GREELEY, Colo.—Zach Bauman ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns as Northern Arizona held off Northern Colorado 21-14 on Saturday.
Bauman had his fifth 100-yard game of the season for Northern Arizona (5-4, 3-3 Big Sky), which ended a two-game losing streak.
Michael Herrick tossed a touchdown pass and Mike Czyz caught six passes for 71 yards for the Lumberjacks, who defeated Northern Colorado for the eighth consecutive time. They haven’t lost to the Bears since 1978.
Dylan Orms threw for 204 yards and a touchdown. He also had a TD on a quarterback sneak for Northern Colorado (2-8, 1-6).
Northern Arizona scored on its first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead. The Lumberjacks kept the first drive alive with a third-down pass interference penalty to set up Bauman’s 16-yard touchdown run off left tackle.
Herrick found Daiveun Curry-Chapman in stride for a 39-yard touchdown toss after the defense forced a three-and-out with 7:46 left in the first quarter.
Northern Colorado reached the Northern Arizona 6 on a 70-yard pass from Orms to Doug Steele and Orms scored on a sneak two plays later. The Lumberjacks came right back on a 1-yard dive by Bauman.
Trailing 21-7, Northern Colorado got as close as the NAU 8 before Orms was sacked on a fourth-down play late in the second quarter.
Northern Colorado came away empty when Northern Arizona made another stand early in the third quarter. Dylan Kildahl recovered Bauman’s fumble at the Lumberjacks 37, but Dave Eden missed a 36-yard field goal.
The Bears caught a break to cut it to 21-14 with 2:58 left in the third quarter. Orms’ pass from the 13-yard line was deflected by safeties Kasseem Osheroff and Taylor Malenfant to Steele in the end zone.
Linebacker Reid Worthington intercepted a pass by Orms at the Northern Colorado 39 with 3:27 left.
