SAN ANTONIO — Zach Calzada threw two touchdown passes, Dekalon Taylor ran for 184 yards with two touchdowns and Incarnate Word stopped Northern Arizona on downs five times to roll to a 38-14 win on Saturday night.
The Cardinals (2-2) turned four of the five fourth-down stops into touchdowns, including two in the first half.
NAU (2-2) gambled near midfield in the first quarter and that was turned into a Calzada 13-yard TD pass to Mason Pierce to tie the game at 7.
The Lumberjacks went for it again in the red zone in the second quarter and after the defense made the stop, the Cardinals went 81 yards, the last 35 on Taylor's burst through the middle to tie the game at 14.
With less than a minute to go in the half, Declan Williams strip-sacked Ty Pennington on NAU's next possession and Darius Sanders recovered on the 23. Brack Peacock kicked a 40-yard field goal as time expired.
Isaiah Eastman recovered a muffed punt at the 16 for Incarnate Word after its drive stalled to open the second half and two snaps later Roy Alexander scored on a 10-yard run.
The Lumberjacks' next three possessions ended on fourth-down failures and the Cardinals scored twice, first on a 97-yard run by Taylor that made it 31-14, After the last stop, Calzada had his second touchdown pass, a 32-yard connection with Alexander.
The Lumberjacks had 431 yards, 19 more than Incarnate Word. Darvon Hubbard scored on a 47-yard run up the middle, a possession made possible when the Cardinals were stopped on downs at midfield. Pennington threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Tay Lanier for a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football.
Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter: https://apnews.com/cfbtop25
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
12Sports on YouTube
Get the latest news and stories from 12Sports on the 12News YouTube channel. And don't forget to subscribe!
