Jayson Raines’ made a remarkable catch on a 2-point conversion that was waved off because Northern Arizona’s stadium lights went out while the pass was in the air against Idaho on Friday. Courtesy of Northern Arizona

Northern Arizona receiver Jayson Raines thought the lights just flickered. He saw the ball, then didn’t — but somehow still caught it.

It took his brain a moment to realize the lights weren’t coming back on.

Late in the fourth quarter of NAU’s matchup with Idaho at J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Friday, the Lumberjacks lined up for a 2-point conversion attempt after taking a 27-26 lead over the Vandals.

Quarterback Ty Pennington scanned the field and fired toward Raines. With the ball in flight, the stadium lights suddenly went out. When the lights came back on seconds later, Raines was holding the ball. He made the catch in complete darkness.

“It never registered in my brain,” Raines said in a phone interview with *The Athletic *on Saturday. “It really was muscle memory. Even when I got up in the end zone, I didn’t realize it was still pitch black. I thought the lights were just flashing.”

Officials, however, ruled that “the lights went out in the middle of the play” and ordered a retry. Raines figured the ball would come his way again. He was open the first time, so why not run it back?

2 points in the dark. 2 points in the light.

It’s Halloween folks, right @SickosCommittee? https://t.co/yo1UXeYuwB pic.twitter.com/2x8gAq2tkN

— NAU Football (@NAU_Football) November 1, 2025

Instead, junior receiver Joey Stout hauled in the do-over between defenders in the back of the end zone, this time under full lights, to put NAU up by three.

It was all the same joy for Raines.

“People were like, ‘Jayson, do it again,’” he said. “I thought the ball was probably coming to me again. Instead, it went to Joey, and he made an amazing play, too. That just added to the moment.”

By the time Raines returned to his phone after what became a 35-32 overtime loss to Idaho, messages were flooding in. When he woke up Saturday morning, the clip had gone viral.

“Afterwards, my friends were sending me videos on Snapchat and Instagram like, ‘Bro, this is crazy!’” said Raines, who had two receptions for 34 yards. “Then I woke up this morning, and people were texting me, ‘Yo, is this you?’ I’m seeing CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, ESPN posting me. It’s just a surreal moment. You never expect to go viral.”

The Lumberjacks started the season 4-1 but have sputtered since then, losing three of the next four games to drop into a sixth-place tie in the Big Sky Conference. If NAU wants to stay in postseason contention, Raines said unity has to guide it forward.

“One of our main things as a team is to always be ‘one team,’” he said. “Stay together. Stay focused. Continue to play each game to the best of our ability. Play for each other, play together and keep progressing to get better each and every game, so we have a chance at football after the regular season.”

Nov 1, 2025

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Devon Henderson is a staff writer for The Athletic. He has covered the Summer Olympics, College Football Playoffs, and the Men’s Final Four while at Arizona State University and was an intern at the Southern California News Group, where he covered the Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Sparks, and LAFC. Follow Devon on Twitter @HendersonDevon_