Butler, Cookus lead NAU past Stephen F. Austin
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- Emmanuel Butler caught seven passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns to lead Northern Arizona to a season-opening 34-28 victory over Stephen F. Austin on Saturday night.
"They left their man one-on-one with us and we were able to capitalize," Butler said. "It feels great. To start off the year with a win is always good for us and now we just have to keep rolling and pushing our way through."
Case Cookus hit Butler on a 57-yard scoring strike early in the first quarter to put Northern Arizona out front and the Lumberjacks never relinquished the lead.
"To see Emmanuel shine the way he did was amazing," Lumberjacks coach Jerome Souers said. "Case had his first collegiate quarterback experience and perform the way he did was great. I thought he showed great poise and accuracy. Casey ran extremely well tonight. When you're performing like that it's because your offensive line is dominating."
Cookus, who also threw to Butler for a 43-yard score in the second period, finished with 267 yards and two touchdowns.
"It was a great experience," the redshirt freshman Cookus said of his debut. "Right now I'm on cloud nine. We got the first win under our belt. We did make a few mistakes tonight, but next week the plan is to improve. It helps when you have the best receiving group and a great offensive line."
Casey Jahn had 21 carries for 157 yards as Northern Arizona amassed 547 total yards. Ryan Hawkins kicked two field goals in the first half to help the Lumberjacks to a 20-14 lead.
Trailing 34-14, Stephen F. Austin rallied in the fourth quarter to score twice when Zach Conque hit Justice Liggins from 19 yards out and, with 2:54 remaining, Conque ran it in from the ten.
Conque was 28 of 38 for 297 yards.
