Stephen F. Austin
Northern Arizona
SFA Stumbles Against NAU in Season Opener
9/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Northern Arizona 34, Stephen F. Austin 28
Homer Bryce Stadium • Nacogdoches, Texas
Records: SFA (0-1); NAU (1-0)
Up Next: at TCU • Saturday, Sept. 12 • 2:30 p.m.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin spotted visiting Northern Arizona a three-touchdown lead early in the fourth quarter, then a late rally came up short as SFA dropped its season opener to the Arizona Lumberjacks 34-28 at Homer Bryce Stadium.
“There were a lot of fundamental things we didn’t do well tonight and you can’t do that against a quality team like Northern Arizona,” Conque said. “We told the players before the game that win or lose, this game would not define our season. We’re disappointed, we’re embarrassed, but know there is a lot of football left to play this season.”
Northern Arizona capitalized on big plays all night, using four explosive plays to set the tone for the evening. NAU had three touchdown passes of 36-yards or more as well as a 56-yard rush to set up another score, racking up 547 yards of offense on the night.
SFA finished the night with 452 yards of offense, accumulating 155 on the ground and 185 through the air. Junior quarterback Zach Conque completed 28 of his 38 passes for 297 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 68 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the night.
Conque distributed his passes to nine different receivers, led by Robert Sylvester’s eight catches for 75 yard. Aaron Thomas pulled in seven receptions for 71 yards while Justice Liggins added four catches for 30 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown.
On the ground, Joshawa West had a solid performance, rushing for 69 yards on 17 carries. Fred Ford also carried the ball six times for 18 yards and another SFA touchdown.
Along with the big plays by Northern Arizona, SFA fell victim to four crucial penalties that negated over 100 yards of offense, as well as a pass interference call on third down late in the fourth quarter that iced the victory for NAU.
Seeking its eighth-straight victory in home openers, SFA fell behind the eight ball early as NAU’s freshman quarterback Case Cookus connected on a 57-yard touchdown strike to Emmanuel Butler with 12:45 remaining in the opening quarter, setting the tone for what would be a big night for the duo. NAU extended that lead to 10-0 midway through the quarter before SFA responded with a one-yard touchdown plunge by Conque, capping a 13-play, 71-yard drive that lasted over five minutes, and trimming the deficit to 10-7 after the first quarter.
Cookus and Butler connected once again early in the second quarter, this time from 47 yards out as NAU pushed its lead back to 10 at 17-7. SFA answered on its ensuing drive, using an extended 12-play, 75-yard attack to march down the field before Fred Ford punched it in from six yards out to pull to within three at 17-14. Another NAU field goal gave the Arizona Lumberjacks a 20-14 lead, a mark they would take with them into halftime.
Both offenses sputtered early in the second half as the teams exchanged three-and-outs. Northern Arizona found its offense first as the Lumberjacks pushed its lead to 27-14 after the third thanks to an 11-yard run for Cookus. Early in the fourth, NAU looked to all but clinch the game as Alex Holmes connected with Butler on a 36-yard touchdown strike on the halfback option as NAU was firmly in control, leading 34-14 with 8:48 to play.
But SFA responded as Conque led the Lumberjacks on a pair of scoring drives, the first capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass to Liggins with 6:04 to go, then Conque took it in himself from 10 yards out with 2:54 remaining as SFA pulled to within six at 34-27.
After making a pair of defensive stops, SFA was looking for one more to get the ball back and put itself in a position to have a chance to win the game. The home Lumberjacks had forced Northern Arizona into a third-and-eight on its own 27 yard line and forced an incomplete pass from Cookus to Butler, but a pass interference call gave NAU the first down and clinched the win for the visiting Lumberjacks.
Butler finished the night with seven catches for 216 yards and three touchdowns with Cookus throwing for 267 yards and a pair of scores.
Defensively, SFA was led by Patrick Martin’s seven tackles while Zack Starnes added six stops in his Lumberjack debut. A hallmark of last year’s team, the ‘Jacks managed just two tackles for loss and one sack on the night, registered by Kedrick Harrison.
The road doesn’t get any easier for SFA as the Lumberjacks now set their sights on a trip to Fort Worth for a battle with TCU next Saturday, facing a Horned Frogs team that is ranked second in the nation and is viewed as a national championship contender. Kickoff at Amon G. Carter Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m. as the game will air nationally on FoxSports1.
Head Coach Clint Conque
Opening Statement:
“Really disappointed in our play. Got to give credit to Northern Arizona; they’re a very good team coming out of the Big Sky. A big, physical team, that dominated all three phases of the game, in my opinion. Fundamentally, we weren't very good. Until we get that fixed, we’re not going to be as good as we can be. We have a group of young guys that are a little humbled and embarrassed, but it’s our job as a staff to get them prepared schematically and fundamentally. We gave up nine yards per play, six yards per rush, a number of explosive plays a number of penalties, and they controlled the line of scrimmage. We let up seven penalties; three of which negated about 120 yards. We have to go back to work now. This will be excellent film to look at for both our coaches and our players. I told the team before the game that ‘this game will not define us,’ and it hasn’t. We have a lot left to play for.”
On the explosive plays of Northern Arizona:
“They scored 28 points off four jump balls. We have to use or body not our hands, which is exactly why I like big receivers. Their receivers had average speed but had great size and ball skills. Again, they got four key jump balls that caused 28 points. I’m also disappointed how we played the run. We learned some things tonight, though. I was impressed by how Joshawa West played and Fred Ford played at times as well as Zach (Conque). TCU is up next, but it’s about us improving as a football team. We’re about to play he number two team in the nation, so we really need to fix some things."
On the injury situation:
“Allen Stewart our starting nickel did not play tonight due to a high ankle sprain, so we had to play Marlon Walls and Lawrence Ghansah. Allen is one of our best football players, and we’d like to get him back. Alex Miller was out and Shayvion Hatten played through an injury for the better part of two quarters and showed a lot of courage tonight. Everyone’s a little bruised, but that’s three key players that we can hopefully get back.”
On the gameplan late in the fourth quarter:
“The conversation tonight was whether to do an onside kick, which is one of the lowest percentage plays in football. I made the decision to kick it deep, but we couldn’t get a stop. I do want to give our kids a lot of credit. We made some stops in the fourth quarter, and we scored 14 points pretty quick. Playing at a frantic pace, they fought as hard as they could. We had developed a good rhythm on offensive, but we couldn’t get the stop. A penalty reared its ugly head again and cost us the chance the to get the ball back. If we had not converted the onside kick, one first down would basically end it. We had confidence that if we got a stop, we could get the ball down the field again. We’re going to play in a lot of close games, especially in the Southland Conference, and hopefully we can execute better.”
-SFA-
