SFA Heads To Houston For 90th BOTPW
9/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Stephen F. Austin vs. #14 Sam Houston State
90th Annual Battle of the Piney Woods, presented by HEB
Saturday, October 3 • 3 p.m.
NRG Stadium • Houston, Texas
Records: SFA (0-4, 0-2 SLC); SHSU (1-2, 1-1 SLC)
TV: ESPN3 (Also available through WatchESPN app and ESPN College Extra)
Radio: Q107.7 FM (listen online at Q1077.com)
Live Stats: SFAJacks.com
Twitter: @SFA_Football
Stephen F. Austin Game Notes 
OPENING KICK
Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State renew one of the oldest rivalries in the state of Texas as the two teams meet for the 90th time in the annual Battle of the Piney Woods this Saturday at NRG Stadium. Opening kick between the Lumberjacks and Bearkats is set for 3 p.m. and will be broadcast worldwide on ESPN3.
LUMBERJACKS, BEARKATS TANGLE ON SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE GAME OF THE WEEK
NRG Stadium in Houston, home of the NFL’s Houston Texans, will be the backdrop for the ESPN3 Southland Game of the Week as SFA and Sam Houston State renew the annual Battle of the Piney Woods. Randy McIlvoy will have the call of the game with Shea Walker serving as color analyst and Brooke Bentley working the sidelines. The game will kick at 3 p.m. Saturday, streaming live on ESPN3 and is also available on the WatchESPN app and through ESPN College Extra, airing on DirecTV, Dish Network and select sports programming packages. 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 SFAJacks.com with in-game Twitter updates available @SFA_Football.
BATTLE OF THE PINEY WOODS HISTORY
Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State tangle for the 90th time Saturday at NRG Stadium in the annual Battle of the Piney Woods rivalry game. The two schools, which were both named for one of the founding fathers of Texas, began the series in 1923 with SFA earning the 19-6 victory. Heading into Saturday’s game, Sam Houston State holds a 52-35-2 (.596) record in the all-time series and have won the last four meetings between the two rivals, including outlasting SFA 42-28 in last year’s game, with the Lumberjacks 2-8 in the last 10 meetings between the two. 2015 marks the sixth year the rivalry game will be played at NRG Stadium in Houston as Sam Houston State is 4-1 against SFA on the neutral site. The game is the fourth-oldest active rivalry in the state of Texas, trailing only Baylor-TCU (110 games), Baylor-Texas (104 games) and TCU-SMU (94 games).
SCOUTING THE BEARKATS
2015: 1-2 overall, 1-1 Southland Conference. Ranked 14th (coaches) and 12th (media) in this week’s FCS polls
Last Three Games: W vs. Houston Baptist (63-14); L vs. Lamar (49-46); L at Texas Tech (59-45)
Head Coach: K.C. Keeler (Delaware, 1981). Second season at SHSU (12-7, .632); 22nd season overall (186-80-1, .699)
Key Offensive Players:
• #15 Jared Johnson (Jr., QB): 50-of-75 (66.7%) for 619 yds., 4 TDs, 1 INT; 30 rushes for 205 yds. (6.8 avg.), 5 TDs
• #6 Cory Avery (So., RB): 15 rushes for 152 yds. (10.1 avg.)
• #24 Donavan Williams (Sr., RB): 33 rushes for 144 yds. (4.4 avg.), 5 TDs
• #9 Yedidiah Louis (So., WR): 15 catches for 225 yds. (15.0 avg.), 1 TD
• #25 Gerald Thomas (Sr., WR): 12 catches for 276 yds. (23.0 avg.), 3 TDs
Key Defensive Players:
• #2 Mikell Everette (Sr., CB): 16 tackles (16 solo), 1 PBU
• #22 Tristan Eche (Sr., LB): 15 tackles (11 solo); 1.0 TFL, 2 PBU
• #46 A.J. Davis (So., LB): 12 tackles (7 solo), 1 PBU
• #7 Trenier Orr (Sr., CB): 10 tackles (10 solo), 1.0 TFL, 1 INT, 2 PBU
• #92 P.J. Hall (So., DE): 8 tackles (7 solo), 1.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 PBU
Synopsis: Sam Houston State enters the week ranked 14th (coaches) and 12th (media) in this week’s FCS polls, sitting at 1-2 on the year. The Bearkats notched their first win of the season last weekend, routing Houston Baptist 63-14 as Sam Houston State racked up 708 yards of total offense, including 245 rushing and 464 passing. On the year, the Bearkats have been one of the most prolific offensive teams in the country, averaging 51.3 points and 635.3 yards through their first three games. The SHSU air attack, led by junior QB Jared Johnson, is averaging 383.3 yards per game while the rushing game, also led by Johnson, is averaging 252.0 yards per game. Defensively, Sam Houston is allowing 40.7 points and 486.0 yards per game as teams have found success in the running game, averaging 236.7 yards per game against the Bearkats while the SHSU defense is giving up 249.3 passing yards per game.
CONQUE vs. THE BEARKATS
SFA head coach Clint Conque is quite familiar with Sam Houston State, facing the Bearkats nine times during his head coaching career, which is tied with Henderson State, McNeese State and Nicholls for the most games against one opponent. Conque has posted a 5-4 (.556) record against the Bearkats, winning five of the eight meetings between the two teams when he was the head coach at Central Arkansas.
