Opponent Preview: Central Arkansas
11/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin opens the month of November with its Homecoming tilt for 2016, facing 17th-ranked Central Arkansas on Saturday, November 5th. The game against the Bears is a 2:30 p.m. kickoff, moved up 30 minutes from the original 3:00 p.m. kick time, and will be televised nationally on the American Sports Network.
Following the Lumberjacks
For the first time since becoming a broadcast partner with the Southland Conference, the American Sports Network will visit Homer Bryce Stadium to broadcast Stephen F. Austin’s Homecoming showdown with Central Arkansas. Lyn Rollins (play-by-play) and Butch Alsandor (analyst) will have the call with Tatum Everett on the sideline as the game will broadcast locally on KTPN “The Z” out of Tyler-Longview. Coverage can be found locally on Suddenlink channels 9 (SD) and 109 (HD), as well as over-the-air on channels 47.1 and 51.2. Altitude2 will also carry the game and can be found on DirecTV channel 681-1 and channel 440 on Dish. Rob Meyers, the voice of the Lumberjacks, will call the game along with analyst Tyler DePascal on Q107.7 FM, available online at Q1077.com as well as through the Lumberjack Sports Network on the TuneIn app. Live stats will be available at SFAJacks.com, complemented by Twitter updates @SFA_Football.
Five Storylines
• Stephen F. Austin and Central Arkansas meet for the 11th time in the series history Saturday as the Bears hold a 7-3 lead in the all-time series. UCA has won three-straight against SFA, including last season's 36-24 win in Conway. SFA is 2-3 all-time against the Bears at Homer Bryce Stadium with their last win in the series coming in 2012, defeating UCA 42-37 in a torrential downpour.
• SFA is 40-35-1 all-time on Homecoming, beginning with 14-12 win over Sam Houston State in 1929. The Lumberjacks have won their last five Homecoming games, and six of the last seven, including last season's 55-21 victory over Incarnate Word. UCA will be SFA's Homecoming foe for the first time as Sam Houston State has been the most frequent foe, playing on the Lumberjacks' Homecoming 18 times.
• One of the obvious storylines is head coach Clint Conque coaching against his former Central Arkansas team. Conque spent 14 seasons in Conway, winning over 100 games as the coach of the Bears, as assistant coaches Matt Williamson, Bill Best and Jeremy Hammock also spent time in Conway with coach Conque, helping recruit a handful of current UCA players.
• Central Arkansas enters Saturday's game boasting the top defense in the nation, allowing just 61 rushing yards and 274 total yards per game. It wil prove to be a challenge for the SFA rushing corps, an experienced group which boasts three 1,000-yard rushers in Joshawa West (1,523), Zach Conque (1,397) and Loren Easly (1,180).
• The 17th-ranked Bears will pose another opportunity for SFA to notch a program-defining win. Earlier this season, SFA defeated 13th-ranked McNeese 31-28, marking the fifth-straight year the Lumberjacks have knocked off a top-25 team. During that five-year span, SFA is 6-7 against nationally-ranked programs.
