Northern Arizona pulls off game-winning 2-point conversion to down Southern Utah 52-49

CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) — Ty Pennington threw for 366 yards and three touchdowns, and he completed a pass to Jayson Raines for a go-ahead 2-point conversion with 29 seconds left as Northern Arizona survived a furious fourth-quarter rally to edge Southern Utah 52-49 on Saturday night.

After three straight touchdowns by Southern Utah to take a 49-42 lead with 4:31 remaining, NAU went on a 13-play, 79-yard drive that took nearly four minutes off the clock. Seth Cromwell capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run and NAU opted to go for the conversion attempt.

NAU added a safety with 13 seconds left.

Pennington connected with Kolbe Katsis for two long scores, including an 88-yard strike that highlighted a 28-point third quarter for the Lumberjacks (2-1). Katsis finished with 135 yards on six catches.

Northern Arizona built a 49-28 lead behind Pennington and a balanced run game paced by Cromwell, who rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns. Quran Gossett added a score on the ground as part of the Lumberjacks’ four rushing touchdowns.

Joshua Dye carried 25 times for 171 yards and four touchdowns for Southern Utah (1-2). Bronson Barron threw for 269 yards and a touchdown.

The Thunderbirds added a 95-yard kickoff return score by Ran Sawyer to fuel a 21-point final quarter.

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