SFA Unable to Pull Off Upset in 92nd Battle of the Piney Woods

Saturday, October 7

Houston, Texas (NRG Stadium)

1:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

2-4 , 2-2

No. 11 Sam Houston State

4-1 , 2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Sam Houston State

Stephen F. Austin

Photo by: Hardy Meredith | SFA Photography

SFA Unable to Pull Off Upset in 92nd Battle of the Piney Woods

10/7/2017 6:34:00 PM | Football

Box Score

‘Jacks force three turnovers with an opportunistic defense and excellent special teams play, but a late touchdown seals a 27-16 win for Sam Houston State in the 92nd Battle of the Piney Woods

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

Photo Gallery

HOUSTON, Texas – In the 92nd edition of the Battle of the Piney Woods, the Stephen F. Austin football team left all it had on the field but was unable to upend 11th-ranked Sam Houston State Saturday afternoon inside NRG Stadium in Houston, falling by a score of 27-16. Despite forcing three turnovers, collecting an onside kick and seeing the Bearkats (4-1, 2-1 Southland) commit 13 penalties for 144 yards, the Lumberjacks (2-4, 2-2 Southland) were outgained 508 to 219 in total offensive yards.

Sam Houston State racked up 198 yards on the ground and another 325 through the air, holding SFA to just 14 rushing yards and a 3-of-16 third-down conversion rate in the pivotal Southland Conference matchup.

The Bearkats wasted no time in scoring, marching down the field in eight plays and going 71 yards in just 2:47. A 10-yard run by Sam Houston State's Corey Avery at the 12:13 mark of the opening quarter was the first score of the game as the Bearkats took a 7-0 lead on SFA.

A Lumberjack miscue on just their second play from scrimmage resulted in seven more quick points for Sam Houston State. A mishandled handoff by sophomore starting quarterback Jake Blumrick (Pearland, Texas) to senior running back Kijana Amous (Mansfield, Texas) resulted in the football on the ground as the Bearkats pounced on the poor connection. Starting its drive at the Lumberjack 12, Sam Houston State wasted no time in scoring and made it into the end zone when reigning Walter Payton Award winner Jeremiah Briscoe found Davion Davis for a 14-yard strike. The touchdown pass was Briscoe's 85th of his career, setting an all-time Bearkat record.

Trailing 14-0 after just over four minutes of play, the 'Jacks weren't able to get anything going offensively but forced Sam Houston State to punt for the first time of the afternoon on the Bearkats' third drive of the game. Sam Houston State tacked on another three points to go up 17-0 with 3:49 remaining in the first quarter when Tre Honshtein connected on a 31-yard field goal, capping a 10-play, 55-yard drive.

Through one quarter of play SFA had just nine offensive yards and two first downs, compared to 146 yards and nine first downs by the Bearkats.

A 52-yard interception by sophomore safety Alize Ward (San Diego, Calif.), his third of the season, ignited the Lumberjacks' first score of the game. Unable to record a first down following the interception, sophomore kicker Storm Ruiz (League City, Texas) knocked through a 42-yard field goal to make it a 17-3 score with 9:23 to go in the first half.

A big fourth-down stop by the SFA defense at the 6:48 mark of the second quarter began a nine-play, 68-yard scoring drive for the 'Jacks. Thanks to 53-yard downfield connection from Blumrick to sophomore wide receiver Tamrick Pace (Brownsboro, Texas), SFA had the ball inside the red zone for the first time of the afternoon. A two-yard reverse run by senior wide receiver Trae Hart (Mesquite, Texas) got the 'Jacks down to the one-yard line but brought up fourth-and-one. A one-yard scamper by Blumrick on the fourth-down play gave SFA its first touchdown of the game, making it a one possession game at 17-10 with 3:29 showing in the second quarter.

On Sam Houston State's ensuing possession, SFA came away with their second takeaway of the game when sophomore linebacker Anthony Jacobs (Houston, Texas) forced a fumble and freshman safety Trenton Gordon (Rowlett, Texas) jumped on the ball at the Bearkats' 20. However, the 'Jacks were unable to convert on a third-and-10, resulting in a 33-yard field goal by Ruiz. The score made it a 17-13 contest with 2:12 left in the half.

