'Jacks Face No. 21 Lions Saturday in Hammond
10/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at No. 21 Southeastern Louisiana Lions
Saturday, October 17 | 7:00 p.m.
Strawberry Stadium | Hammond, La.
Records: SFA (1-5, 1-3 SLC); SLU (3-2, 2-1 SLC)
TV: FOX College Sports (channel finder)
Radio: Q107.7 FM (listen online)
Live Stats: LionSports.net
Twitter Updates: @SFA_Football
Stephen F. Austin Game Notes 
OPENING KICK
Stephen F. Austin makes its first trip outside the state of Texas in 2015 as the Lumberjacks head to Hammond, Louisiana, to face 21st-ranked Southeastern Louisiana. Opening kick against the Lions is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday, October 17, with the game airing on FOX College Sports.
LUMBERJACKS ON THE WEB
SFA’s game at Southeastern Louisiana will be broadcast on FOX College Sports, marking the seventh Lumberjack game in 2015 that will be broadcast. Lyn Rollins will handle the play-by-play duties with Rene Nadeau serving as the color analyst and Jess Province on the sidelines. FOX College Sports can be found on Suddenlink channel 419 in Nacogdoches with a complete channel list available at Southland.org/FCS. Rob Meyers will once again broadcast the game live on radio at Q107.7 FM as fans can listen online at Q1077.com. Live stats will be available through LionSports.net with in-game Twitter updates available @SFA_Football.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
2015: 3-2 overall, 2-1 Southland Conference. Ranked 21st (coaches) and 23rd (media) in this week’s FCS polls.
Last Three Games: L at McNeese State (21-7), W vs. Lamar (30-27), L at Ohio (35-14)
Head Coach: Ron Roberts (Tennessee-Martin, 1980). Fourth season at SLU (28-15, .651); Ninth season overall (75-31, .708)
Key Offensive Players:
• #10 D’Shaie Landor (Jr., QB): 26-of-60 (43.4%) for 469 yds., 1 TD, 2 INTs; 30 rushes for 152 yds. (5.1 avg.), 3 TDs
• #1 Xavier Roberson (Sr., RB): 54 rushes for 255 yds. (4.7 avg.), 3 TDs
• #4 Kody Sutton (Sr., RB): 66 rushes for 205 yds. (3.1 avg.), 3 TDs
• #14 Jeff Smiley (Sr., WR): 16 catches for 213 yds. (13.3 avg.), 2 TDs
• #80 Dylan Bossier (Sr., WR): 7 catches for 169 yds. (24.1 avg.), 1 TD
Key Defensive Players:
• #5 Jordan Batiste (Sr., DB): 29 tackles (19 solo), 4.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 1 QBH, 1 FF
• #2 Micah Eugene (Sr., DB): 28 tackles (18 solo), 1.0 TFL, 0.5 sack, 4 PBU
• #1 Harlan Miller (Sr., DB): 23 tackles (16 solo), 1.5 TFL, 3 INTs, 5 PBU
• #41 Herbert Harris (Sr., LB): 21 tackles (15 solo), 2.0 TFL, 1 INT, 1 FF
• #26 Ryan Sigers (So., DB): 12 tackles (10 solo), 5.5 TFL, 3.0 sacks, 1 PBU, 2 QBH, 1 FF
Synopsis: Southeastern Louisiana enters the weekend at 3-2 overall and is 2-1 in Southland Conference play, coming off a 21-7 loss at McNeese State Saturday. The two-time defending SLC champions, the Lions are averaging 22.6 points and 356.0 yards per game, rushing for 213.6 yards and passing for 142.4 yards per game. Southeastern Louisiana has used the dual-threat rushing attack of Xavier Roberson and Kody Sutton early in 2015 as the Lions have utilized a pair of quarterbacks in D’Shaie Landor and Donovan Isom. Defensively, Southeastern is allowing 24.0 points and 376.8 yards per game, including 248.4 passing yards. The Lions have been strong against the run, allowing just 128.4 yards per game, led by senior defensive backs Jordan Batiste, Micah Eugene and Harlan Miller.
SERIES INFORMATION
Stephen F. Austin and Southeastern Louisiana meet for the 19th time Saturday with SFA holding a 10-7-1 (.583) edge in the all-time series which began in 1950. The Lumberjacks defeated the Lions 27-17 at Homer Bryce Stadium in 2014 as SFA raced out to a 17-0 halftime lead, then used a key interception from Patrick Martin in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory. The win in 2014 snapped a two-game skid to Southeastern Louisiana as the ‘Jacks are 4-4-1 all-time against the Lions in Hammond with their last win in Strawberry Stadium coming in a 41-10 victory in 2009.
