Incarnate Word turns fourth-down stops into 4 touchdowns in 38-14 win over Northern Arizona

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — 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, Calzado 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.

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