Stephen F. Austin
UL-Monroe
Lumberjacks hold on to defeat UL-Monroe 23-21
9/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 6, 2003
Stephen F. Austin fended off Louisiana-Monroe's second-half rally as the Lumberjacks won 23-21.
In front of a home-opening crowd of 15,056, the UL-Monroe fell behind on the first offensive play of the game as Tony Tompkins broke free for an 81-yard touchdown, the longest in Malone Stadium history. That big play helped SFA build a 16-0 halftime-lead, before the Indians began their second-half comeback which fell short.
SFA extended its lead to 9-0 later in the first quarter, when Ryan Smith blocked Joel Stelly's punt through the end zone for a safety. It was part of a tough night for the Indians' special teams, as ULM also had two field goals blocked and another nullified by an illegal procedure penalty.
An interception of a Steven Jyles' pass by Brent Hafford, set the Lumberjacks up at the ULM 49 midway through the second quarter and SFA moved to their second touchdowns in five plays. Zeke Dixon hit Michael David from 32 yards out for the score and 16-0 halftime-lead.
As much as the first half was all SFA, the second half belonged to the Indians. With tailback Kevin Payne rushing for 81 of his game-high 135 yards in the final 30 minutes, the Indians began to rally. Payne, a freshman, closed out a 67-yard scoring drive on ULM's first possession of the second half with a five-yard TD run. That brought the Indians to within 16-7.
The Indians, 0-2, pulled closer later in the period, when Payne scored from six yards out. A 30-yard Jyles to Mack Vincent pass was the key play on the 68-yard march.
But after reaching the SFA 19-yard-line on a 61-yard march that started late in the third quarter and stretched into the final period, Tyler Kuecker's 36-yard field goal, which would have given the Indians the lead, was blocked. After the two teams exchanged possessions, SFA drove 66 yards to a Dixon to Eric Chapman pass that covered 39 yards for a 23-14 lead.
ULM rallied one more time, with Jyles finding Vincent for a two-yard scoring pass with 2:52 remaining. But SFA gained a first down on the ensuing possession and when the Indians got the ball back one final time from their own 39, they had no timeouts and only 16 seconds remained.
ULM outgained the Lumberjacks (1-0) by 350 to 346, but the Indians committed three turnovers to SFA's one. Dixon hit 9-of-23 passes for 162 yards for the 'Jacks, while Jyles was 21-of-40 for 201 yards. Tompkins led the SFA rushers with 94 yards on six carries.
