Stephen F. Austin
Texas A&M-Commerce
Lumberjacks Power Past Lions, 38-17
9/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Final Stats | Quotes
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin racked up 648 yards of total offense and kept the prolific A&M-Commerce offense under wraps as the Lumberjacks notched a 38-17 victory over the Lions at Homer Bryce Stadium.
"Our young men took on the challenge of wanting to be `the real east Texas school' mentality," said head coach Clint Conque. "It's a big deal to them. Certainly there was a lot of camaraderie between the teams as far as guys going to high school together and that sort of thing. I thought coach Carthel had his team prepared they came in and played hard. That was an extremely talented team out there tonight."
SFA held A&M-Commerce in check across the stat sheet, limiting the Lions to just 327 yards of total offense and just 32 rushing yards, the second-straight week the Lumberjacks have held their opponent under 40 rushing yards. The 'Jacks ran 94 plays on the night, eating up 34:59 off the clock while limiting the Lions to just 76 plays and 25:01 of possession time. SFA also converted 47 percent of its third down conversions (7-of-15) compared to just 19 percent for A&M-Commerce (3-of-16).
Facing their long time East Texas rivals, SFA passed for 450 yards against the Lion defensive unit as Zach Conque completed 24 of his 38 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns while Joe Minden was 18-of-22 for 157 yards on the night.
The favorite target for both Conque and Minden was Aaron Thomas, reeling in eight catches for 130 yards while senior Tyler Boyd matched his total with eight catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Piper had his best game in a Lumberjack uniform, catching seven passes for 40 yards while DJ Ward and Jayson Clements both reeled in touchdown passes on the night.
On the ground, Gus Johnson led the way with 131 yards on 13 carries with a pair of touchdowns, upping his career total to 36 as he moved into second all-time for career touchdowns at SFA. Fred Ford added 28 yards on three carries while Cameron Washington posted 19 yards on four touches.
Defensively, Collin Garrett had another solid performances, registering 12 tackles with 0.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble, marking the third-straight game he has caused a defensive turnover. Justin Owens and Patrick Martin each had six tackles with Martin notching 1.5 tackles for loss. Ishmiah Miles notched a pair of tackles for loss while Shayvion Hatten added 2.5 tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks.
Facing a team that scored 98 points and nearly 1,000 total yards of offense last week, SFA held A&M-Commerce to just 17 points and 327 total yards. The Lumberjacks extended their streak to six quarters without allowing a touchdown before the Lions found the endzone midway through the third.
SFA made its presence felt early, taking the opening kickoff 75 yards on just four plays as Johnson rumbled into the endzone from 47 yards out, giving the Lumberjacks the early 7-0 just 1:33 into the game.
A&M-Commerce responded with a scoring drive of its own, going 47 yards in eight plays but had to settle for a 41-yard field goal, trimming the Lumberjack lead to 7-3 early in the first.
The `Jacks then strung together one of their longest drives of the season, moving 80 yards over 14 plays before Conque found Clements from 10 yards out, giving the freshman tight end his first career touchdown and extending SFA's lead to 14-3 with 6:28 remaining in the first quarter.
Midway through the second, Conque and Ward connected on a 60-yard catch and run down the near sideline as Ward eluded a handful of Lion defenders to find the endzone for the first time this season. Jordan Wiggs then added a 23-yard field goal with 1:03 remaining, extending SFA's halftime lead to 24-3.
A&M-Commerce struck first in the second half with a touchdown run from Deric Davis, cutting the `Jacks lead to 24-10 midway through the third quarter. But SFA responded with an efficient six-play, 91-yard drive which ended with a 24-yard scoring strike from Conque to Ward.
Any chance of a Lion comeback was then thoroughly thwarted with 44 seconds remaining in the third quarter as Johnson put the nail in the coffin with a 20-yard touchdown run, bookending his night with his second-straight multi-touchdown game.
The Lions added a touchdown with 10:37 remaining in the game but it was too little too late as SFA notched its second-straight victory over its former East Texas rival.
As turnover-free as the `Jacks were in the first two games of the season, SFA committed four turnovers on the night, including three interceptions (two from Conque and one from Minden) with a fumble. SFA's defense was able to force a pair of Lion turnovers but committed nine penalties for 92 yards, compared to just six for the Lions for 70 yards.
SFA now prepares for the third game of its four-game home stand and final non-conference game of the season as the Lumberjacks will host Weber State on Saturday, September 20th. It marks the second all-time meeting between the Lumberjacks and Wildcats as Weber notched a 50-40 victory in the 2013 season opener in Ogden, Utah. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Homer Bryce Stadium.
-SFA-
