25th-Ranked Cowboys Too Much for ‘Jacks Saturday Night in Homer Bryce

Saturday, September 30

Nacogdoches, Texas

6:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

2-3 , 2-1

No. 25 McNeese

4-1 , 2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

McNeese

Stephen F. Austin

Photo by: Hardy Meredith | SFA Photography

25th-Ranked Cowboys Too Much for ‘Jacks Saturday Night in Homer Bryce

9/30/2017 10:59:00 PM | Football

Box Score

SFA was shutout at home for the first time since 2000 and was held to just 224 yards of total offense.

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

Photo Gallery

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Despite having several ample opportunities to come away with points, the Stephen F. Austin football team was unable to score against a very athletic McNeese University squad Saturday night on Parent's Day inside Homer Bryce Stadium. The Lumberjacks (2-3, 2-1 Southland) were held to just 224 total yards of offense in the 35-0 home loss to the 25th-ranked Cowboys (4-1, 2-1 Southland), who racked up 342 yards on the ground and another 163 through the air.

Ranked No. 25 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, McNeese showed its strength in all facets of the game, registering eight tackles for loss on defense, including four sacks, and tallying 10 pass breakups. The Cowboys had two 100-yard rushers and starting quarterback Justin Tabary completed 12-of-24 passes and tossed three touchdowns.

A miscue on an optimistic opening drive of the game took away any chance of the 'Jacks scoring and set the stage for the remaining 57 minutes of play. Taking the ball 47 yards on 11 plays after a 35-yard kickoff return by sophomore safety Alize Ward (San Diego, Calif.), SFA was unable to capitalize thanks to a turnover. Sophomore quarterback Jake Blumrick (Pearland, Texas) escaped pressure on third-and-11 at the McNeese 15-yard line, but threw his second interception of the season when McNeese's Cody Roscoe stepped in front of the pass in the end zone.

The interception resulted in seven points for the visitors as the Cowboys marched down the field, going 80 yards in just over four minutes, and scoring on a 15-yard end-around run by Cyron Sutton. The touchdown gave McNeese an early 7-0 lead with just under eight minutes to go in the opening quarter.

The 'Jacks were unable to generate any offense after their first drive to start the game and were forced into three consecutive three-and-outs.

The Cowboys second touchdown of the night came with 11:14 showing in the second quarter as McNeese went 69 yards on five plays in under two minutes, most of those coming on a 50-yard run down the sidelines by David Hamm. A two-yard run by Hamm capped the scoring drive and gave the Cowboys a 14-0 lead.

On the ensuing SFA possession, the 'Jacks moved the chains for the first time since the opening drive of the game when they got a pass interference call in their favor. However, SFA was only able to get the ball to the McNeese 49 before being forced to punt once again.

A 30-yard pass from Tabary to Lawayne Ross gave the Cowboys a commanding 21-0 lead with 1:41 to go before the half, capping a five-play, 65-yard drive.

A 58-yard kickoff return by Ward, his longest of the night, set the 'Jacks up in excellent field position at McNeese's 37. Following a pair of first downs, SFA was faced with fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line with only two seconds left before the half. The 'Jacks went for it and were unable to convert as Blumrick's pass fell incomplete.

SFA was outgained 307 to 91 in the first half.

Receiving the second-half kickoff, the Cowboys needed just over two minutes before scoring on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Tabary to Kent Shelby. The six-play, 75-yard drive put McNeese ahead by four touchdowns and began a third quarter in which the 'Jacks gained a total of just 23 yards on 16 plays.

The final score of the game came with 2:19 to go in the third quarter when Tabary made his third touchdown throw of the night, finding Parker Orgeron on a third-and-eight, 29-yard competition. The touchdown drive was a result of a mishandled punt by SFA where the Cowboys' recovered their own punt after the ball hit a Lumberjack player.

Facing fourth-and-two at the McNeese 22 to start the fourth quarter, the 'Jacks were stopped once again after a rushing attempt resulted in a one-yard loss. SFA's longest and most successful drive of the night came about midway through the fourth quarter as the 'Jacks took the ball 63 yards on 14 plays in just over five minutes. Getting inside the red zone once again, SFA's final attempt to get on the scoreboard was unsuccessful as a sack, a penalty and three pass incompletions resulted in a turnover on downs.

Blumrick finished 22-of-42 for 163 yards on the night as sophomore wide receiver Tamrick Pace (Brownsboro, Texas) collected 64 yards on seven catches. Senior Kijana Amous (Mansfield, Texas) was the Lumberjack's leading rusher in the game with 36 yards on 12 carries.

