Conque’s Comments: SFA Set to Face No. 6 Central Arkansas Saturday

THE KICKOFF
After battling 11th-ranked Sam Houston State last weekend in the 92nd Battle of the Piney Woods at NRG Stadium in Houston, the Stephen F. Austin football team will hit the road to take on a nationally ranked team once again. The Lumberjacks face No. 6 Central Arkansas Saturday, Oct. 14 in a 6 p.m. kickoff from First Security Field at Estes Stadium in Conway, Arkansas. It will be third consecutive game SFA has taken on an opponent ranked in the top 25. The road challenge will be just the Lumberjacks' 10th trip to the state of Arkansas since beginning football in 1923 as it will mark the sixth time SFA has faced Central Arkansas in the Natural State.

FOLLOWING THE LUMBERJACKS
Saturday's game against Central Arkansas will be streamed live online at ESPN3, available at ESPN3.com or through the ESPN app on mobile devices. Lincoln Rose and Nate Griffin will provide talent to the ESPN3 broadcast with Rose handling play-by-play duties and Nate Griffin providing analysis. Rob Meyers, the voice of the Lumberjacks, will call the game along with color commentator Kevin Langford 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 from @SFA_Football.

ABOUT THE GAME
Featured as the Southland Conference's Game of the Week on ESPN3, Central Arkansas enters the contest ranked No. 6 according to both the latest FCS Coaches Poll and STATS Top 25 media poll. The Bears, who sit atop the conference with an unblemished 3-0 Southland mark, are the highest ranked opponent SFA has faced since taking on then No. 2 Sam Houston State in the 91st edition of the Battle of the Piney Woods last season in Houston. Saturday will be the first time the 'Jacks have played three-straight ranked opponents in four years. The last time SFA had such a stretch of games was in 2013 when the 'Jacks battled No. 20 Central Arkansas on the road, followed by a neutral-site game versus No. 8 Sam Houston State and a home contest with 11th-ranked McNeese. SFA went 0-3 during that span.

CONQUE RETURNING TO THE NATURAL STATE
Saturday's league tilt will be a homecoming of sorts for head coach Clint Conque. For 14 years (2000-13) coach Conque led the Bears as he guided Central Arkansas through its transition from NCAA Division II to Division I, making four NCAA postseason appearances and earning coach of the year honors three times. It will be just Conque's second trip to the stripes since taking over the 'Jacks and first since Nov. 7, 2015. During his time in Conway, Conque accumulated an overall record of 105-59 (.640) and posted a Southland mark of 33-16 (.673), earning the distinction as the second-winningest collegiate football coach in the state of Arkansas behind legendary Razorback coach Frank Broyles. To this day, Conque is the winningest head coach in Central Arkansas program history with 31 more total victories than the next closest head coach.

Head Coach Clint Conque's Comments

Opening comments
"Tremendous game Saturday down at NRG, I'm very disappointed we didn't make enough plays there at the end of the game to secure the win. With that said, we went down there to win the game. I think that was fairly obvious by how we competed and some of the things we did throughout the game. I thought our young men really emptied their tank, played with a lot of intent and purpose. There were a lot of ebbs and flows in that game, no question about it. We gave up some yards, but we did what we sought out to do as far as trying to contain one of the most prolific offenses in all of college football, maybe frustrated them a bit. The two goal line stands and there was another fourth-down stop in the high red area, I'm very proud of that. We tackled better for the most part, there were probably three plays that we had a majority of our missed tackles on, credit to their athletes. I thought offensively we were hit and miss. I knew that was going to possibly come back to get us as we had to settle for field goals versus getting touchdowns when we got in the red zone. Credit to Storm Ruiz, he knocked down three field goals and kept us in the game and within striking distance. But again, against an offense that you know eventually is going to pop one or two in, although the field goals kept us in it, you know might come back to haunt you. We got three field goals and if we could have gotten two touchdowns in there, then that could have been the difference in the game. Then with the onside kick, you know we just kicked a field goal to get within four. Obviously, we built on that momentum from the special teams play and drove it down in the red area once again and for the second consecutive week, we make a mistake. For all practical purposes that emotionally probably had an effect on us. Give Sam Houston State some credit, they are a very good football team, a top-10 team. Our kids are pretty disappointed that we just didn't get it done. I'm proud of the way they played and how they prepared, and we move forward."

