Stephen F. Austin
Southern Utah
'Jacks Spoil Southern Utah Homecoming
9/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 24, 2005
CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack football team improved to 3-1 (.750) on the season defeating Southern Utah, 40-17, Saturday night at Eccles Coliseum in Cedar City, Utah.
After trailing by three, 10-7, in the first quarter the `Jacks rallied to score 13 unanswered point to take a 20-10 lead in the third quarter. The winless Thunderbirds put up a strong fight in their homecoming to pull to within three points, 20-17, with 13:04 remaining in the game, but that's when the Lumberjack offense took control of the game.
SFA got the ball back and mounted their longest scoring drive of the game. After forcing an SUU punt, senior quarterback Zeke Dixon guided the `Jacks on an eight-play, 85-yard drive that culminated in a Louie Runnels' seven-yard touchdown run to give SFA a 26-17 advantage. Runnels finished the night with 12 carries for 67 yards and two touchdowns. All but six of Runnels' rushing yards came in the second half.
The Lumberjack special teams then got in the scoring act. After forcing the Thunderbirds to punt from their own 17-yard line, junior linebacker Kenneth Boley knifed through the line to block Brandon Perkins' punt. Boley then pounced on the ball in the endzone to give SFA a 33-17 lead.
Runnels added the second of his two touchdowns with a one-yard plunge with 1:55 remaining in the contest. Cory Long added the extra point to give the `Jacks their final tally.
Dixon finished the game with a 16-of-33 performance, for 290 yards and two touchdowns. One of Dixon's TD passes was a 64-yard strike to sophomore wideout Tyrell Williams to give SFA its first lead of the game, 7-3, with 7:18 in the first quarter.
The Dixon-to-Williams connection hooked up again late in the first half, when Dixon hit Williams for a 16-yard TD pass with only 46 seconds remaining in the half. Williams finished the game with four receptions for 107 yards.
Sophomore Chance Dennis hauled in four catches for 62 yards, while redshirt freshman Dominique Edison kept an SFA drive alive during a key moment in the second half catching four passes for 61 yards.
The Lumberjacks recorded 449 yards of total offense, while holding the inspired Thunderbirds to 317 yards and forcing them into five turnovers. Senior Ryan Luedecke led the Lumberjack defense with 11 tackles (four solo stops), two tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and a pass deflection.
The Lumberjacks will have a week off before returning to action on Saturday Oct. 8, to host Nicholls State. The game against the Colonels is slated to begin at 2 p.m., from Homer Bryce Stadium.
