Opponent Preview: Texas A&M-Commerce
9/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 12, 2014
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin gets set to resume a long time rivalry with Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday, September 13th, at Homer Bryce Stadium. A&M-Commerce, formerly East Texas State, was a former Lone Star Conference rival as the two teams met annually from 1926 to 1983 as the Lions hold a 43-12-1 edge in the all-time series. The two teams have met just once since then with SFA taking a 48-21 decision in 2000 in Nacogdoches.
The game will be streamed live for free on SFA All-Access, with all broadcasts this season being produced in high definition. SFA fans can also listen to the game on Q107.7 FM or online at Q1077.com with live stats available at SFAJacks.com. In-game Twitter updates can also be found @SFA_Football.
Game Storylines:
• A&M-Commerce is 1-0 on the season, coming off a 98-20 thrashing of East Texas Baptist on Sept. 4. The Lions racked up nearly 1,000 yards of total offense in the game, passing for 590 and rushing for 396, setting multiple school, conference and Division II records in the process. The victory earned A&M-Commerce lots of national media attention, including appearances on ESPN's SportsCenter.
• The game will feature two National Players of the Week in SFA's Gus Johnson and A&M-C's Tyrik Rollison. Johnson rushed for 252 yards and four touchdowns in the win against Incarnate Word, earning national honors from both The Sports Network and CFPA. Rollison threw for 562 yards and six touchdowns and was named the D2Football.com Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
• There will be lots of familiarity on both sides of the ball as nearly three dozen players from both teams hail from the East Texas area. The largest contingent came from Tyler where eight players will go against each other Saturday:
• John Tyler H.S.: SFA - WR Justice Liggins; A&M-C - WR Ricky Collins, CB C.J. Johnson, CB Traven Johnson, DL Ashton Dorsey
• Robert E. Lee H.S.: SFA - WR Marquis Mosley, LB Marvin Gray
• Chapel Hill H.S.: SFA - DB Avery Henderson
Head coach Clint Conque held his weekly media press conference earlier this week, looking back on the game against Incarnate Word and previewing this weekend's game against A&M-Commerce:
On his thoughts regarding the Incarnate Word game:
"Well, certainly I thought both sides of the line of scrimmage dominated the game. Any time you can hold an opponent to a little over 200 yards of total offense, create ten negative plays, keep them out of the endzone, you’re doing something right. Then of course have a back rush for over 250 yards and have 376 yards of rushing offense. That credit goes to both the offensive and defensive lines and those guys up front. I just thought we dominated the line of scrimmage. There were still some inconsistent plays, dropped balls. We dropped a 50-55 yard touchdown right in our hands. The kicking game, we had some growth there, but we’re still spotty. We kicked one out of bounds and then we give up a 50 or 60 yard return after we change kickers so just trying to build some consistency and focus with this football team. We’re very happy for Gus on an individual note there. Very appropriately has been named conference and national player of the week, so kudos to him for a great career. But he still has ten games left at least, and we certainly would like to build on those numbers."
On SFA’s rushing attack against the Cardinals:
"You play to your strengths, and right now our offensive line is really developing a mindset of run blocking. It’s something we’ve worked awfully hard on since we’ve been more of a pass protection team the last several years. We’ve got a great back (in Gus Johnson), but as we have other quality backs as well. Fred Ford came in and gave some quality runs. Cameron Washington, Joshawa West, both quarterbacks had big rushing plays. Zach (Conque) had another 30-something yard run for the second consecutive week. All of those these are attributed to a good quality offensive line play and good strong running, but it all starts up front. Week to week, we’ve got to throw and catch a little better. We’ve had nine or 10 dropped balls in the first two games, and you’ve got to be able to make those poise plays under pressure. It’s different than what I think our fans have been accustomed to where you’re throwing it 50, 60, 70 times a game. We’re not going to do that. We want to be able to be a balanced attack. Not necessarily a pro-style attack, but we want to be able to have balance to what we are doing where we run the football, play-action pass, pick our spots to run the quarterback, and then be able to throw the football. When we do throw it vertical three, four, five times a game we have an opportunity to make a play. As we are growing this program that really protects your defense. If you can shorten the game a little bit, make first downs, it really limits the opportunities for your opponent. We had over 30 first downs, so that was a big plus. But this week it was really about the running game, and Gus was hot. The offensive line was blocking well, the defensive line was dominant on the other side, and thus the lopsided score."
On the improvement on the defensive unit?