On what it says about the team that they kept fighting after trailing 17-0 early
"We didn't play very well against McNeese and then to start the way we started, it could have snowballed on us, but to our players credit they found a way to hang in there. They created a turnover, then they get on the board and put together a drive. Converted a fourth down on the goal line for a touchdown and kick another field goal before the half, I think they (Sam Houston State) had a 20-13 lead at that time. That speaks to the credit and the competitiveness of our players. When you look at the game in totality there are no moral victories, but you played against a very good football team. And it hopefully proved to our young men that when you do things right and we are disciplined and execute, we put ourselves in a position to win football games. I was disappointed with the extraordinary amount of drops that we had, one would have been a touchdown and several others would have been big plays, and that didn't help our young quarterback. I though he (Jake Blumrick) really showed some toughness. P.J. Hall is a one-man wrecking crew, no disrespect to the other guys that play there, but P.J. makes them better, makes their back end better. So when you have an opportunity and the ball hits your hands, you got to make those catches and one of them would have been a touchdown where we had to settle for a field goal. I spoke to P.J. after and wished him the best as a senior, and to get the heck out of the Southland Conference because he has been a consensus All-American and a great player in this league now for four years."

On playing a nationally-ranked opponent for the third-straight week and what you tell the team heading into this game
"That's going to be the real challenge on two levels. Number one, you knew that there would be some emotion in this game against Sam Houston State, playing down in NRG, nice crowd, and natural geographic rivals for 91 years. Like I said, we emptied the tank so the number one challenge is going to be, as competitors, can we refill the tank this week, and that starts with our preparation. The second part of that, which is maybe bigger, is that this is an extremely talented football team. This is the best UCA football team that coach (Steve) Campbell has had and probably the best, in my opinion, that they have had since they one their last conference championship in 2012. They are just very talented on the defensive front. We struggled a little bit, obviously, on protecting the quarterback and they lead the conference in sacks, tackles for loss and turnover margin. They have an All-American corner, their linebackers are very good, and their front is very good. Offensively, Hayden Hildebrand is very efficient, he's got some big-play guys around him. They run the football very effectively. Not only is it an emotional challenge for our team this week, we are also playing one of the best teams in the nation again this week. We've got to call on our competitive juices to refill the tank the tank this week, and put a plan together and go to Conway, a very difficult place to play on the stripes. I'm sure it will be a ruckus crowd, a six o'clock kickoff in October. They are playing well, so I think we can't wait to get to the stadium to get excited. We have to put the pieces in during the week of preparation. I think that will be a challenge but, obviously, it is a very talented football team that presents a physical challenge as well."

On what stands out the most about Central Arkansas
"I think Hildebrand is playing at a very efficient level. It looks effortless right now; he is completing nearly 70% of his passes. A thing he can do is beat you with his legs. We timed him at our camp when he was coming out of high school in the 4.5's and he has gotten bigger and stronger so he can beat you with his arm and his legs. I like their capabilities at running back. They have got speed and size. Their offensive line is big, their tight ends are big, and they have got some big-play people. They do a nice job of creating leverages in the run game and matchups in the pass game, so we are going to have to be very focused and aware on that. Defensively, as I mentioned, they lead the conference in sacks. So we have to protect the quarterback, we can't have 60 yards lost like we did on Saturday, and present some sort of run game to get going and to take the pressure off of Blumrick. That's just a huge challenge but a great opportunity, no question about it."

-SFA-

Photo by: Hardy Meredith | SFA Photography

Conque’s Comments: SFA Set to Face No. 6 Central Arkansas Saturday

10/13/2017 8:29:00 AM | Football

SFA head coach Clint Conque talks about last weekend’s close defeat against No. 11 Sam Houston State in the 92nd Battle of the Piney Woods; previews returning to face his old team in No. 6 Central Arkansas

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations