Complete Statistics

Post-Game Notes

GREELEY, Colo. - Going for the victory with time waning, the University of Northern Colorado football team (0-3, 0-1 Big Sky Conference) scored a touchdown with 1:09 on the clock, but did not convert the two-point conversion. Instead, Northern Arizona (3-1, 1-0) ran the conversion back for two points to seal the win, 25-22.

The Bears once again electrified the crowd early, as junior cornerback Quincy Wofford ran the opening kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown. It ties for the longest kickoff return in school history, knotting Hiram Haynes (1968), Rick Pierson (1970) and Mick Busch (1973) and is the first kickoff return for a touchdown since the Bears went Division I, as the last occurred in 2002. Wofford also had a 24-yard return, giving him 124 for the contest, which is the 10^th best total in Northern Colorado history.

Junior quarterback Bryan Waggener threw for 261 yards in the game, completing 16-of-39 attempts with one touchdown. His favorite target of the afternoon was senior tight end Ryan Chesla, who caught five passes for 99 yards, tying his career best for reception yards in a game. Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Smith also caught four passes for 47 yards and a touchdown with 1:09 remaining in the game.

The defensive standout of the game was once again senior linebacker Cristian Sarmento. He tallied a season-best 19 tackles, including a sack, forced fumble and pass break up. It marked the 11^th straight game against FCS competition he has recorded double figures in tackles and is one shy of his career best of 20 from last season at Eastern Washington. In the last two games, Sarmento has amassed 37 tackles and three sacks.

Sophomore safety Mike Van Portfliet had the biggest day of his career on the football field, blocking back-to-back punts by Northern Arizona. He ties the school record for blocks in a game, becoming the fourth player (Deacon Nauslar, 1980; Tim Bowie, 1995; Delano Washington, 1996) at Northern Colorado to block two in one game. That mark also ties him with Wofford and several others for seventh on the single season list and ties for eighth on the career charts.

The Bears doubled up the Lumberjacks in tackles as NC had 100 and NAU tallied 49. Eight of the Bears' 100 were for loss, as eight different student-athletes were in on tackles for loss. The Bears also forced three fumbles, one by Sarmento and two by fellow senior linebacker Trey Keene.

Northern Arizona was led by Deonte Williams with 127 rushing yards, while quarterback Lance Kriesien threw for 169 yards completing 12-of-21 passes. He hit Ed Berry four times for 87 yards. Williams also has 29 reception yards giving him 156 all-purpose yards on the day.

After Wofford ran back the opening kickoff 100 yards, the Bears completed the two-point conversion with a rush by sophomore Sam Sewell for the 8-0 lead. NAU scored four minutes later on an eight-yard run by Kriesien, but his rush failed on the two-point attempt for the 8-6 Bears lead.

In the second quarter, Robbie Dehaze connected on a 31-yard field goal to give Northern Arizona the one-point lead and they tacked on seven more with 2:41 remaining in the half on a seven-yard scamper by Williams. With 2:02 on the clock in the half, senior running back David Woods scored on a one-yard rush and Waggener hit Brandon Smith on a two-point conversion for the tie score, 16-16.

Northern Arizona regained the lead with 2:42 in the third quarter on a six-yard run by Williams before the Bears scored with 1:09 left.

The Bears step out of conference for the final time next weekend as they play at UC Davis. Game time is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (Pacific)/7:00 p.m. (Mountain).