"We have improved. We are in our spots better. We still have some miscommunication from time to time, guys out of position, but they are continuing to grow and learn. I thought we played a little bit faster last week than we did against Kansas State. Our tackling and space was a little bit better. Obviously, Kansas State had something to do with that the week before, but we are growing there. The energy is there. The goal line stand late in the game, the momentum and confidence that the defensive kids will take for that will pay off down the road. We’ve struggled over here on defense the last couple of years, but last year in particular. This was a great stand, but a great feel good moment to give those guys confidence and sense of worth that they can go out there really from the six-inch line and hold somebody out of the endzone. Matt Williamson and our defensive staff are pushing the right buttons, the kids are growing healthy over there, and we’ve had some newcomers, both freshman and a few transfers, step up to improve our competitive level and our depth. Hopefully it’s a unit that we can keep intact and continue to get better, and obviously we are going to be extremely challenged this week with Texas A&M Commerce. But credit to them these first two games where we haven’t given up huge pass plays for touchdowns or huge gashes in the interior of the line for touchdowns or those 50, 60, 70-yard long runs. And then the goal line stand should give us a lot of positives."
On Texas A&M-Commerce:
"Most people think Division II, and if you look at their charter, it talks about being a participation level. Not Texas A&M Commerce. They are at the competitive level. Granted, most of those kids didn’t come out of high school that ended up in their system. They all started at one or two other places. Their quarterback was at Auburn, was at Sam Houston, and now he is at Commerce. The running back, as people are well aware of, was publically dismissed from his previous. Several of the receivers started at other four-year schools. They’ve got a defensive tackle that will be a draft pick for sure and started out at a Pac-12 school, sat out a few years, and is back in football. The point I’m trying to make is that this isn’t your typical Division II school. They’ve got a boatload of Division I talent on that roster. For one reason or another they ended up at Commerce, and some of them my have an opportunity to play in the National Football League. I think their head coaching and staff has done a great job of melting these guys together in Commerce, Texas. They are explosive offensively. I don’t know if we could put up 1,000 yards against air in practice and they did it last week in an actual game. They nearly scored 100 points, their coach was on SportsCenter, and there is a lot of confidence and excitement around their football program. They’ve got great players at the right position, defensively they are very athletic, they can defend well, they run to the ball well, they can pressure the quarterback. The kicking game is solid. We’ve got more than our hands full this week."
On his first game coaching for SFA at Homer Bryce Stadium:
"It went well. I didn’t cut myself wide open swinging the axe on early. I took a chunk of wood, but I didn’t take a chunk of leg, so that was good. A little nostalgic initially to be on the side line for the first time, but with the weather delays, our team warmed up three times before we finally got this thing done. Once the ball was kicked it was about our guys blocking and tackling and kicking and running and throwing and doing all the things that we need to be doing. I recognize that it was the first game here at Homer Bryce, but the focus needs to be on our players and on the great job that they did, and hopefully it’s something very positive that we can build on for the future."
-SFA-
SFA Game Notes • A&M-Commerce Game Notes
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin gets set to resume a long time rivalry with Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday, September 13th, at Homer Bryce Stadium. A&M-Commerce, formerly East Texas State, was a former Lone Star Conference rival as the two teams met annually from 1926 to 1983 as the Lions hold a 43-12-1 edge in the all-time series. The two teams have met just once since then with SFA taking a 48-21 decision in 2000 in Nacogdoches.
The game will be streamed live for free on SFA All-Access, with all broadcasts this season being produced in high definition. SFA fans can also listen to the game on Q107.7 FM or online at Q1077.com with live stats available at SFAJacks.com. In-game Twitter updates can also be found @SFA_Football.
Game Storylines:
• A&M-Commerce is 1-0 on the season, coming off a 98-20 thrashing of East Texas Baptist on Sept. 4. The Lions racked up nearly 1,000 yards of total offense in the game, passing for 590 and rushing for 396, setting multiple school, conference and Division II records in the process. The victory earned A&M-Commerce lots of national media attention, including appearances on ESPN's SportsCenter.
• The game will feature two National Players of the Week in SFA's Gus Johnson and A&M-C's Tyrik Rollison. Johnson rushed for 252 yards and four touchdowns in the win against Incarnate Word, earning national honors from both The Sports Network and CFPA. Rollison threw for 562 yards and six touchdowns and was named the D2Football.com Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
• There will be lots of familiarity on both sides of the ball as nearly three dozen players from both teams hail from the East Texas area. The largest contingent came from Tyler where eight players will go against each other Saturday:
• John Tyler H.S.: SFA - WR Justice Liggins; A&M-C - WR Ricky Collins, CB C.J. Johnson, CB Traven Johnson, DL Ashton Dorsey
• Robert E. Lee H.S.: SFA - WR Marquis Mosley, LB Marvin Gray
• Chapel Hill H.S.: SFA - DB Avery Henderson
Head coach Clint Conque held his weekly media press conference earlier this week, looking back on the game against Incarnate Word and previewing this weekend's game against A&M-Commerce:
On his thoughts regarding the Incarnate Word game:
"Well, certainly I thought both sides of the line of scrimmage dominated the game. Any time you can hold an opponent to a little over 200 yards of total offense, create ten negative plays, keep them out of the endzone, you’re doing something right. Then of course have a back rush for over 250 yards and have 376 yards of rushing offense. That credit goes to both the offensive and defensive lines and those guys up front. I just thought we dominated the line of scrimmage. There were still some inconsistent plays, dropped balls. We dropped a 50-55 yard touchdown right in our hands. The kicking game, we had some growth there, but we’re still spotty. We kicked one out of bounds and then we give up a 50 or 60 yard return after we change kickers so just trying to build some consistency and focus with this football team. We’re very happy for Gus on an individual note there. Very appropriately has been named conference and national player of the week, so kudos to him for a great career. But he still has ten games left at least, and we certainly would like to build on those numbers."
