Stephen F. Austin
Northwestern State
Lumberjacks Fall in Finale
11/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 17, 2005
NATCHITOCHES, La. - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack football team matched Northwestern State pretty evenly on the offensive side of the ball in Thursday night's season finale. But the Demon defense scored a pair of touchdowns on fumble recoveries to give Northwestern State a sizeable lead, and the Demons were able to record a 41-21 victory over the Lumberjacks.
SFA mustered 355 yards of total offense, the bulk of it coming through the air. Senior quarterback Zeke Dixon completed 19 of 47 passes for 286 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns and ran for another score in his final game as a Lumberjack, but it wasn't enough with the Demons scoring on both sides of the ball. SFA wraps up its season with a 5-6 overall mark and a 1-5 record in Southland Conference play, while Northwestern State finishes at 5-5 for the year and 3-3 in league action.
Northwestern State got on the board early when Paul Mefford scooped up a fumbled ball and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown with 13:05 left in the first quarter. The Demons extended their lead just three minutes later when Shelton Sampson scored on a 10-yard run.
SFA answered with a little less than three minutes to go in the first half, when the Lumberjacks took advantage of a Demon turnover and a short field. SFA covered 28 yards in six plays, with Dixon doing the honors on the ground from one yard out. The game went to halftime with Northwestern State in the lead, 14-7.
Northwestern State quickly widened the gap in the second half, though. The Demons took a two-touchdown lead with 11:50 left in the third quarter when Sampson broke free for a 36-yard scoring run. Then, Bruce Woods recovered a Lumberjack fumble in the end zone for Northwestern State's second defensive touchdown of the game. That score made it 28-7, in the Demons' favor, with 6:54 left in the third quarter.
The Lumberjacks responded with a two-play, 42-yard scoring drive on their first possession of the fourth quarter. Dixon found junior fullback Michael Motte for a 17-yard touchdown that made it 28-14 with 13:15 left in the game.
But Northwestern went on a clock-killing 11-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown plunge by quarterback Davon Vinson to all but seal the game with 6:35 left to play.
SFA would add another touchdown on an eight-yard pass from Dixon to sophomore Tyrell Williams, but Greg Skidmore scored a Demon touchdown from 34 yards out to set the final score with 2:22 remaining.
Vinson's 115 yards rushing led the Demons, who racked up 393 yards of offense - 278 on the ground and 115 passing.
Sophomore Louie Runnels led the SFA ground game, carrying 20 times for 67 yards. Senior wideout Carl Price paced the Lumberjack receivers with eight catches for 130 yards. Williams finished with four receptions for 65 yards, and Motte and Runnels caught two passes apiece. Darrel Bennett led all players with 14 tackles, including nine solo stops, and Keldrick Holman picked off two passes with 65 yards combined on the returns.
- SFA -