CONQUE vs. THE LIONS
Southeastern Louisiana is no stranger to head coach Clint Conque as the Lumberjacks’ head man has posted a 6-2 (.750) record against the Lions during his head coaching career. Conque went 5-2 against Southeastern Louisiana during his time at Central Arkansas and is 1-0 against the Lions since arriving in Nacogdoches.
LUMBERJACKS RALLY TO DEFEAT NICHOLLS, 28-24
Trailing by 10 points with 10 minutes to go, Stephen F. Austin notched a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns, including the game-winner with 26 seconds to go, as the Lumberjacks rallied past Nicholls 28-24 for their first win of the 2015 season. SFA had another strong performance in the running game as both Loren Easly (148) and Zach Conque (134) rushed for over 100 yards in the game as Conque also threw for 163 yards, accounting for 297 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. Both the Lumberjacks and Colonels were plagued by fumbles as the two teams combined for eight total fumbles and seven fumbles lost, four of which stung the Lumberjacks including a pair of fumbles into the endzone to halt drives. The win over the Colonels was the eighth-straight for SFA over Nicholls as Conque recorded the second fourth quarter comeback win of his Lumberjack career.
EASLY RUNNING WILD
Freshman RB Loren Easly continues to be one of the major bright spots for Stephen F. Austin in 2015 as the Houston native is quickly establishing himself as one of the top running backs in the conference. One week after earning STATS FCS National Freshman of the Week honors following his 213-yard performance against Sam Houston State, Easly eclipsed the 100-yard plateau for the second-straight week, carrying 31 times for 148 yards and a touchdown against Nicholls. Easly has rushed for 511 yards in his first five collegiate games, ranking second in the Southland Conference at 102.2 yards per game, and already holds two of the 10 longest rushes in program history (80 yards against Sam Houston State and 75 yards at TCU).
CONQUE MOVES UP RECORD BOOK
Junior QB Zach Conque had another strong showing against Nicholls Saturday, rushing for a career-best 134 yards while passing for 163, giving him 297 yards of total offense with three total touchdowns and he surpassed 1,000 career rushing yards. With his two rushing touchdowns against the Colonels, Conque upped his career total to 19, sitting all alone in seventh-place in program history and remains one of just three players in the NCAA that has both thrown and rushed for 15 or more touchdowns since the start of 2014 (Chattanooga’s Jacob Huesman and Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott). Conque has also made his mark in the record book in a number of other categories, sitting eighth all-time in career completions (342), ninth in career total offense (4,669) and 10th in career passing yards (3,659).
THOMAS COMES UP SHORT OF 2,000
Senior WR Aaron Thomas had been one of the constants in the SFA lineup in the past four seasons, but his career was cut short just shy of a career milestone. Thomas suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the win over Nicholls, ending his playing career with 141 catches for 1,955 yards - just 45 yards shy of becoming the 12th member of the Lumberjack 2,000-yard club. He ranked second on the team in receiving yards during the last two seasons which gives him a unique title as the nation’s leading receiver at the FCS level to never lead his team in receiving yards, sitting ahead of Eastern Washington’s Shaq Hill.
HARRISON BREAKS THROUGH
Junior DT Kedrick Harrison recorded his best game of the season Saturday against Nicholls, finishing with a pair of sacks and a forced fumble in the victory. Harrison, who was SFA’s returning leader in tackles for loss, upped his career total to 20.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks as he recorded the third multi-sack game of his career. Harrison led a resurgent SFA defensive line against Nicholls which recorded four sacks against the Colonels, doubling its output from the first five games of the season, as Jamal Allen and Demetrion Amie also registered sacks in the game (the first of Amie’s career).
POWER IN THE MIDDLE
For the second-straight game, SFA’s linebacking duo of Price Miller and Justin Owens came up big for the Lumberjacks in the victory over Nicholls. Miller led the team with eight tackles against the Colonels, one week after his career-high 12-tackle performance against Sam Houston State, with Owens adding seven stops on the afternoon. The former rivals in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) continue to lead the Lumberjacks in tackles with Owens notching 48 total tackles (20 solo) and Miller adding 31 stops (eight solo).
OFF THE SCHNEID
The victory against Nicholls gave SFA its first win in 2015 as head coach Clint Conque put a halt to the longest season-opening winless drought of his career. The win snapped a six-game losing streak for SFA, dating back to the FCS playoff loss to Northern Iowa in 2014, as the six-game skid matched the longest of his coaching career (Central Arkansas lost six-straight in 2003).
LOOKING AHEAD
Stephen F. Austin enters the bye week of its 2015 schedule next Saturday, October 24th, before returning to action against Incarnate Word on Saturday, October 31st at Homer Bryce Stadium. The Halloween match up against the Cardinals marks the Lumberjacks’ 2015 Homecoming game as SFA and Incarnate Word will kick at 3 p.m., broadcast worldwide on ESPN3.
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