On SFA’s rushing attack against the Cardinals:
"You play to your strengths, and right now our offensive line is really developing a mindset of run blocking. It’s something we’ve worked awfully hard on since we’ve been more of a pass protection team the last several years. We’ve got a great back (in Gus Johnson), but as we have other quality backs as well. Fred Ford came in and gave some quality runs. Cameron Washington, Joshawa West, both quarterbacks had big rushing plays. Zach (Conque) had another 30-something yard run for the second consecutive week. All of those these are attributed to a good quality offensive line play and good strong running, but it all starts up front. Week to week, we’ve got to throw and catch a little better. We’ve had nine or 10 dropped balls in the first two games, and you’ve got to be able to make those poise plays under pressure. It’s different than what I think our fans have been accustomed to where you’re throwing it 50, 60, 70 times a game. We’re not going to do that. We want to be able to be a balanced attack. Not necessarily a pro-style attack, but we want to be able to have balance to what we are doing where we run the football, play-action pass, pick our spots to run the quarterback, and then be able to throw the football. When we do throw it vertical three, four, five times a game we have an opportunity to make a play. As we are growing this program that really protects your defense. If you can shorten the game a little bit, make first downs, it really limits the opportunities for your opponent. We had over 30 first downs, so that was a big plus. But this week it was really about the running game, and Gus was hot. The offensive line was blocking well, the defensive line was dominant on the other side, and thus the lopsided score."
On the improvement on the defensive unit?
"We have improved. We are in our spots better. We still have some miscommunication from time to time, guys out of position, but they are continuing to grow and learn. I thought we played a little bit faster last week than we did against Kansas State. Our tackling and space was a little bit better. Obviously, Kansas State had something to do with that the week before, but we are growing there. The energy is there. The goal line stand late in the game, the momentum and confidence that the defensive kids will take for that will pay off down the road. We’ve struggled over here on defense the last couple of years, but last year in particular. This was a great stand, but a great feel good moment to give those guys confidence and sense of worth that they can go out there really from the six-inch line and hold somebody out of the endzone. Matt Williamson and our defensive staff are pushing the right buttons, the kids are growing healthy over there, and we’ve had some newcomers, both freshman and a few transfers, step up to improve our competitive level and our depth. Hopefully it’s a unit that we can keep intact and continue to get better, and obviously we are going to be extremely challenged this week with Texas A&M Commerce. But credit to them these first two games where we haven’t given up huge pass plays for touchdowns or huge gashes in the interior of the line for touchdowns or those 50, 60, 70-yard long runs. And then the goal line stand should give us a lot of positives."
On Texas A&M-Commerce:
"Most people think Division II, and if you look at their charter, it talks about being a participation level. Not Texas A&M Commerce. They are at the competitive level. Granted, most of those kids didn’t come out of high school that ended up in their system. They all started at one or two other places. Their quarterback was at Auburn, was at Sam Houston, and now he is at Commerce. The running back, as people are well aware of, was publically dismissed from his previous. Several of the receivers started at other four-year schools. They’ve got a defensive tackle that will be a draft pick for sure and started out at a Pac-12 school, sat out a few years, and is back in football. The point I’m trying to make is that this isn’t your typical Division II school. They’ve got a boatload of Division I talent on that roster. For one reason or another they ended up at Commerce, and some of them my have an opportunity to play in the National Football League. I think their head coaching and staff has done a great job of melting these guys together in Commerce, Texas. They are explosive offensively. I don’t know if we could put up 1,000 yards against air in practice and they did it last week in an actual game. They nearly scored 100 points, their coach was on SportsCenter, and there is a lot of confidence and excitement around their football program. They’ve got great players at the right position, defensively they are very athletic, they can defend well, they run to the ball well, they can pressure the quarterback. The kicking game is solid. We’ve got more than our hands full this week."
On his first game coaching for SFA at Homer Bryce Stadium:
"It went well. I didn’t cut myself wide open swinging the axe on early. I took a chunk of wood, but I didn’t take a chunk of leg, so that was good. A little nostalgic initially to be on the side line for the first time, but with the weather delays, our team warmed up three times before we finally got this thing done. Once the ball was kicked it was about our guys blocking and tackling and kicking and running and throwing and doing all the things that we need to be doing. I recognize that it was the first game here at Homer Bryce, but the focus needs to be on our players and on the great job that they did, and hopefully it’s something very positive that we can build on for the future."
-SFA-
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