Coach Jerome Souers could hardly have asked his team to start the game any better. On NAU's second drive, the Lumberjacks started at the one-yard line to begin an epic 19-play, 99-yard touchdown drive to give them an early lead that took nine minutes and 23 seconds off the clock.
"The best defense anywhere is keeping their guys off the field," Souers said. "That really did set the tone."
From then on, the Jacks controlled the rest of the game and earned a season-defining win Saturday night a the Walkup Skydome, beating No. 9 Montana State 34-7 in front of one of the largest home crowds (12,155) since 2003 against Montana.
"This win is one of the best wins in my tenure here at NAU, no question about it," Souers said.
The victory also kept NAU's (4-2, 2-1 Big Sky Conference) postseason hopes alive, while the Bobcats (5-2, 3-1) remain in the thick of things.
"I couldn't be prouder of the men in our program," Souers said. "This is a program win for us and one of major significance.
"To come out with the score (like that) is a major accomplishment."
Both quarterback Michael Herrick and the entire Jacks' offense rebounded from the unit's worst game of the season to give NAU its first win over a top-10 ranked opponent since 2002 against Portland State.
"I probably had one of the worst games of my career, at any level, last week," Herrick said. "I think we finally clicked all together at one time and it shows how good we can be."
The senior quarterback threw three touchdown passes in the first half and finished with 281 passing yards on 32-of-43 passing for his best game of the season. Herrick said that initial scoring drive gave him and the rest of the offense the momentum they needed to get things going right.
"We blocked and we caught and we ran -- it was just a great drive," Herrick said. "It was one of the best drives, as a whole, that I've been a part of."
Herrick targeted receivers Austin Shanks and Daiveun Curry-Chapman for most of the game. The pair each caught eight passes for 75 and 69 yards, respectively, and combined for three touchdowns.
"It was only a matter of time before me and the receivers started clicking," Herrick said.
The Jacks scored on four consecutive drives to build a 28-0 lead while the defense forced three-and-outs to keep the Bobcats off the field. At the half, NAU held a 24:12 to 5:48 advantage in time of possession, and Montana State only managed 13 plays for 19 total offensive yards.
"The offense showed up and they played great and it really helps out," said linebacker Cody Dowd, who scored NAU's final touchdown on a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. "We had 12 or 14 plays (on defense) in the first half. Second half, we came out and felt like we just got done with the first quarter with how much energy we had."
Helping the defense was the large, vuvuzela-spewing crowd that gave Montana State a hard time managing its offense, especially on third down. The Bobcats finished the game 2-of-13 on third-down conversions.
"There's something about playing in your own backyard where there's a different level of energy," Souers said.
It was the first time the Jacks played in Flagstaff since Sept. 2 in their home opener.
"It's nice to feed off the crowd," Herrick said. "I think we kind of forgot how that felt."
The NAU fans and defense helped give Montana State redshirt freshman quarterback Denarius McGhee problems throughout the game. He had an erratic passing night, couldn't manage to run for many yards on the ground and struggled to find an open receiver when he had time to throw. He ended the night with 104 yards, completing 14 of his 30 passes. The Bobcats had 123 total yards, well short of their 516.2 season average, while NAU had 404.
It was an all-around team effort, the Jacks said. Every unit played, perhaps, its best game of the season and it couldn't have come at a much better time.
"Having that loss last week really gave us a gut-check," Dowd said. "'Where do we want to go this season; do we want to win or do we just want to be average?' A lot of people stepped up to that call."
Jacob May can be reached at jmay@azdailysun.com or 556-2257.
