It's their first winning streak of the season and the Lumberjacks hope it means a good end to a tough season.

Saturday's 34-14 Big Sky Conference win over the Northern Colorado Bears was a stepping stone for the Lumberjacks in a few different ways.

The biggest thing NAU (4-5) accomplished was making a statement with its defense, which has struggled in big games this season.

"(Defensive coordinator) Andy Thompson did a good job of mixing up coverages and blitzes, and he made sure our defense wasn't predictable," NAU head coach Jerome Souers said.

Though the Jacks' defense allowed Bears' quarterback Seth Lobato to break contain early in the game, the defense recovered and put Lobato on his back four times. Souers said the pressure was a big step for the Lumberjacks' defense, and senior defender Blayne Anderson added it was huge momentum for the defense to play the way they did.

"At halftime we met as a defense and talked about doing our jobs, and that really helped out in the second half," Anderson said.

The Lumberjacks' offense got off to a difficult start - junior quarterback Cary Grossart threw two early interceptions - but the defense stepped up and made sure NAU stayed in the game.

The Jacks didn't allow any points until late in the fourth quarter.

"Offensively we weren't as effective as we planned to be, and they did a good job with the run game early," Souers said. "Our defense played much better than they needed to, but we don't have a lot of depth so a lot of guys played a lot of snaps. We had a lot of good pressure on the quarterback."

The offense came to life eventually, and sophomore running back Zach Bauman continued his domination of opposing defenses with 245 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. After being relied upon to win the game in the fourth quarter against Sacramento State, Bauman was the feature of NAU's offense again Saturday.

"Zach Bauman will do whatever it takes to win, whether it's coming out of the backfield as a receiver or running the football, there's a lot of ways he can contribute," Souers said.

Bauman scored on the ground on 4- and 5-yard runs, as well as a 39-yard pass on a trick play from wide-receiver Khalil Paden.

"When they scored and had the chance to steal back some momentum, we did the razzle-dazzle, and that may have been one of the greatest catches I've ever seen by a running back," Souers said. "He finished it and scored with a tremendous effort."

Though Paden credited Bauman with making the catch and a great play, Grossart joked that he didn't like seeing another player make such a good throw.

"As much as he gives credit to Zach, (Khalil) made a great play and it's just one of those plays you remember for a long time," Grossart said.

Bauman said he wasn't about to be denied by the defense on the long trick play, gave the credit for his success Saturday to his offensive line, fullbacks and tight ends.

"Today I had a great day of doing everything the offense asked me to do," he said. "The holes were wide open today. I walked right into the end zone on the first touchdown, and when they give me the ball at the goal line I feel like the team is putting trust in me, and I don't want to let the team down."

NAU hits the road this weekend for its last away game of the year when the Jacks take on Weber State in Oregon Saturday.

Bill Harris can be reached at bharris@azdailysun.com, or 556-2251.