Northwestern State Postgame Quotes
11/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
SFA head coach Clint Conque
Opening thoughts:
"I couldn't be more proud for our seniors. We don't know what our final destiny is but if this was their last time to put on the purple for Stephen F. Austin, what a way to go out. To have a senior kicker hit nearly a career-long field goal as time expires, that's something special. I'm just very happy for our seniors. You could feel the energy from those players on the sideline, and there are some players that have had a big impact on this program. So I'm very happy and proud for them, and proud of our team. It gives us eight wins, seven Division I wins. We're 7-3 against Division I competition, 2-0 against top-10 teams, 3-1 on the road, we've been in or right on the edge of the top-25 for the last half of the season. I think our body of work is good. We're tied for third place in the league, and to see where we came from to where we are now, I couldn't be more proud of this team and how we finished."
On what a win of this nature does for the confidence of the team moving forward:
"One of the things I said when I came in, and what I shared with our coaches, was that we were going to win some games. We didn't know how many, but until we had a game where we had to come from behind, we weren't there yet. We trailed 14-3 in the second quarter tonight, trailed at halftime, they tied it up late, and then we had to drive the length of the field for a chance to win the game. We hadn't turned the corner yet, so maybe this is that game that will be a cornerstone win for our program. Regardless of what happens tonight and tomorrow with the (FCS playoff) selection process, we gained that feeling of knowing how to make plays under pressure and how to respond to adversity. We had a lot of players that did that tonight on both sides of the football. So this could be a cornerstone win for the program, coming from behind to beat a very good football team. That team (Northwestern State) beat Louisiana Tech, who will be a bowl team out of Conference USA, they beat Sam Houston State, and has won big time football games this year. So I'm very excited, a little bit speechless. I'm glad to get the Chief back, knowing it means a great deal to our administration, to our program and to a lot of people in the community. Just very happy and proud of our team."
On the spark of Gus Johnson's touchdown run:
"Prior to that, we had been inside their 40 or 45 yard line twice and came away with no points. We had a chance in the back of the endzone and had a few plays that we just missed on. Obviously any time you can chop off a 73-yard touchdown, that's huge. Gus had great blocking and just had to make one guy miss, and he did. Gus is a great finisher. When he gets vertical (and he's sitting back there so I'm coaching him right now), he's a load. He knows how to finish. When he gets his shoulder sideways, sometimes he's not as effective, but on that particular run we got great line blocking on both the first and second level, he got his shoulders square and ignited us. That was a big play."
On the downfield play of QB Zach Conque:
"I thought we put together a great game plan and had some good looks and were able to make some contested catches. Tyler Boyd had a huge play for a touchdown and DJ Ward had a really nice catch on a double move to get us a key first down. I continue to be impressed by Zach - his poise, his escapability, his ability to extend plays and his ability to understand our offensive scheme. The touchdown pass to Will Taylor with zero coverage, meaning they were bringing one more than we could handle, we have never thrown that ball in practice. Zach had the poise and the confidence back there to gather himself, Will broke it to the corner, and that tells me that he's playing with extreme poise, presence and is in total command of what he's doing out there. Aaron Thomas made some big plays. Braxton Bearden had a big play downfield. It starts with the run game, it starts with the offensive line and protection. We only had one sack tonight and not too many negative plays. I thought that we did what we had to do to win the football game. Defensively, we hung on. We're a little beat up over there but some guys really stepped up and had some young men that we haven't had to count on in the past come out and play well for us. The credit goes to Matt Williamson and the defensive staff, because in actuality (Northwestern State) only scored 17 points against our defense. That's a major accomplishment for a team that came in averaging over 30 points a game."
SFA senior kicker Jordan Wiggs
On the significance of the field goal:
"That was probably the single most important kick I've had during my time here at SFA. Last week was actually the first opportunity I've had to win a game with a kick since I've been here. This week was my second chance, and a last second chance as well. And that was my second longest field goal since I've been here, so it was definitely the biggest since I've been here."
On the redemption after missing last week's field goal against ACU:
"The last week has been difficult, obviously. But after the last game, the miss, my teammates really rallied around me. I got a lot of messages of support. Being a kicker, you've got to be able to just let things go. That night I held onto it but the next morning I knew it was time to let it go and move on because we were coming into a huge game. We knew bringing the Chief home was crucial and knew a win would hopefully give us a chance for the playoffs."
On what was going through your mind during the two NSU timeouts:
"Really I was just trying to keep my focus and keep my head on straight. It actually gave me more confidence because it put that thought in my mind that they were trying to ice me and get me to miss. It actually got my confidence and motivation up, to be honest, because I wanted to make sure I made it and make the plan backfire."
On what a playoff berth would mean:
"It's a huge deal. For myself, I don't necessarily have the goal to play football at the next level, so this game quite possibly could have been my last game. Anything that would be able to keep me continuing to play football would be great."
SFA senior running back Gus Johnson
On being the program's all-time leading rusher:
"It means a lot to me. There have been a lot of great players that have played here and run the football here at SFA, and to be mentioned with them is a big deal for me. I really like the team I got it with. The last four years I've been here I've loved everyone on my team and it's been a good group of brothers."
On breaking the record on the 73-yard touchdown run:
"I thought the defender was going to get me, to be honest. I was kind of peaking. But maybe I can run a little faster than I think. But it was a big play and it swung the momentum back in our favor. The touchdown was big, but being able to break the record was a little added bonus."
On what a playoff berth would mean:
"It means everything. The team we have now, we've been together since June. That's all I've been around since then, and that's all I want to be around is my teammates. I don't know if you've ever been in a locker room, but that's a fun place to be to be there with people that you love and people that love you back. It's those moments and I'm not ready to let those go."
-SFA-
