Stephen F. Austin
Western Illinois
SFA Defeats Western Illinois
9/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 19, 2009
MACOMB, Ill. - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack football team never trailed Saturday evening defeating Western Illinois, 40-30. The victory moves SFA to 2-1 on the season, while the Leathernecks fall to 1-2. SFA recorded 523 yards of total offense including 133 yards on the ground.
The Lumberjacks jumped out a 14-point lead in the first quarter, only to see Western Illinois battle back to tie the game at 14 with 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Lumberjacks didn't wait long to respond as Jeremy Moses connected with senior Aaron Rhea 37 seconds later on a 51-yard scoring strike to give SFA back the advantage, 20-14. Although the Leathernecks would start the rest of the half with good field position, the SFA defense would not back down.
The Lumberjacks tacked on nine more points in the second quarter off the leg of freshman kicker Evan Engwall. The Derby, Kansas, native booted field goals of 51, 50 and 23 yards to give SFA a 15-point advantage. WIU closed out the first half scoring with a 43-yard field goal with three seconds remaining until half time.
SFA recorded 331 yards of total offense, while the Leathernecks finished the half with 198. The Lumberjacks carried the ball 14 times for 73 yards in the opening half, while WIU recorded 84 yards on the ground in the first half.
The Leathernecks immediately cut the lead to five points, when Todd Speight opened the second half with a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. That was all the scoring in the second half until Engwall drilled a 38-yard field goal with 14:08 remaining to give SFA an eight-point lead, 32-24.
WIU tacked on another score when Matt Barr found tight end Matt Warner for a 30-yard scoring strike. The TD pass cut the SFA lead down to two points, 32-30, but the Lumberjacks answered 60 seconds later when Moses connected with Rhea for his second TD reception of the night giving SFA back an eight-point lead, 38-30. SFA finished the game with a safety for the final tally.
Moses finished the game 33-of-54 for 390 yards, and four touchdowns. Senior Vincent Pervis led all running backs with 16 carries for a career-high 105 yards. Classmate Duane Brooks added 10 catches for 85 yards, while Contrevious Parks had eight receptions for 81 yards and two scores. The Lumberjack defense held WIU to 342 yards, including only 86 on the ground.
The Lumberjacks return to action Saturday, Sept. 26, when they return home to host North Dakota. The game against the Fighting Sioux will kick off at 6 p.m. from Homer Bryce Stadium.
-SFA-
