‘Jacks Edged on Late Fourth-Quarter Touchdown at No. 6 Central Arkansas

Saturday, October 14

Conway, Ark. (Estes Stadium)

6:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

2-5 , 2-3

No. 6 Central Arkansas

5-1 , 4-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Stephen F. Austin

Central Arkansas

Photo by: Josh Goff | UCA Athletics

‘Jacks Edged on Late Fourth-Quarter Touchdown at No. 6 Central Arkansas

10/14/2017 11:14:00 PM | Football

Box Score

SFA come up just short of upsetting sixth-ranked Central Arkansas Saturday night in Conway, Arkansas, thanks to a late fourth-quarter Bears touchdown

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

CONWAY, Ark. – A late fourth-quarter touchdown with 90 seconds left propelled sixth-ranked Central Arkansas to a 24-20 win over visiting Stephen F. Austin football Saturday night inside Estes Stadium in Conway, Arkansas. The Bears (5-1, 4-0 Southland) got a 17-yard touchdown pass on a fade route from starting quarterback Hayden Hildebrand to Roman Gordon after the Lumberjacks (2-5, 2-3 Southland) had taken a 20-17 lead off of a 24-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Storm Ruiz (League City, Texas).

After being deadlocked at 17-17 for nearly 19:30 of play, SFA broke the tie when it went 55 yards on 11 plays in 4:15 midway through the fourth quarter. The drive ended on Ruiz' field goal that gave the 'Jacks a 20-17 advantage with just over three minutes to go. The three-point lead would not hold as Central Arkansas got a 61-yard return from Cedric Battle on the ensuing kickoff, giving the Bears the ball at the SFA 38. Central Arkansas needed just three plays to get the ball in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown, taking up 1:21 of clock in the process.

Despite claiming three interceptions and not committing any turnovers, the 'Jacks were outgained 450 to 319 in total offensive yards, including 290 to 150 through the air. SFA owned a +9 advantage in rushing yards, outgaining the Bears 169 to 160 on the ground for the most gained in a game this season.

SFA opened up the game with a 26-yard completion on the first play from scrimmage as sophomore quarterback Jake Blumrick (Pearland, Texas) found junior North Texas wide receiver Terian Goree (Carthage, Texas) for a nice catch and run down the sideline. Following another first-down pass to senior tight end Will Taylor (Euless, Texas), the 'Jacks faced fourth-and-five at the Central Arkansas 31. Choosing to go for it on fourth down, Blumrick was flushed out of the pocket and sacked for a 12-yard loss, giving the ball back to the home team.

Despite the Bears picking up a trio of first downs and getting into the red zone on their first drive of the game, the 'Jacks made a strong defensive stand. On fourth-and-inches at the SFA 16-yard line, the Lumberjack defense came up with a stop as sophomore safety Alize Ward (San Diego, Calif.) and senior defensive end John Franklin (Greenville, Texas) did not allow Carlos Blackman to reach the first-down marker.

Both teams failed to make much progress offensively on the next few drives before Central Arkansas quickly scored on a three-play, 65-yard drive that took just 1:24. A 60-yard touchdown from the Bears' Hayden Hildebrand to Lester Wells put Central Arkansas ahead 7-0 with 1:31 to go in the first quarter.

On their first drive of the second quarter, the 'Jacks marched down the field for their longest drive of the night, going 66 yards on 11 plays in just over four minutes of play. A 13-yard red-zone rush by sophomore running back Jamall Shaw (Broken Arrow, Okla.) got SFA within striking distance, before Blumrick took it in himself for a three-yard quarterback keeper. The touchdown tied up the score at 7-7 with 8:17 to go in the second quarter.

The score would be the first of three combined touchdowns scored in the quarter. Central Arkansas responded with its longest drive of the game, a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown trip that took just over three minutes. Hildebrand connected with the Bears' Brandon Meyers from 16 yards out for his second touchdown pass of the game, putting Central Arkansas up 14-7 with 5:15 remaining in the half.

SFA would tie up the score once again near the end of the quarter after junior safety Lawrence Ghansah (Cypress, Texas) picked off Hildebrand for his second interception of the season. After junior punter Caleb Lewallen (Kingwood, Texas) pinned the Bears back at their own four, Central Arkansas worked its way out to the 34. Ghansah returned the pick to the Bears' 26 and just two plays later Blumrick found sophomore wide receiver Tamrick Pace (Brownsboro, Texas) for an in-stride 28-yard touchdown strike.

The score with 28 seconds left in the second quarter made it a 14-14 game heading into halftime. SFA was outgained 262 to 195 in the opening half, including 191 to 120 in passing yards. Blumrick went 15-of-20 for 120 yards in the first half, despite being sacked three times.

Thanks to a 40-yard rush by senior running back Kijana Amous (Mansfield, Texas) down the middle of the field, the 'Jacks scored on their first drive of the second half. Going 60 yards in eight plays, SFA took its first lead of the game at 17-14 when Storm Ruiz connected on a 31-yard field goal with 10:39 to go in the third.

