AZUSA, Calif. – Marcus Cox barreled 13 yards into the end zone with just 33 seconds left in the game to lift Humboldt State to a 31-24 come-from-behind victory over Azusa Pacific before 2,513 at Cougar Stadium Saturday night.

Cox’s pinball run up the middle capped a 13-play, 85-yard drive in which the Lumberjacks converted a key fourth-day play and chewed up nearly 7 minutes of the fourth-quarter clock, leaving Azusa Pacific little opportunity for one last score. The win is Humboldt State’s first victory in the “Canyon City” since 1996 and highlights the Lumberjacks’ best start to a season since 1971.

Lumberjack QB Blake Moorman completed 11-of-19 passes for 127 yards and 1 TD, a 28-yard pinpoint loft to Milton White to give HSU a 21-14 halftime lead, and rushed for another 59 yards on 8 carries. Facing a fourth-and-2 at the Cougar 37-yard line and less than 4 minutes left in the game, Humboldt State was too far away to kick a field and too close to punt, so the Jacks opted to go for it, and Moorman cashed in, converting a quarterback draw into a 6-yard run off left-tackle for a new set of downs against a wearying Cougar defense. Four running plays later Cox scored the game-winner.

Azusa Pacific feasted on 5 Lumberjack turnovers, scoring 17 points off the HSU miscues. In fact, the Cougars parlayed a muffed Jack punt return and a Clint Shamblin interception into a 24-21 advantage after quarterback Chris Lamkin sprinted 13 yards for a touchdown less than a minute into the fourth quarter.

Four minutes later, though, Humboldt’s Ben Peterson knotted the game at 24-24 with a 27-yard field goal. Azusa Pacific was unable to move the ball on 3 plays during the ensuing drive and relied on Andrew Lutton’s 42-yard punt to pin HSU back at its own 15-yard line with 7:29 left in regularion. Cox and Moorman accounted for all 85 yards of the game-winning drive, Cox rushing for 40 yards on the ground while Moorman ran and threw for the rest.

Early on it appeared as if the game was quickly going to get out of hand. The Lumberjacks scored a pair of touchdowns in just 42 seconds, turning a Lamkin fumble at the Cougar 33-yard line on Azusa Pacific’s opening drive, into a Joevany Cueva 5-yard TD run. On the very next play from scrimmage, Jack defensive end Todd Eagle picked off Lamkin’s swing pass and raced 18 yards in the opposite direction for another touchdown.

Lamkin, who 2 weeks ago was a third-string quarterback and now because of injuries was making his first collegiate start, settled down and with him so too did the Cougars. On the Cougars’ third possession, Lamkin hit sophomore WR Jon Davis in stride for a 40-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

Azusa Pacific took advantage of the first of 2 Kyle Killingsworth muffed punt returns and cashed in another touchdown on a Marcus Lampkin 4-yard burst that tied the game at 14-14 early in the second quarter.

The Cougars missed a golden opportunity for another touchdown after Beau Leaman recovered the second Killingsworth muffed punt at the Cougar 3-yard line. Azusa Pacific was unable to punch the ball into the end zone and instead had to settle for a Ben Hansen 23-yard field.

Lamkin finished the game 6-of-10 passing for 81 yards, but he was picked off 3 times, including the final play of the game after the Cougars had moved the ball to the HSU 40-yard line and within striking distance of a game-tying touchdown. Lamkin also rushed for a game-high 76 yards on 19 carries, and all told, accounted for 157 of Azusa Pacific’s 240 yards worth of offense.

Azusa Pacific, which suffers its second late-game setback in the past 3 weeks, falls to 1-6 on the season, while Humboldt State improves to 5-1 for its best start in 25 years.