Scouting the Bears
2016: 7-1 overall, 6-0 Southland Conference. Ranked 17/17 in this week’s FCS coaches/media polls
Last Three Games: W at Southeastern Louisiana (45-10), W vs. Lamar (22-12), W at McNeese (35-0)
Head Coach: Steve Campbell (Troy State, 1987). Third season at UCA (20-11, .645); sixth season overall (47-19, .712)
Key Offensive Players:
• #12 Hayden Hildebrand (Jr., QB): 134-of-219 (61.2%) for 1,830 yds., 13 TDs, 3 INTs; 31 rushes for 218 yds., 4 TDs
• #23 Carlos Blackman (Fr., RB): 93 rushes for 414 yds., 1 TD
• #34 Antwon Wells (Sr., RB): 88 rushes for 378 yds., 6 TDs
• #4 Jatavious Wilson (Sr., WR): 43 catches for 622 yds., 3 TDs
• #88 Desmond Smith (Sr., WR): 38 catches for 551 yds., 4 TDs
Key Defensive Players:
• #31 George Odum (Jr., LB): 55 tackles (35 solo), 5.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 FF, 1 FR
• #2 Devin Spurlock (Sr., DB): 44 tackles (30 solo), 0.5 TFL, 1 INT
• #10 James Graves (Jr., LB): 34 tackles (14 solo), 4.0 TFL
• #95 Chris Terrell (So., DL): 24 tackles (14 solo), 10.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks
• #98 Jordan Toliver (Sr., DL): 22 tackles (11 solo), 7.5 TFL, 4.0 sacks
Synopsis: Central Arkansas enters the week tied for first in the Southland Conference standings, posting a perfect 6-0 record in conference play and 7-1 overall. The Bears are coming off a 45-10 win at Southeastern Louisiana while also notching a 35-0 win at McNeese on Oct. 15 after defeating FBS foe Arkansas State 28-23 on Sept. 24. UCA is averaging 37.1 points and 460.8 yards per game, running a balanced offensive attack that averages 227.9 rushing and 232.9 passing yards per game. QB Hayden Hildebrand has thrown for 1,830 yards and 13 touchdowns as WRs Jatavious Wilson and Desmond Smith have combined for 81 catches and 1,173 of those yards. On the ground, Carlos Blackman and Antwon Wells have combined for 181 carries for 821 yards as well. Defensively, Central Arkansas is one of the toughest in the nation, allowing just 16.2 points and 276.9 yards, including 61.0 rushing and 215.9 passing. LB George Odum is the Bears’ leading tackler with 55 on the year, including 5.5 tackles for loss, with DB Devin Spurlock adding 44 tackles. DL Chris Terrell leads UCA with 10.0 tackles for loss with DL Jordan Toliver adding 7.5 TFL and 4.0 sacks.
Head coach Clint Conque's Weekly Press Conference Transcript
On the win over Incarnate Word:
“It was a solid win. We talked about how this was a team that had been 4-1 at home last season and played well at home in some defeats earlier. They scored 48 on Sam Houston and 21 on McNeese, so we were aware they play better at home. I’ve been coaching a long time and have won a bunch of big games over the years. This was one of the most satisfying, especially when you look at our situation. We’re down 15 scholarship players right now, and those players aren’t coming back. We traveled 64 players, 10 of which aren’t scholarship players. Five of those played significant time and even one of them started. Our number one receiver, Justice Liggins, was suspended for this game, so he didn’t make the trip. We had four other front line guys who were suspended for a half. When you factor in the injuries and the accountability issues, to go to San Antonio and play like we did was a very satisfying win on the road in the Southland Conference. We’re going to have standards of accountability regardless if we’re in-season or off-season, and our players learned some lessons. But I was glad how the young men who were suspended came back and responded because they all made big plays in the second half. They were energized on the sideline in the first half, and when their numbers were called they made plays. Defensively, I thought we dominated at times, especially when you hold an opponent who wants to run the ball to 99 yards rushing and 300 total yards of offense. We had three takeaways, 12 tackles for loss and six sacks. I thought we played well in the goal line area. We made a big takeaway for a 14-point swing in the second quarter, a Zack Starnes interception that set up a scoring drive for us. Offensively, we scored some touchdowns; we probably had an opportunity get seven or eight. Turnover on the four-yard line after a long run, had a penalty just outside of the red are that kept us from extending a drive, the two fumbles and the penalties that hurt us. Obviously, Zach Conque had a nice day with about 300 yards of offense and our team with about 600 yards of offense. In the kicking game we were energized by a 64-yard return by Alize Ward, a redshirt freshman that led to points. The rest of it was pretty poor, to be honest with you. When you have a depleted roster, for whatever reason, where it really shows up is in the kicking game. We’ve got to get better in the kicking game, but to go on the road and to overcome some self-inflicted wounds, I thought the players played hard. I thought our plan on offense and defense was solid, and I thought our kids executed. To go out in the Southland Conference on the road in a place we’ve never been, all, in all, it was a good trip. I do want to say this: the Lumberjack Marching Band was out there in full regalia and made such an effort. We probably had four or five hundred fans there. We have a presence in Central Texas and it was nice for some young men to go back home and play and bodes well for our recruiting in the Austin-San Antonio Central Texas area. So good trip, good win, and the stakes go a little higher.”
