Glendale, AZ- On Saturday, Montana State- Northern built an early lead and held off Arizona Christian 20-14 to take the season opener for both teams.  The connection of Senior Emilio Araiza and Junior Jon Cole was a bright spot in the Glendale debut for the Firestorm.

Araiza threw for a game high 282 yards with both touchdown tosses going to Cole.

Defensively, Junior Jacob Hernandez produced a game high 11 total tackles.

Game Info

• Game score: Montana State- Northern 20, Arizona Christian 14
• Records: Arizona Christian- 0-1, 0-0 SAC, Montana State- Northern- 1-0, 0-0 Frontier
• NAIA Top 25 Rank: Arizona Christian – RV, Montana State- Northern – not ranked
• Location: Cactus High School, Glendale, AZ

Offensive Stars

• Emilio Araiza - 15-34, 282 passing yards, two touchdowns
• Jon Cole - 4 catches, 110 receiving yards, two touchdowns

Defensive Stars

• Jacob Hernandez - 11 tackles
• Joel Zurita - 8 tackles
• Dee Gallon - 8 tackles
• Anthony Nicastro - 5 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, sack
• Isaac Gilliam - interception

Inside The Numbers

• ACU rushed for just 25 yards
• MSUN held a 17-0 lead at the break
• Two of the first three ACU drives in the second half resulted in Araiza to Cole touchdowns including a 54 yard bomb
• MSUN out gained ACU 386-321

Thoughts from Coach Bowen

"It was a very disappointing evening for the Firestorm.  There were just too many mistakes in the first half to overcome a 17 point halftime deficit.  I was proud of our team's effort in the second half to get back in the game.  We had a chance to win the game, but we just made too many mistakes.  We will have to regroup and get ready to play our first ever Division I opponent when we travel to Abilene Christian University next week."

Up Next

On Saturday, Arizona Christian will play the "other ACU" when they travel to Abilene Christian.  Game time will be 4:00 pm CDT/ 2:00 pm Arizona.