Cal Poly falls to Northern Arizona in Mustangs’ final game of season
Northern Arizona University sent Cal Poly to a 45-21 loss to close out the Mustangs’ season Saturday at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
The Mustangs could not match the pace of the Lumberjacks, led by the prolific running of freshman Kevin Daniels. Northern Arizona also recorded three interceptions.
Daniels rushed for 280 yards on 28 carries, the most yards the Mustangs have ever allowed to an opponent. He scored five touchdowns in the second and third quarters, reaching the end zone on runs of 3, 13, 23, 90 and 45 yards.
The Mustangs’ defeat on Senior Night followed the team’s Nov. 13 victory against Idaho State, Cal Poly’s first Big Sky Conference win this season, its first victory since the 2021 season opener and its first win at home since the 2019 season opener.
Cal Poly actually got on the scoreboard first and ended the first half with a 100-yard touchdown return from a missed Northern Arizona field goal.
For the Mustangs’ first score, quarterback Spencer Brasch handed the ball to Lepi Lataimua, who jumped and flipped over the defense for 1-yard touchdown. With the extra point, Cal Poly (2-9, 1-7 Big Sky) led Northern Arizona (5-6, 4-4 Big Sky) 7-0.
The Lumberjacks evened the score when quarterback RJ Martinez hit Coleman Owen with a 62-yard touchdown pass.
Northern Arizona dominated the second and third quarters, scoring 38 points and holding the Mustangs to one touchdown.
But on the final play of the first half, Cal Poly freshman defensive back Xavier Oliphant returned a missed Northern Arizona field goal 100 yards for a touchdown, the first time such a play has happened in Cal Poly’s history.
Oliphant caught the ball in the back of the end zone before taking off to the left sideline, then cutting to the middle of the field for the last 40 yards of his touchdown run.
Cal Poly’s Chuby Dunu scored the sole touchdown of the fourth quarter on a 2-yard run, making the final score 45-21.
Cal Poly maintained possession for two minutes longer than Northern Arizona, but the Lumberjacks outgained the Mustangs 495 yards to 375 and earned 21 first downs compared to Cal Poly’s 20.
Brasch completed 18 of 43 passes for 161 yards and three interceptions. Chris Coleman earned a season-high of seven catches, and Zedekiah Centers caught five.
Freshman Zion Hall totaled 82 yards on seven rushes, including a 59-yard run, and Lataimua tallied 56 yards on 15 rushes.
Fenton Will earned a career-high of 14 tackles for the Mustangs.
Matt Shotwell ended his Cal Poly career No. 4 in the Mustangs’ record book with 345 tackles.
As Shotwell’s career comes to a close, he said it was special to have his brothers Kyle, Ryan and Troy alongside him to honor their parents Steve and Cindy.
“Cal Poly has meant as much to my parents as it has to us as brothers, and having my brothers there to welcome me as their brother in alumni of Cal Poly was pretty awesome,” Shotwell said.
Coach Beau Baldwin said there were many emotions left on the field as 27 Mustangs played their final college football game.
“There are corrections going into the offseason and certain ways the game went that weren’t how we wanted to finish, but that’s irrelevant at this moment as we’re going to learn from it,” Baldwin said. “What’s more relevant is those seniors — we appreciate them, we thanked them and there was a lot of hugging it out in the locker room.”
As the Mustangs enter the off-season, Baldwin said the team will continue to work hard.
“There’s a lot of things to do and a long way to go, but it’s exciting moving forward,” Baldwin said.
Sacramento State (9-2, 8-0 Big Sky) won the Big Sky Conference title following a 27-7 victory at UC Davis. Montana State (9-2, 7-1) had an opportunity to share the title, but were upset at Montana 29-10.
This story was originally published November 20, 2021 at 11:40 PM with the headline "Cal Poly falls to Northern Arizona in Mustangs’ final game of season."