The ensuing drive by Central Arkansas also resulted in a field goal as the Bears marched 71 yards in 10 plays, taking up 3:12 of clock. Central Arkansas' Mark Collins tied up the score once again at 17-17 with 7:31 remaining in the quarter when he knocked through a 27-yard field goal. The score would be the last until the final minutes of the contest.

The two teams exchanged punts, including a season-long 52-yard punt by Lewallen, before the 'Jacks stopped an eight-play, 76-yard Central Arkansas drive with their second interception of the game. Ward made his league-leading fourth interception of the season when he picked off Hildebrand in the back of the end zone for a touchback. However, SFA was only able to gain one yard on their possession before having to punt once again.

The 'Jacks had an opportunity to score following their third pick of the night when junior linebacker Terrance Potts (Trinity, Texas) stepped in front of a wobbly Hildebrand pass for his first career interception, returning it 17 yards to the Central Arkansas 18. Once again, SFA was only able to manage one yard of offense on the drive before Ruiz returned to the field for a 34-yard field goal attempt. His kick went wide left as the 'Jacks turned the ball over on downs.

Following the miss, neither team was able to record a first down until SFA's go-ahead field goal drive began with 7:19 left in the game.

Blumrick finished 19-of-36 for 150 yards, while Hildebrand went 25-of-35 for 290 yards and three touchdowns. Amous ran for a career-high 142 yards on 19 carries as Goree tallied a career-high 62 receiving yards on six receptions.

Defensively, freshman safety Trenton Gordon (Rowlett, Texas) led the 'Jacks with nine tackles, including seven solo stops. Senior defensive end John Franklin (Greenville, Texas) posted six total tackles and had four solo stops, including a tackle for loss.

The top defensive front in the Southland Conference and one of the best in the nation got to the Lumberjacks' Blumrick in the backfield a total of seven times for a loss of 42 yards. The Bears' defense accumulated 61 yards on 13 tackles for loss and had 11 pass breakups.

Up next…

The 'Jacks return to Nacogdoches and the comforts of Homer Bryce Stadium next weekend for homecoming 2017. SFA will take on the Huskies of Houston Baptist University in a 3 p.m. kickoff Saturday, Oct. 21. Presented by Nacogdoches Memorial Health, the game will be featured as a pink out for breast cancer awareness. The Southland tilt will be streamed live on ESPN3, available online and through the ESPN app.

Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Lumberjack football this fall.

Notes

Amous' 40-yard run in the third quarter was SFA's longest rushing play of the season. His 142 rushing yards on the night are the most by a Lumberjack since SFA's Loren Easly claimed 169 on Oct. 15, 2016, versus Southeastern Louisiana.

Prior to Ghansah's second-quarter interception, the Central Arkansas offense had not committed a turnover in its previous three games. Entering tonight's contest, the Bears' Hildebrand had only thrown two interceptions all season, SFA was able to pick him off three times.

Saturday night's contest was the third-straight game in which SFA has taken on a nationally-ranked opponent, the first stretch of such games since 2013. Central Arkansas is ranked No. 6 in the nation according to both the FCS Coaches Poll and the STATS Top 25 media poll.

The loss is the third straight for SFA, marking the first time since 2015 that the 'Jacks have lost three consecutive games.

Quotes

Head Coach Clint Conque

Opening comments on the game
"Not a good finish. Good teams find a way to finish and right now we're not finding a way to finish. We lost our poise. Before the field goal, we would have had first-and-goal at the seven. We had a personal foul penalty that pretty much offset their personal foul penalty because we lost our poise there by an upper classman and then we failed to cover the kick. And then of course we get beat on the fade route at the end of the game. The thing about it is when you play good teams, you've got to play your best. You've got to play with poise under pressure. We didn't play with poise under pressure. The other thing is for the second week in a row we traded touchdowns for field goals, and against good teams that can score quickly and are explosive, we've got to find a better way to get the ball in the end zone. We did some good things tonight, gave ourselves an opportunity to win. Got some stops and got several turnovers but at the end of the day this is one I thought we should have won, no question about it. That is two weeks in a row."

On the defensive play in the game
"I think our defense is really growing, you can see they are getting a little more comfortable with our new scheme. Our quarterback is playing his guts out but he still has another step to take. Once we got obvious pass situations late in the game and throughout the game, we struggled protecting him. When you have a young quarterback, you want to give him a clean pocket. Seven sacks is unacceptable. Then we had too many dropped balls on offense I thought. Several times we had a chance for big plays and we dropped the football. We are right there against some of the best teams in the country. This team is mad tonight; they were disappointed last week. They're mad, I'm mad, everybody is mad because the thing about it is you put yourself in a position to beat these really good teams, who are tops in the country, and it proves you can be there. We're just not making the plays throughout the game and certainly tonight at the end of the game to come into a tough environment and beat a top-10 team."

-SFA-