SFA DROPS 35-32 THRILLER AT ABILENE CHRISTIAN
Stephen F. Austin used a 26-7 rally to take a late 32-27 lead at Abilene Christian Saturday, but a late ACU score and defensive stop did in the Lumberjacks as SFA fell to the Wildcats 35-32 at Shotwell Stadium. The result came despite arguably the ‘Jacks best offensive performance of the season as SFA accumulated 584 yards of total offense, including 312 rushing yards and 272 yards through the air. QB Zach Conque accounted for 365 yards of total offense on the afternoon with four touchdowns, passing for 272 yards and three scores while also rushing for 93 yards with a touchdown. RB Joshawa West notched his second career 100-yard game, scrambling for 133 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown while also leading the ‘Jacks in receiving with five catches for 50 yards. It marked the first time SFA had played at Abilene since 1984 when the Lumberjacks and Wildcats met annually as members of the Lone Star Conference.
WEST RUMBLES AGAINST WILDCATS
Junior RB Joshawa West continues to settle into his role as the Lumberjacks top rushing threat as the Angleton native rushed 12 times for 133 yards and a touchdown at Abilene Christian Saturday. It was the second100-yard rushing performance of his career, coming in shy of his 174-yard performance against Nicholls in 2013, as he also caught five passes for 50 yards, giving him a career-best 183 all-purpose yards against the Wildcats. For his career, West has rushed for 776 yards on 139 carries (5.6 ypc) with four touchdowns has he has had five carries of 20 or more yards in the last two games.
CONQUE ENTERS RECORD BOOK
Junior QB Zach Conque had another strong showing against Abilene Christian Saturday, accounting for 365 yards of total offense against the Wildcats. Conque completed 22 of his 40 passes against ACU for 272 yards while rushing for another 93. With his 22 completions, Conque now sits eighth all-time in program history with 317, trailing seventh-place James Ritchey (1992-95) by 41. He moved into sole possession of ninth all-time in career rushing touchdowns (16) and has cracked the career top-10 list for total offense, racking up 4,147 yards during his Lumberjack career. Conque could join another elite list soon as he now sits at 3,371 career passing yards, needing just 41 more yards to surpass Danny Southall (2004-07) for 10th all-time.
THOMAS MAINTAINS CONSISTENCY
Wide receiver Aaron Thomas has quietly established himself as one of the anchors of the Lumberjack football team for the past four seasons. He has 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. Thomas has accumulated 1,894 career receiving yards on 139 catches during his time as a Lumberjack, sitting just outside the program’s all-time top-10 in both categories.
BRUNO KEEPS BOOMING
One of the bright spots for SFA early in 2015 has been the Lumberjacks punting game as senior P Nick Bruno is putting together quite a senior campaign. Bruno had just three punts against Abilene Christian but averaged 48.3 yards per punt on those opportunities, including punts of 54 and 52 yards against the Wildcats. In the last three games, Bruno has averaged 43.9 yards per punt with seven boots of 50-yards or more, which leads the Southland Conference, pinning SFA’s opponents inside the 20 five times. The Rowlett native remains sixth all-time in program history in career punting average, sitting at 39.73 for his career.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW
SFA continues to search for answers at the cornerback position with injuries striking the spot hard. Going up against one of the top offensive teams in the country this weekend, the Lumberjacks will throw a pair of freshmen against the Sam Houston State aerial attack as Tarrin Mitchell and Trevon Smith are expected to get the start for SFA. Playing in their hometown of Houston this week, the duo has accounted for 17 tackles in 2015 as Mitchell recorded a pair of interceptions against McNeese State on September 19th.
UNCHARTED TERRITORY
The loss to Abilene Christian Saturday afternoon put head coach Clint Conque into uncharted territory as he now sits at 0-4 for the first time in his 16-year head coaching career. Conque started 0-2 in 2007 at Central Arkansas en route to a 6-5 season with the roughest start to his coaching career coming in a 1-5 clip after six games in 2000, his first season as head coach, as UCA finished 3-8 that season, one of only two seasons he has finished with a sub-.500 record. Conque has now lost five-straight games, dating back to the FCS playoff loss to Northern Iowa in 2014, the second-longest skid of his career (UCA lost six-straight in 2003).
HOUSTON HOMECOMING
Saturday’s game at NRG Stadium in Houston should serve as a nice Homecoming for a large contingent of Lumberjacks as 29 players hail from the Houston/Southeast Texas area. Houston boasts the most with six players calling the Bayou City home (Hipolito Corporan, Loren Easly, Anthony Jacobs, Devonte Jones, Trevon Smith, Robert Sylvester), followed by Pearland with five (Jake Blumrick, Braxton Kelly, Jonathan Sam, Marlon Walls, Ryan Woods) and a pair from Beaumont (Calvin Lewis, Terran Vaughn), Cypress (Nick Bailey, Lawrence Ghansah), Kingwood (Caleb Lewallen, Allen Stewart) and Spring (Patrick Martin, Hayden Scott). SFA is also represented by surrounding cities Angleton (Joshawa West), Coldspring (Kedrick Harrison), Conroe (Cordell Vogel), Danbury (Mitchel Zimmerle), Dickinson (Byron Williams), Humble (De’Quann Ruffin), Kountze (Deontra Morgan), Missouri City (Darrion Ardoin), Van Vleck (Paul Hill) and Waller (Chris Wilkerson).
LOOKING AHEAD
After two weeks on the road, Stephen F. Austin returns to Homer Bryce Stadium on Saturday, October 10th, hosting Nicholls. The game against the Colonels marks SFA’s annual “Pink Out” game to raise funds for breast cancer research as a number of activities have been planned throughout the day. Kickoff against Nicholls is set for 3 p.m. and will be broadcast worldwide on ESPN3.
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