SFA Closes Out Fall Camp With Scrimmage Two
8/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 20, 2014
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin closed out its 2014 fall camp with the final scrimmage, held under the lights at Homer Bryce Stadium. SFA ran through 55 plays, giving the majority of snaps to younger players and the reserves.
“We limited the starters to about 12-15 plays, letting the other guys get a shot to take some significant reps,” said head coach Clint Conque. “I have been incredibly pleased with the attitude and effort of our team throughout camp, and tonight they continued to show that intensity. Our focus shifts a little bit now but I couldn’t be more pleased with how the last 16 days of camp have been."
The Lumberjacks finished with 348 yards of total offense through the 55 plays, including 244 yards passing and 104 on the ground. Hunter Taylor led the SFA passing attack, throwing for 82 yards on 5-of-10 attempts and one touchdown, completing a 61-yard scoring strike to A.J. Jones. Sam Smith completed six of his seven attempts for 75 yards and a touchdown as well, teaming up with Braxton Bearden for 54 yards.
Joe Minden threw for 55 yards on 5-of-7 passing with a touchdown, throwing a 29-yard scoring strike to Darrion Ardoin to begin the SFA scoring. Zach Conque went 3-for-6 for 32 yards and an interception as Keavon Madison made an athletic leap, snagging the ball out of the air with his fingertips and thwarting a near-touchdown pass.
Tyler Boyd and Aaron Piper led the SFA receivers with three catches each, tallying 23 and 19 yards respectively. Jones led the way with 60 receiving yards on a pair of catches with the touchdown catch while Bearden accumulated 50 yards on two catches with the touchdown. In all, 10 different receivers caught passes on the evening for the ‘Jacks.
On the ground, Jacolby Whitaker led the way with 24 yards on two carries, including a 20-yard scamper near the end of the scrimmage. Spencer Cowley led all rushers with five carries for 15 yards with Cameron Washington, Fred Ford and Smith each recording three carries on the night.
Defensively, freshman Chance Barney led SFA with six tackles while Collin Garrett registered five despite seeing limited action. Antoine Palmer also notched five tackles for the ‘Jacks with freshman John Franklin registering four stops. As a unit, SFA recorded three sacks on the night, including one each from Eroni Foifua and Allen Stewart (Franklin and Braxton Kelly combined for the third) with six tackles for loss.
Special teams also had a productive night, especially off the foot of punter Nick Bruno. The junior had six punts on the night and averaged 46.8 yards per punt, including a long of 52. Caleb Lewallen recorded three punts for a 41.7 yard average while Mason Juhl drilled a 39-yard field goal on the final play of the scrimmage.
At the end of practice, head coach Clint Conque completed the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in a gesture that hit close to home. Conque did it in honor of his uncle who passed away from ALS just prior to the start of fall camp as he announced his family would make a donation to the University of Arkansas Medical Center. Conque also called out the rest of the Southland Conference head football coaches, encouraging them to take the challenge as well as donating for the cause.
SFA now sets its sights on its in-season practice schedule as the ‘Jacks now prepare for it season opener against Kansas State. SFA heads to Manhattan, Kan., in 10 days, facing the Wildcats on Saturday, August 30th.
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