Stephen F. Austin
Weber State
SFA Wins Third-Straight, Downs Weber 35-20
9/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Gus Johnson and Zach Conque each rushed for a pair of touchdowns while Collin Garrett had a career night as Stephen F. Austin defeated Weber State 35-20 at Homer Bryce Stadium. The Lumberjacks improved to 3-1 on the season, matching their win total from 2013 and notching their first three-game winning streak since 2011.
"Certainly we're happy to be 3-1 and I feel especially happy for the group of guys that had to suffer through that Weber State loss last season," said head coach Clint Conque. "I'm not pleased with the penalties, and know that there were a lot of things we could have done better tonight. We have a bye week ahead of us and we need to clean that up before heading into (Southland) Conference play."
SFA finished with 466 total yards on the night, rushing for 148 while passing for 318 against the Wildcats (0-4). Zach Conque completed 17 of his 27 attempts for 264 yards while Joe Minden went 3-of-4 for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Gus Johnson once again made his playmaking ability felt on the ground, rushing for 83 yards on 12 carries with a pair of touchdowns. That ups his career total to 38, leaving him one shy of tying Cordell Roberson (2009-12) for the most in SFA program history.
Conque also made his presence felt on the ground, rushing for 29 yards on nine carries with a pair of touchdowns. Joshawa West added 30 yards on four carries as well for the Lumberjacks.
Tyler Boyd led the `Jacks with five catches for 57 yards while DJ Ward had 97 yards on three carries, including a 62-yard reception from Conque. Johnson also added three receptions for 22 yards while Aaron Thomas had a pair of catches for 44 yards.
Defensively, SFA limited Weber State to 397 total yards as the Wildcats rushed for 124 while passing for 273. The Lumberjacks recorded 11 tackles for loss on the night with four sacks while forcing three Weber State turnovers.
Linebacker Collin Garrett had a career night for SFA, registering 16 tackles (including five solo) with 3.5 tackles for loss and one of the sacks while recording a quarterback hurry in the process. Justin Owens also had his best night as a Lumberjack, finishing with nine tackles with a tackle for loss.
Maurice Poullard added eight tackles while Marvin Gray finished with seven. Keavon Madison was a pain all evening for Weber State, finishing with a pair of interceptions to go along with his five solo tackles and three pass breakups. Ishmiah Miles and Avery Henderson added sacks for the `Jacks with Jamal Allen and Kedrick Harrison teaming up for the fourth.
One area that plagued both teams on the night was in penalties as SFA and Weber State combined for 28 penalties for 250 yards. The Wildcats racked up 15 penalties for 107 yards while SFA was tagged 13 times for 141 yards, with nearly a half dozen of those infractions keeping Weber State drives alive.
For the third-straight week, Johnson got SFA on the board first, breaking a handful of tackles en route to a 15-yard touchdown with 10:14 remaining in the first half. That score would hold almost to the end of the half before SFA went 56 yards in four plays, capped by a one-yard plunge by Conque to give the `Jacks the 14-0 lead at halftime.
Early in the third quarter, SFA forced a Weber State fumble at its own 39-yard line as true freshman Chance Barney pounced on the loose ball, giving SFA great field position. The first play saw Conque connect with Justice Liggins on a 36-yard pass to the six, followed by a keeper to put the `Jacks on top 21-0 with 12:49 left in the third.
Weber State found its scoring touch midway through the third, recording scoring strikes from Billy Green to Shaydon Kenaho on back-to-back possessions, trimming the SFA lead to 21-13 at the end of the third quarter.
But Johnson once again put SFA on his back, breaking a handful of tackles again early in the fourth and rumbling 26 yards to the end zone to put SFA up by two scores at 28-13. SFA then added an insurance touchdown as Minden connected on a screen pass to Marquis Mosley, who eluded a handful of tackles to find the end zone and put the `Jacks on top 35-13 with 8:09 to play.
Weber State made it a two score game with 6:04 remaining and looked poised to make it even tighter in the final minute, threatening inside the SFA five-yard line. But an interception by Madison in the end zone sealed the victory for the `Jacks, redeeming a 50-40 loss to the Wildcats in Ogden, Utah in 2013.
It was a fitting win on a memorable night for the Lumberjacks as SFA remembered Cally Belcher 20 years after his passing. His #16 jersey was brought out of retirement for one game, being worn by Thomas, as he participated in a halftime ceremony with Belcher's family and former teammates.
SFA closes out the non-conference portion of its 2014 schedule at 3-1 and improved to 3-0 at home, improving its home record since 2009 to 26-6 (.813). The `Jacks now head into the bye week with its sights set on SLC play, which opens up with some familiar faces for coach Conque as SFA opens up its conference schedule against Central Arkansas. Kickoff against the Bears is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, at Homer Bryce Stadium.
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