Pennington throws for 356 yards and 4 TDs, NAU beats Cal Poly 35-27

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Ty Pennington threw for 356 yards and four touchdown passes, and Northern Arizona beat Cal Poly 35-27 on Saturday night.

Northern Arizona (7-4, 4-3 Big Sky Conference), which has won three of its last four games, stopped two Cal Poly drives deep inside its own territory with less than three minutes to play.

Pennington completed 22 of 29 passes and threw one interception. Kolbe Katsis caught three touchdown passes and finished with six catches for 148 yards. The pair connected on a 75-yard touchdown just before halftime that gave the Lumberjacks a 22-10 lead. Seth Cromwell added 85 yards rushing on 16 carries.

Pennington’s fourth TD pass, a 38-yarder to Katsis, stretched Northern Arizona’s lead to 29-17 early in the third quarter. Samuel Hunsaker kicked a 42-yard field goal to give the Lumberjacks a 32-20 lead heading into the fourth.

Quarterback Anthony Grigsby Jr. had a short-yardage touchdown run to cap a 7-play, 60-yard drive to pull Cal Poly to 32-27 with 7:44 to play, but Hunsaker added a 37-yard field goal with about five minutes left.

Grigsby threw an interception on fourth-and-15 from the 18 with 2:20 to play. The Mustangs then got the ball back with 59 seconds remaining after stuffing Cromwell’s run for no gain on fourth-and 1 at the NAU 27, but they later couldn’t convert on fourth-and-6 from the 23 with 12 seconds left.

Grigsby threw for 151 yards with a touchdown pass and interception. Ty Dieffenbach was 10-of-23 passing for 119 yards and threw a touchdown pass and two interceptions for Cal Poly (3-8, 1-6). The Mustangs have lost six straight games.

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