Stephen F. Austin
#21 Southeastern Louisiana
Lumberjacks Stun No. 21 Lions, 28-27
10/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Stephen F. Austin 28, No. 21 Southeastern Louisiana 27
Strawberry Stadium | Hammond, La.
Records: SFA (2-5, 2-3 SLC); SLU (3-3, 2-2 SLC)
Up Next: Incarnate Word | Saturday, Oct. 31 | 3 p.m.
HAMMOND, La. - After digging itself an early 20-0 hole early in the second quarter, Stephen F. Austin outscored 21st-ranked Southeastern Louisiana 28-7 over the final 45 minutes, capped by the game-winning score with 38 seconds left, knocking off the Lions 28-27.
With the win, SFA improves to 2-5 on the year and 2-3 in Southland Conference play as Southeastern falls to 3-3 and 2-2 in conference play. It also marks the fifth win for the Lumberjacks over a ranked opponent in the last three seasons.
Trailing 27-20 entering the fourth quarter, SFA posted its second-straight fourth quarter comeback in as many weeks. With 5:38 remaining, the Lumberjacks got the ball on its own 28-yard line and behind the arm of Hunter Taylor and the legs of Zach Conque, the Lumberjacks engineered a 16-play drive that burned five minutes off the clock, ending with Conque's one-yard game-winning touchdown rush with 38 seconds to go.
SFA's defense then came up big, on Southeastern's final offensive possession, including a key sack from John Franklin, halting the Lion's final drive at midfield as time expired to secure the win and spoil the Lions' homecoming festivities.
The SFA offensive unit was led by Taylor, who came on in relief in the second quarter, throwing for a career-best 214 yards and three touchdowns, engineering the comeback for the Lumberjacks. Conque went 7-for-12 passing for 20 yards in the first quarter but made up for it with his legs, making some key rushes in the fourth quarter to help complete the comeback.
De'Quann Ruffin had the best game of his Lumberjack career, catching six passes for 98 yards and a pair of touchdowns, as well as a pair of key third down receptions on SFA's final drive. Justice Liggins had six catches for 39 yards as well with Robert Sylvester racking up 45 catches on four receptions. Braxton Bearden also had four catches for 19 yards and a touchdown.
Joshawa West had some success on the ground for SFA, rushing for 82 yards on seven carries. But the rest of the Lumberjacks struggled to make any headway against the Southeastern defensive line as the `Jacks finished with just 120 rushing yards on the night, well below their season average of 233.8.
For the night, SFA finished with 354 yards of total offense on 79 plays, including 234 yards through the air. But the Lumberjack defense held Southeastern Louisiana's offense in check as well, limiting the Lions to just 372 yards and 60 offensive snaps on the evening, including just 201 passing yards.
SFA's defensive unit recorded four sacks and nine tackles for loss on the night, including a career-high three sacks for John Franklin as all four of his tackles on the night were for negative yards. Justin Owens paced the defense with eight tackles, followed by seven for Patrick Martin and six for Ahmad Muhammad. Jamal Allen and Shayvion Hatten each recorded sacks for the `Jacks as well.
Things didn't look good for the Lumberjacks early on, however, as SFA's fumble woes from last week once again reared its ugly head as on third down in Southeastern Louisiana territory, Conque was sacked and coughed up the ball on the hit, which was recovered by the Lions and returned 49 yards for the score, giving Southeastern the early 7-0 lead.
The Lions added two more quick scores, turning a five-yard slant into a 76-yard touchdown catch and run, then connected on a 26-yard touchdown pass behind the SFA secondary early in the second quarter to give Southeastern the 20-0 lead as the Lions outgained the Lumberjacks 141 to 10 during the opening 16 minutes. However the PAT on the second Southeastern touchdown was blocked by Hatten - a play which would prove critical later in the game.
SFA began to settle down in the second quarter as defensively, a forced fumble by Allen Stewart on an SLU drive gave the ball back to the `Jacks on their own 24. SFA then covered the remaining 64 yards on just three plays, including a 33-yard rush by West, capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass from Taylor to Bearden, trimming the deficit to 20-7 with just under three minutes to play in the half.
A big defensive stop gave the ball back to the `Jacks at its own 41-yard line with 24 seconds remaining until halftime. That was two seconds more than SFA needed as a 25-yard rush by West, followed by a 34-yard touchdown strike from Taylor to Ruffin, pulled the Lumberjacks to within one score at 20-14 at intermission.
The momentum gained at the end of the first half was quickly sapped by Southeastern as the Lions broke free for a 63-yard touchdown run on the fourth play of the second half, pushing the lead back to two scores at 27-14.
After the teams exchanged punts, the Lumberjacks regained possession at its own four yard line, needing an offensive spark. Taylor responded as he engineered a nine-play, 96-yard drive, aided by Southeastern penalties for roughing the passer and targeting, capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass to Ruffin off a fade into the endzone to pull back to within one score at 27-21 through the third quarter.
The fourth quarter turned into a defensive struggle as both sides came up with key stops on third down to keep the offenses at bay. SFA's defensive line became the aggressor, setting up the final offensive drive for the Lumberjacks, and then playing a major role in preserving the victory in the waning seconds.
The win over the Lions is the second-straight for the Lumberjacks as SFA improves to 11-7-1 all-time against Southeastern, including a 5-4 mark at Strawberry Stadium.
SFA now heads into its bye week before gearing up for the final stretch of the 2015 season. The Lumberjacks will play host to Incarnate Word on Saturday, October 31st as the game against the Cardinals marks SFA's 2015 Homecoming game, kicking at 3 p.m.
-SFA-
