Opponent Preview: Abilene Christian
9/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin returns to Homer Bryce Stadium Saturday for a Southland Conference showdown with Abilene Christian. Kickoff against the Wildcats is set for 6 p.m. as the game, presented by Bancorp South, marks Parents Weekend as well as the annual Cally Belcher game for 2016.
Following The Lumberjacks
Saturday's game between Stephen F. Austin and Abilene Christian will once again be streamed in high definition through ESPN3. Fans can find the game online at ESPN3.com or through the WatchESPN app on portable devices as the Lumberjacks enter year two of their partnership. The audio call courtesy of Rob Meyers will again be carried by Q107.7 FM and online at Q1077.com, as well as through the TuneIn app by following the Lumberjack Sports Network. Live stats will be available through SFAJacks.com with Twitter updates @SFA_Football.
Five Storylines
• SFA is 6-10 all-time against Abilene Christian and 0-2 against the Wildcats since ACU joined the Southland Conference in 2014. The last two games between the two have come down to the final minute with the Wildcats winning both by a combined five points, defeating SFA 37-35 in 2014 and 35-32 in 2015. Stephen F. Austin's last win against Abilene Christian came in 1999, a 51-34 victory at Homer Bryce Stadium. To put that in perspective, head coach Clint Conque, the elder statesmen of SLC head coaches, was still one season away from beginning his head coaching career in 2000.
• Saturday's game marks the third annual Cally Belcher game, named in remembrance of the All-SLC defensive back who passed away following a spring practice in 1994. His number 16 jersey was permanently retired and is only worn for one game each year by the player honored with the team's Cally Belcher Award. Saturday the jersey will be worn by defensive end Jamal Allen, marking the first time the number 16 jersey will appear on defense for SFA since the 1993 season.
• SFA has had a player recognized as a Southland Conference Player of the Week for the past two weeks (Storm Ruiz on Sept. 12 and Zach Conque on Sept. 19). The last time SFA had SLC Players of the Week in back-to-back week was in 2011 when Willie Jefferson earned defensive honors on Oct. 31 and Brady Attaway was the offensive selection on Nov. 7.
• With SFA's 31-28 win at 13th-ranked McNeese Saturday night, 2016 is now the fifth-straight year a Lumberjack team has defeated a nationally-ranked opponent and the third-straight time doing it on the road. Since 2012, SFA is 6-7 in games against nationally-ranked opponents.
• There will be a friendly connection on opposing sidelines this week as Abilene Christian head coach Ken Collums and SFA head coach Clint Conque have been good friends for quite some time. Collums spent five years on Conque's staff at Central Arkansas from 2000-04, serving as his offensive coordinator for the final three seasons.
Scouting the Wildcats
2016 Record: 0-3 overall, 0-1 Southland Conference
Last Three Games: L at Air Force (37-21), L vs. Northern Colorado (55-52), L at Houston Baptist (27-24, OT)
Head Coach: Ken Collums (Central Arkansas, 1995). Fifth season at ACU (22-26, .458).
Key Offensive Players:
• #1 Dallas Sealey (So., QB): 72-of-115 (62.6%) for 918 yds., 5 TDs, 0 INTs; 32 rushes for 166 yds., 5 TDs
• #21 Adrian Duncan (Sr., RB): 49 rushes for 213 yds., 1 TD
• #16 D.J. Fuller (Jr., WR): 15 catches for 231 yds., 3 TDs
• #87 Josh Fink (Fr., WR): 13 catches for 129 yds., 1 TD
• #5 Troy Grant (Jr., WR): 11 catches for 156 yds.
