Kedrick Reescano scored on a 56-yard run to give No. 20 Arizona some breathing room in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats rallied in the second half to top Northern Arizona 22-10 on Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz.
Arizona (2-0) outscored the Lumberjacks (1-1) 16-0 in the second half, extending the nation’s longest winning streak to nine games. The defense, coming up with a safety and a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter, made up for an off night for the offense.
Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita completed 18 of 26 passes for 173 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Quali Conley rushed for 112 yards on 17 carries.
Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, who caught 10 passes for 304 yards and four TDs last week against New Mexico, was limited to two catches for 11 yards against NAU.
Northern Arizona was backed up inside its own 1 early in the fourth quarter when Arizona tackled running back Darvon Hubbard in the end zone for a safety and a 15-10 lead. On the ensuing drive, Reescano broke through a hole on the left side and raced down the sideline for his long scoring run, giving the Wildcats a 22-10 advantage with 9:32 remaining.
NAU’s Ty Pennington was held to 84 yards passing, completing 14 of 24 attempts. The Lumberjacks, who totaled just 198 yards, lost the ball on a Pennington fumble near midfield with 1:46 left in the game.
After trailing 10-6 at halftime, the Wildcats got some momentum when they stopped Northern Arizona on fourth-and-1 at the NAU 34 on the first possession of the second half. One play after a third-down face-mask penalty by the Lumberjacks kept the ensuing Arizona drive alive, Fifita hit Jeremiah Patterson for a 17-yard touchdown and a 13-10 lead.
In a first half dominated by defense, NAU took a 7-3 lead on a 25-yard scoring pass from receiver Isaiah Eastman to Xander Werner with 10:24 to go in the second quarter. The Lumberjacks added a field goal about four minutes later after Mikale Greer intercepted a pass from Fifita.
The Wildcats cut their deficit to 10-6 on Tyler Loop’s 48-yard field goal with 32 seconds remaining in the first half.
–Field Level Media