Setup by a 60-yard kickoff return, the Bearkats ended the first half on an eight-play, 33-yard drive that resulted in a 25-yard field goal from Honshstein as time expired on the first half.

Trailing 20-13 heading into the locker room, SFA had just 90 yards of total offense on 32 plays in the opening 30 minutes. Despite giving up 241 yards, including 183 through the air, to the Bearkats and gaining only four first downs, the Lumberjacks' two first-half takeaways kept SFA within one possession.

On just the fourth play of the second half, Blumrick had a pass tipped and then intercepted by the Bearkats' Hunter Brown, giving Sam Houston State the ball at the SFA 24. Without being able to collect a first down on the next four downs, the Bearkats attempted a 40-yard field goal that was missed left, allowing the 'Jacks to take over on downs at the 12:01 mark of the of the third quarter.

A key fourth-down stop by SFA near the end of the third quarter brought a halt to a 11-play, 92-yard Sam Houston State drive. Stopping the Bearkats at the Lumberjack one-yard line on a fourth-and-goal rush, SFA took over on downs but was unable to get anything going. With the 'Jacks forced to punt, senior safety Marlon Walls (Pearland, Texas) picked up a mishandled punt catch by Sam Houston State, giving SFA a fresh set of downs at its own 49. After a delay of game penalty and then a pair of incompletions, a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty advanced the ball to the Bearkats' 41. The 'Jacks got the ball down inside the 10 before being stopped on third down as Ruiz made his third field goal of the game, a 27 yarder that got SFA back within four at 20-16 with 11:14 to go.

Head coach Clint Conque made a gutsy call on the ensuing kickoff, resulting in the Lumberjacks' fourth takeaway of the game. An onside kickoff by junior punter Caleb Lewallen (Kingwood, Texas) was excellently executed as Ward came up with his second turnover of the afternoon, giving SFA the ball at its own 49. After a 35-yard hookup from Blumrick to junior Texas A&M transfer wideout Frank Iheanacho (Houston, Texas), the 'Jacks had first-and-10 at the Sam Houston State 16. However, the scoring opportunity would not pay dividends as Blumrick saw his would be go-ahead touchdown intercepted in the end zone by the Bearkats' Danzell Sims.

The SFA turnover would prove to be the last momentum changer in the contest as the 'Jacks were pinned on their own side of the field for the remainder of the game.

An eight-play, 73-yard drive that lasted just over three minutes clinched the game for the Bearkats with a 26-yard touchdown run by Briscoe on a broken play. The quarterback rush with 4:55 remaining in the game gave Sam Houston State a 11-point, 27-16 lead.

SFA had one last possession but after a first down could not convert a third-and-nine and punted with just 3:10 left. The Bearkats were able to eat up the final 3:10 of play after a 43-yard run by Avery.

Blumrick finished the game with a career-high 205 passing yards on 18-of-39 completions, while Pace had the Lumberjacks' first 100-yard receiving game of the season with six receptions. Ward led the team on defense with 12 total tackles, including six solo stops, a half tackle for loss and his 52-yard interception. Jacobs finished with 11 total tackles, including six solo, while senior cornerback Trent Perriman (Miami, Fla.) posted a career-high 10 tackles that included a game-high eight individual stops.

Briscoe passed went 30-for-51 for 325 yards as Davis had 151 yards receiving on 13 catches. Avery finished with 85 rushing yards, followed by 43 from Jordan Brown.

Up next…

The 'Jacks will remain away from Nacogdoches for one more week, traveling to Conway, Arkansas, next weekend to take on No. 8 Central Arkansas. Kickoff from First Security Field at Estes Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 14 is slated for 6 p.m. The game will be featured as the Southland Game of the Week and will be streamed live on ESPN3, available online on all ESPN platforms.

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

Notes

The loss marks the seventh-straight for SFA in the series and gives Sam Houston State the longest win streak in the 92-game historic rivalry.