Key Defensive Players:
• #34 Sam Denmark (Jr., LB): 30 tackles (15 solo), 2.5 TFL, 1 INT
• #12 Bryson Gates (Jr., LB): 24 tackles (19 solo), 3.0 TFL
• #56 Gavin Buford (So., LB): 21 tackles (14 solo), 1.5 TFL, 1.0 sack
• #41 Brandon Richmond (So., S): 17 tackles (8 solo)
• #9 Josh Bloom (Sr., DT): 6 tackles (3 solo), 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack
Synopsis: Abilene Christian is seeking its first win of 2016, sitting a 0-3 on the year following tough losses to Air Force, Northern Colorado and Houston Baptist, falling to the Huskies in overtime last Saturday. The Wildcats are averaging 32.3 points and 479.3 yards per game, totaling 169.3 on the ground and 310.0 in the air. QB Dallas Sealey has proven to be a dual threat, throwing for 306 yards per game while rushing for 55 with 10 total touchdowns. RB Adrian Duncan is averaging 71 yards per game on the ground while five receivers have already eclipsed the 100-yard mark, led by D.J. Fuller's 231 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, ACU is giving up 39.7 points and 551.3 yards per game, including 263.7 rushing yards per game. LB Sam Denmark has been the Wildcats' defensive leader with 30 total tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss with Bryson Gates adding 24 tackles and 3.0 TFL on the year as ACU has managed just three sacks so far in 2016.
Head Coach Clint Conque's Weekly Press Conference Transcript
On the victory over McNeese:
“It was a really nice win. I’m really happy for our players. As we expand our program here we’re trying to get the mindset and confidence with our players to go into these difficult environments - whether McNeese or NRG or anywhere on the road and expect to play well. I thought we had a good week of preparation. I thought our plan in all three phases of the game was solid. I thought our team was excited to play against a top-15 team in the country. We played very physical and mentally tough. It was a very violent game with a lot of hand-to-hand battles. Not just in the interior of the line but the perimeter as well. There was a lot of man-to-man coverage play, probably 90% by both programs. So there was going to be plenty of opportunity for big plays and the band to play. There were near misses, great plays and great catches. I thought both teams were geared up to stop the run and for the most part, I thought both teams did that. We were able to eek out a few, and they were able to get a couple more. Its awesome to start conference play 1-0. I’m proud of our players. It was a team win and a lot of people contributed to that win.”
On the decision to play Hunter Taylor in the fourth quarter:
“Zach (Conque) got rolled up a bit on the previous series, then he misfired on a double move that I thought he should have hit. I felt like with about six minutes to go in the game we needed a spark. Hunter (Taylor) has provided that for us in the past. That’s his role and he’s good at it. He came in and made two really fine plays. He kind of improvised one play to Joshawa West and threw a nice ball to the freshman Tamrick Pace. We’ve said since he’s been on campus that he’s going to impact our football team this year and he continues to do that. I think as a head coach, you’ve got to have that gut to be able to go to the bullpen. I felt like after a momentum play that Alize Ward made on the interception there was a lot of energy on our sideline. I thought that was a perfect time to inject [Hunter Taylor]. There’s a lot of Hall of Fame pitchers in Major League Baseball like Rollie Fingers or Mariano Rivera who came in and closed it out for them. Again, it’s a team win, and Hunter has to be ready. So does our backup safeties and backup running backs and backup lineman. Obviously, the quarterback position gets a lot of profile, but we have a lot of confidence in Hunter. We have a lot of confidence in Zach; he was responsible for 24 points and over 325 yards of offense. But he needs to get better, and we need to get better in a lot of areas. We know that and that’s why we practice. But at the end of the day, it was a great team win. A lot of players stepped up at different parts of that game.”
On the team’s confidence in Hunter:
“His first pass he’d like to have back because that one was almost intercepted. If he had worked the other side of the field, which I think he was supposed to be working, he might have had another completion. Then he got a two or three-yard gain and then with pressure, he kind of improvised, hitting Joshawa West down the sideline. The ball was on the three or four yard line after that and he threw a fade the 6’3 receiver, and he went up and got it. That’s why he was inserted into the game. Earlier in the game, Zach had a play where he improvised and hit I think it was Loren Easly for about a 35 or 40-yard gain going across the field. And (Zach) gave us four or five nice plays in the run game as well. He had a 58-yard touchdown pass, a 30-yard touchdown pass, a 36-yard touchdown run. There were about three throws that he needed to make. There were some drops by our receivers they should have caught. There was good protection and decent routes with some separation and he has to hit them. The last one was the double move to Justice Liggins which would have been a touchdown. I called a timeout to set that one up, so I wasn’t really happy about the results of that. Hunter came in and gave us a shot in the arm. Every coach, every player and every staff member in an organization has a role to play. Hunter is on scholarship - so is our backup left guard. When your number’s called, you have to respond to that. Hunter did a great job, and we’ll be better for that.”