Alize Ward had his third 100-yard kickoff return game of the season with 149 yards on four returns, not to mention leading the team with a game-high tying nine tackles, including a five-yard tackle for loss. As a team, SFA claimed nearly 200 kickoff return yards with 194 on six opportunities.

McNeese's Hamm rushed for 164 yards on just 14 carries, while Justin Pratt had 15 touches for 125 yards.

Up next…

The 'Jacks will now turn their attention to the 92nd Battle of the Piney Woods and third-ranked Sam Houston State. Presented by H-E-B at NRG Stadium in Houston, SFA will be attempting to snap a six-game losing streak in the matchup and diminish the Bearkats' 54-35-2 all-time record in the series. Kickoff from Houston is slated for next Saturday, Oct. 7, at 1 p.m. The rivalry between Sam Houston State and the 'Jacks dates back to the 1923 season and is the fourth-longest active rivalry in the state of Texas.

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

Notes

The shutout defeat is the first for SFA since a 52-0 loss at SMU on Sept. 8, 2012, while the 'Jacks had not been shutout at home since a 6-0 loss to Troy on Nov. 4, 2000. It also marks the first time SFA has been shutout in a conference game since the home loss to Troy in 2000.

SFA falls to 36-53-3 all-time against nationally-ranked opponents, owning a winning percentage of .408. With the loss, the 'Jacks move to 22-12 (.647) all-time in Parent's Day games.

Quotes

Head Coach Clint Conque

On the opening-drive interception having an impact on the rest of the game
"It is very disappointing when you are down in the red area because you feel like you've got points. We just got to value the football and we didn't do that there. I think we had four drives inside the 25 or 30, and came away without any points and you can't do that against a really good football team. I thought our young men were willing tonight, I thought they wanted to play well. We played a pretty good football team, we knew that going in, a very athletic football team. Their speed and athleticism, but they were fundamentally more sound than we were and they tackled better, fewer fouls. It seemed like any time offensively we got a drive going either we stalled ourselves with a sack or a penalty, or a turnover on the first drive. Defensively, we couldn't stop the run. You got to stop the run first. We did a really good job of that last week. It's very disappointing, 340 yards rushing. They made a couple of great catches, a couple of great contested catches for touchdowns. We had the fumble on the punt where it hit one of our players and gave them the short field and they converted. Very disappointed, McNeese is a very good football team. We certainly didn't play very well and I challenge the team to get in here tomorrow and look at it and understand. Fundamentally, we got to get better. Got to tackle better, got to execute better. I thought Jake (Blumrick) competed hard and he is going to learn a lot from this game. They heated him up and we've got to help him up front and on the perimeter, and we didn't do that"

On what the difference was between being able to stop the run and tackle very well last week at Abilene Christian versus tonight where McNeese was able to run for a lot of yards
"We didn't fundamentally play well and stop the run. When we weren't positioned, we missed the tackles that gave them big plays. We didn't fit the right gaps several times then we were in a position to make a tackle and missed tackles. No disrespect to ACU, but this was a little bit of a different creature out there tonight athletically and speed wise. They crossed the field in every position. They have a good football team overall."

On if there was any conversation on the sideline to putting Zach Smith into the game
"Yeah, we certainly thought about it. With about eight minutes to go, I guess that last offensive drive, I just felt like Jake needed to play. He is going to be our starter the rest of the year and he is a young kid. They threw a lot at him and he needed to learn from it. He made a couple of nice throws but he's got to grow from this experience. You go back to SMU, which really is the only other game he has played in. They primarily stayed in a four-man front with a little bit of field pressure. Tonight they were coming from every angle and give those guys credit for making him feel uncomfortable. We didn't expose them enough when they did that. We got to protect better, he's got to get the ball of his hands, and we got to create separation on routes. We had too many fouls on offense, which makes it tough on a young quarterback when you are behind the chains, which we were. You could see moments of momentum, stringing together plays and eventually we would shoot ourselves in the foot with a negative play or a penalty, maybe an untimely sack, or an errant ball or a misread. Quite frankly, the game tonight was much faster than the game against SMU, this was a very fast football team. You could see that in all aspects of the game. I thought we did okay on special teams too. We had some great returns, we punted the ball okay, covered the punts, and covered the kickoff the one time we kicked. When you get inside the 30 four times and come away with no points, you just pin your ears back. That first drive let a little air out of us, but you know we'll learn from it."

-SFA-