Ruiz' 42-yard field goal in the second quarter was his longest of the season, while Lewallen made a season-high nine punts. In addition to leading the Southland in total tackles (59), Ward's third pick of the season ties the most by any player in the league.

Sam Houston State entered the game ranked No. 11 in the NCAA FCS Coaches Poll and ninth in the STATS FCS Top 25 media poll.

Quotes

Head Coach Clint Conque

Opening Statement
"Came here to win, played to win. That was obvious if you watched the game today. We put ourselves in a position to do that. We got to convert field goals into touchdowns, we had to settle for I think three field goals. We make a special teams play, thrown an interception in the end zone and we come out with an empty possession there. But I'm going to tell you, Sam Houston State is a really good football team, a very good football team. I'm extremely proud of my young men. We're a patched together group right now and I'm very proud how hard they competed. They showed up with intent and purpose today. Last week we didn't play very well, many of you didn't see that game but you saw the score. Then we fall behind 17-0 fairly quickly and we had every reason to pack it in, fold our tent, and our young men didn't do that. So in some ways I feel like we grew a little bit as a football team. Showing that passion and desire to win. We came here to win; we came up short. There are no moral victories, but I think our young men learned that these type of games are decided by just a handful of plays and you never know when they are going to happen. When they do, you need to be on the positive side of that. We weren't on quite enough of them tonight. Their (Sam Houston State) defensive line is really good and they were able to make our quarterback very uncomfortable tonight. I thought he played about as hard as he possibly could play. I'm proud how hard our young men competed tonight."

On having opportunities in the game
"On the plus side of the field when you have to kick field goals against an explosive, prolific offense, against those guys, that could come back and bite you a bit and it did. After the surprise onside kick, we end up with an empty possession with a lot of momentum. That maybe took the wind out of sails a little there. I'll tell you this, when the Payton Award winner, who I have tremendous respect for – I had a great conversation with Jeremiah (Briscoe) after the game – when he's got to put together game away with his legs and not his arm, you tip your hat and congratulate those guys. I thought defensively we played our eyes out tonight. Created some turnovers. Until late in the game, I thought we an incredible job against the run. Ultimately, the game was decided by our inability to score touchdowns and having to kick field goals and then Briscoe running one in from 26 yards out. On paper, you figure he threw one for 30 or 60. You tip your hat."

On Jake Blumrick and what the offense can do moving forward
"Just a young kid trying to find his way. We've got to work really on situational football with him. I thought that he took some unnecessary hits at times, other times we just didn't protect him very well. Whenever he's able to extend a play, he has to have an awareness and that awareness just comes from watching film and going through the process of, 'Okay, protection broke down, can I get to the edge? Or do I just need throw this away and play the next down?' The interception in the end zone, they had nice coverage on it and we've got to just throw that one in the stands. Their young man did that. The fifth-year senior did that. Then a couple of times he took some unnecessary sacks. I thought once he got outside the pocket he just was not able to disconnect from their defensive line. I told P.J. (Hall) that he needs to hurry up and get out of this league. A very good defensive front. We are just going to help keep him (Blumrick) positive and try to make him more aware of situational football. It's okay to punt, it's okay to throw it away. Try to keep it clean in the reads and so forth."

On playing so well and coming close, the positives to take away
"Absolutely. I was extremely disappointed in how we performed last week. But some of the same things showed up, we got inside the 30 four times last week and got no points. This week we got a touchdown but we had to kick a lot of field goals. Again, and I told the this, even victory – and we've had a couple early this year – this is the first time, in my opinion watching this team compete tonight, that we played with purpose, intent and passion. We're not gifted enough not to show up with that everyday. Foster Sawyer is not going to come back in the room. Jack Martin is not going to come back in the room. Trey Ramos is not going to come back in the room. Kiki Hill or Allen Arclies III, these guys that were starters for us. So we have to show up intent, purpose and passion. And to your point, I saw that tonight. That gives us a chance every week. I think for the first time since I've been here, it felt like a rival game, and we were close in a couple my first year or two here, but it felt like a rival game tonight."

-SFA-