On what the focus will be this week at practice:
“We go back to work. We’ve got to better on third down where we were 3 of 18. That was ridiculous. We’ve got to be better on first and second down to give us an opportunity for success on third and not have the continuous third and longs like we did. We’ve got to be better on the run game. At times we got a few of them out but they were not going to let us run it. And quite frankly, we were going to do everything to make sure that they couldn’t run it. It was a bit of a chess match and that’s when turnovers play a big part of the game. I’m really proud of us offensively through three games. I’m not happy with the third down percentages this year. We’ve got to go back and see what we’re doing on first and second down. But I’m very proud on how we’ve responded to our opportunities in the red zone. We lead the conference in red zone conversions. Last year we were middle of the pack to the bottom. What it boils down to is we’ve got a field goal kicker. When you’ve got a field goal kicker, you have the confidence that when you come within 25 yards that you will come away with points. But we’ve got work to do on third down and work to do on second and third and long. We allowed a couple conversions to McNeese on second and third and long. At the end of the day, we were resilient, a lot of people contributed, and it was a team win. When you win the turnover battle and you can convert those turnovers into points like we did, you like your chances each and every week.”
On what to expect from Abilene Christian:
“They’ve changed offensive philosophies since last year. McNeese had changed their offensive philosophies a little bit and ACU has done the same thing. They hae a very athletic quarterback. Dallas Sealey is about 6’2, 210, and can really run. He can extend plays, is a good passer, and they’ve got a nice scheme. We saw something similar to that against Texas Tech and it didn’t pan out too well for us there. Defensively, they’re very big in the interior line, and I like their linebacker play. They’ve had some issues in the back end; assignments and missed coverages and those sorts of things. (Head coach) Ken (Collums) will have them ready to play. Don’t let their record be indicative – it is in no way representative of they type of football team they are. They went to Colorado Springs and played Air Force extremely well. They got into a shootout against Northern Colorado, a good team out of the Big Sky Conference, and came up one possession short. Coach Collins will have them ready to play. They’ve had success in this stadium. Two years ago we missed a 26-yard field goal late which cost us the game. There are a lot of kids left on that team that will have a lot of confidence to come in here. And then they got us in their place last year, so I don’t think they’ll be intimidated by us. I’m sure they’re trying to right the ship, but so are we. We’ve got to have a great week of preparation. It’s Parents Weekend, so hopefully we’ll have a nice crowd coming off a nice win.”
On how winning a pair of close games have helpd the team’s confidence:
“It’s a sign of maturity and learning how to win, no question about it. For the most part, the attitudes are really good and the kids are working hard. We’ve had our share of injuries and logistical issues around here practicing with the weather. This seems to be a pretty resilient bunch, and I think we’ve got some good senior leadership overall. You look out there and Kiki Hill is matching catch, Trae Hart is making catches and returning punts, Tamrick Pace is making catches, Cody Williams makes a critical catch the other night. You’ve got a bunch of guys that (play-by-play announcer) Rob Meyers hadn’t called their name before two weeks ago. You see Kijana Amous stepping up and Cooper Williams and A.J. Brown, both freshmen starting on the offensive line. You’ve got a lot of young guys - Nick Jones, Aaron Foy and Trent Perriman. Nobody knew who those corners were, even after we signed them and they were here all spring. All of a sudden they’re out there knocking balls down and making plays on defense. So, we’ve got a lot of new faces that have stepped up. They want to compete and win and that’s why we brought them here. The skies the limit, they can be as good as they want to be. We’ve come nowhere close to scratching the potential. There’s plenty of work to go around. We can continue to get that confidence and swagger and that expectation by preparing and playing well. Whenever you can beat McNeese, in any season, typically it gives you a chance to have a pretty special year. Now that game is in our rear view mirror and we learn from it. Now we attack a highly motivated Abilene Christian team at Homer Bryce for Parents Weekend.”
-SFA-
