passing, returning four thefts and two fumbles for scores. Punter Andy Wilder averages 42.0 yards per punt with seven for 50 or more yards, 13 fair catches and 14 finishing inside the 20.
Northern Arizona is averaging 364 yards in total offense per game -- 150 on the ground and 214 through the air -- and scoring 23 points a contest while giving up 352 yards (148 rushing, 204 passing) and 26 points per game.
Northern Arizona has 38 Californians on the roster, including sophomore fullback Nick Butier from San Luis Obispo High School, who has played all seven games this fall and has rushed twice for four yards while catching two balls for 17 yards.
Souers, a 1983 graduate of Oregon, coached in Oregon high schools for eight years before moving into the collegiate ranks, which included one season each at Western Washington and Portland State and 12 years at Montana, nine as defensive coordinator.
Cal Poly and Northern Arizona will be playing each other in football for the 10th time Saturday. First meeting was in 1935 and Northern Arizona has outscored Cal Poly 240-147, though the Mustangs won 42-34 a year ago in Flagstaff as Deonte Wiliams (142 yards) and Ivory (100) both surpassed the century mark in rushing. Ivory scored twice, Andre Broadous passed for two scores and ran for another and Dzubnar returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown.
Tim Walsh is 5-7 against Northern Arizona, the first 11 games as head coach at Portland State, while Souers is 4-1 against Cal Poly. The Mustangs are 0-4 at home against the Lumberjacks and 1-4 in Flagstaff.
Next week Cal Poly football, presented by French Hospital Medical Center, plays at UC Davis on Saturday, Nov. 2, with kickoff set for 4 p.m. PDT in Aggie Stadium.
