Stephen F. Austin
#12 Sam Houston State
'Jacks Come Up Short in BOTPW, 34-28
10/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
#12 Sam Houston State 34, Stephen F. Austin 28
NRG Stadium | Houston
Records: SFA (0-5, 0-3 SLC); SHSU (2-2, 2-1 SLC)
Up Next: vs. Nicholls | Saturday, Oct. 10 | 3 p.m.
HOUSTON – Once again, some big plays at inopportune times proved costly as Stephen F. Austin dropped a 34-28 heartbreaker to 12th-ranked Sam Houston State in the 90th installment of the Battle of the Piney Woods at NRG Stadium. The loss drops SFA to 0-5 on the year and 0-3 in Southland Conference play.
“This is a good football team. We just haven’t been able to figure out how to get that elusive win,” said head coach Clint Conque following the game. “I thought our guys played incredibly hard, especially defensively as we held one of the top offensive teams in the country to two offensive touchdowns. But their special teams did us in and again we gave up too many big plays.”
A pair of punt returns for a touchdown proved to be the difference as Sam Houston racked up a school-record 195 punt return yards on the afternoon. It overshadowed another strong showing from the Lumberjack offensive unit that out-gained the Bearkats 461 to 448 on the day, including a season-high 336 rushing yards.
The bulk of those yards were scattered between Loren Easly and Zach Conque as Easly rushed for a career-high 213 yards and a touchdown as his 80-yard score is tied for the fourth-longest run in program history. Easly became the first player to rush for 200 yards in a game since Gus Johson’s 202-yard performance at Nicholls in 2014.
Conque posted the second 100-yard rushing performance of his career, doing so on 16 carries with a touchdown. He struggled through the air, completing just eight of his 21 passes for 125 yards, but two of those completions went for touchdowns.
Judah Jones was the top SFA receiver, catching two passes for 36 yards and a touchdown while Aaron Thomas accumulated the most yards, hauling in a 45-yard catch in the first quarter. De’Quann Ruffin also had a touchdown catch, finishing with 21 yards on the day.
Defensively, SFA was led by Price Miller’s 12 tackles on the night as Justin Owens added nine stops and Tarrin Mitchell finished with seven. SFA once again struggled to put pressure on the offensive attack, recording no sacks and just four tackles for loss.
After a scoreless first quarter, the first scoreless quarter since the rivalry was moved to NRG Stadium, SFA posted the first points of the 90th rivalry game. Utilizing a six-play, 61-yard drive, Conque connected on a 21-yard strike to Ruffin on the first play of the second quarter, giving the ‘Jacks the 7-0 lead.
Sam Houston got on the board later in the quarter, using a 10-play, 58-yard drive, but SFA’s defense limited the Bearkats to just a field goal, cutting the lead to 7-3. The ‘Jacks then answered quickly on its ensuing drive, covering 56 yards in four plays, capped with a 31-yard pass from Conque to Jones as SFA took the 14-3 lead into halftime – it’s first in the rivalry since 2010.
Whatever momentum SFA gained in the first half, however, was quickly diminished to start the second as after forcing a Lumberjack three-and-out, Sam Houston State returned the ensuing punt 78 yards for its first touchdown, trimming SFA’s lead to 14-10 early in the third quarter.
Following another offensive three-and-out, the Lumberjacks appeared to have turned the tide back in their favor off an interception by Price Miller which would have given SFA the ball in Sam Houston territory. But the call was overturned, saying the ball hit the ground, and the Bearkats took advantage its second chance, scoring five plays later to take its first lead of the game at 17-14 with 9:16 to play in the third.
SFA recovered on its ensuing drive as Conque used his legs to march the Lumberjacks on the field. Conque rushed for 58 yards, including runs of 29 and 23 yards, then punched it in from one yard out as SFA reclaimed the lead 21-17 with 5:41 left in the third.
But once again, a Bearkat punt return proved costly as a 53-yard return following another SFA three-and-out gave Sam Houston the lead once again, going on top of SFA 24-21 with 3:01 remaining in the third quarter.
The ‘Jacks had some momentum on their ensuing posession, rushing inside the SHSU redzone, but a costly fumble from Conque gave the ball back to the Bearkats. Sam Houston took advantage, covering 87 yards in 14 plays to push the lead to 31-21 with 13:12 remaining in the game.
The Lumberjacks caught another break as a missed Bearkat field goal from 37 yards out, followed by an 80-yard touchdown run on the next play by Easly pulled SFA to within three at 31-28 with just over 10 minutes to play.
An SFA defensive stop forced the Bearkats to settle for a field goal with 6:34 remaining, giving the ball back to the Lumberjacks one touchdown away from reclaiming the lead. But the Lumberjack offensive drive stalled and the defense couldn’t get the needed stop as the Bearkats claimed their fifth-straight win in the rivalry.
The loss drops the ‘Jacks to 0-5 on the year, SFA’s worst start to a season since going 0-11 in 2007. Including the FCS playoff loss to Northern Iowa, SFA’s winless streak reached six games, which ties for the longest such skid in Conque’s coaching career.
SFA hopes a return to Homer Bryce Stadium will help right the ship as the Lumberjacks host Nicholls on Saturday, October 10. The game against the Colonels will be SFA’s “Pink Out” game, kicking off at 3 p.m.
-SFA-