On the play of Zach Kanipes:
“He’s a legacy young man whose dad played here. His father was a former defensive coordinator at Pearland High School, a school which has been very very good to this program, with Zach included. His dad is now head coach at Santa Fe High School. The thing about Kanipes is he’s probably one of the most popular kids on our football team. He’s definitely a very hard worker and plays with a chip on his shoulder. Obviously he’s limited in stature and doesn’t meet all of the tangible requirements, but you can’t measure a young man’s heart and he plays with great heart and great passion. He’s a young man that’s been pressed into duty in the kicking game the last four or five weeks. Then because of situation at corner, he’s had to come in and he’s like the third or fourth corner. He competes hard and the guys love him and we love him.”
On what to expect with Central Arkansas:
“They are a really, really good football team. They are probably the best defensive team we’ve faced in the conference I’ve seen in a long time and there is a reason they are ranked number one in the country. This defense has a different scheme, but rivals the Northern Iowa team we played in the NCAA playoffs a couple years ago. They are very active and very physical - not very complicated in what they do but they do it very well. They are just very athletic on the back end and good tacklers that run to the football. They’re giving up 61 yards a game rushing and 275 yards overall. That’s against Arkansas State and McNeese and some pretty good teams that they’ve faced. They do have the top rushing offense in the conference. They’ll want to run the football, and they have a plethora of running backs and skill kids. Their quarterback makes them go in the pass game - he’s an athletic dual-threat guy. He tucked it in and went 80 yards against Abilene a couple weeks ago. Obviously I’m very familiar with a good number of the players on the roster and it’s good to see a lot of them doing well. Thank goodness a few of them are seniors. As good as they are on defense, they’re averaging about 35 or so points a game offensively. They can hurt you with the run game, and they can hurt you with the pass game. It’s probably the best special teams group in the conference: they’ve blocked a punt for a touchdown, returned a punt for a touchdown, run a kickoff back for a touchdown, their field goal kicker has 50-yard range and a have a solid punting game. It’s just an enormous challenge for us, and a very well coached and a very good football team. What we tell our players is the bigger the challenge, the bigger the opportunity, so we’re ready to embrace the challenge.”
On facing the distractions of Homecoming week:
“There are a few things here we’ve addressed. Number one, it’s Homecoming and that’s for the students, the alumni and the fans. Our Homecoming will start after the game. Our team will be at the awesome experience of the bonfire, which is one of the great traditions in this conference. Our focus is on the game, the three and a half hours on Saturday. It’s a nationally televised game and supposed to be about 72 degrees with a nice sunny sky, so hopefully we should have a great crowd. We’re obviously a different team now than we were earlier in the year, but we’ve gone on the road and beaten a top 15 team. This is another opportunity for us to put ourselves in position to get another skin against one of the best teams in the country. It’s no secret that we’ll be an underdog, probably a prohibitive underdog. But we’re at home, and this could define our season and really be a program-defining opportunity for us. And that’s the way we’re looking at it. We’ll have to play extremely clean football and hope that they make a few mistakes. If you look at this game: two years we had a fourth quarter lead and let it get away from us, and last year we had a lead late in the third quarter and let it get away from us. Good teams know how to close out those games, and that’s what we’re still trying to learn how to do. It’s going to be an enormous challenge but what a wonderful opportunity. I get fired up to coach in every we play. But when you play the really good teams: the McNeeses’, Sam Houstons’, and the Central Arkansas’, those are the games that have your kids’ attention as well. We’re excited about the opportunity. We’ll roll the ball out there, have a great week of preparation and see if we can get deep in that game with a chance to win.”
-SFA-
