Stephen F. Austin
1-4 , 1-3
No. 16 Sam Houston State
3-2 , 2-1
Pace Grabs Two Touchdowns in 93rd Annual Battle of the Piney Woods
10/6/2018 4:36:00 PM | Football
‘Jacks strike early and lead 7-0 early, junior running back Thomas Hutchings rushes for a career-high 89 yards
HOUSTON, Texas – Stephen F. Austin football struck first and held a 14-7 lead over 16th-ranked Sam Houston State, but the Bearkats scored 47 of the game's final 54 points and cruised to a 54-21 victory in the 93rd Annual Battle of the Piney Woods at NRG Stadium in Houston Saturday.
In front of 26,548 spectators, Lumberjack junior wide receiver Tamrick Pace grabbed four catches for 56 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while junior running back Thomas Hutchings accumulated a game and career-high 89 yards on the ground in SFA's eighth-straight setback to the Bearkats.
Sam Houston State (3-2, 2-1 Southland) outgained the 'Jacks (1-4, 1-3 Southland) 500-298 in terms of total offense with quarterback Ty Brock going for 217 yards and a pair of touchdown passes through the air. In all, three Bearkat quarterbacks tossed touchdowns as Sam Houston State scored 21 points off of three SFA turnovers.
"Anytime you turn the ball over three times and give up six sacks it's tough," interim head coach Jeff Byrd commented after the game. "Against a good football team those things are going to happen to you."
"We did a better job running the football, that's obviously what we wanted to do going in," coach Byrd continued. "I thought we had some things there but when the turnovers get you and put you behind the eight-ball in that situation, it kind of gets you out of your game plan. We gave up six sacks in the throwing game and then your behind three touchdowns, it then becomes four because your pressing a little bit. We weren't able to stay with what we were trying to do going into the ball game."
Action-Packed First Quarter
Junior East Mississippi Community College linebacker Quin Jones picked off Sam Houston State's Ty Brock on just the second offensive play of the afternoon and the 'Jacks turned the interception into seven points. It only took eight plays before senior quarterback Foster Sawyer found junior wide receiver Tamrick Pace in the back of the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown strike, giving SFA a 7-0 lead after just over three minutes of play.
The Bearkats were able to score with a quick, three-play 20-yard drive that took just 39 seconds following terrific starting field position due to a 13-yard punt return and a 15-yard personal foul penalty. Brock found an open Davion Davis for a 15-yard touchdown, tying up the score at seven apiece with 7:55 to go in the first quarter. However, the 'Jacks retook the lead at 14-7 on the ensuing possession when sophomore running back Josh McGowen bounced to the outside and ran the ball into the end zone from five yards out. McGowen's touchdown capped a three-and-a-half minute, 10-play 75-yard scoring drive.
On Sam Houston State's ensuing possession, the Bearkats tied things up once again at 14-14. An eight-yard quarterback keeper by Brock finished off a nine-play, 75-yard Sam Houston State drive that took just over two and a half minutes. The Bearkats picked off a Sawyer pass on SFA's ensuing drive and returned it 30-yards for a pick-six. The interception gave Sam Houston State its first lead of the afternoon at 21-14 with 1:39 remaining in the opening quarter.
Second-Quarter Trickery
The Bearkats used a bit of trickery for their fourth score of the game as backup quarterback Eric Schmid received a lateral pass from Brock, before Schmid found Brock open for a 32-yard touchdown completion. Needing only 1:24 to go 85 yards on four plays, Brock's touchdown reception put Sam Houston State ahead 28-14 at the 10:15 mark of the second quarter.
Bearkats Open Up 30-Point Lead
On the Lumberjacks' very next offensive play from scrimmage, Sawyer had a second pass picked off by the Bearkat defense. The interception led to a two-play, 22-yard scoring drive as a running back Kyran Jackson punched the ball into the end zone from four yards out, mounting Sam Houston State's advantage to 35-14. Minutes later, the Bearkats went ahead 41-14 on a 43-yard pass from Brock to Nathan Stewart, capping a four-play 81-yard drive that took only 1:12. The extra-point attempt was unsuccessful due to plenty of pressure by the Lumberjacks' defensive line. Sam Houston State tacked on three more points as the first half clock ran out, knocking through a 27-yard field goal off the foot of Tre Honshtein to make it 44-14 at the break.
At the Half
SFA was outgained 358-131 in total yards in the first 30 minutes of play, including 231-27 in the second quarter. The Bearkats racked up 264 yards through the air in the first half and another 94 on the ground.
Third Quarter Woes
The 'Jacks went 53 yards on the opening drive of the second half, thanks in large part to a 47-yard rush by Thomas Hutchings, before failing to convert a fourth-and-10 at the Sam Houston 34. The Bearkats turned a nine-play, 56-yard drive into three more points after reaching the SFA five-yard line and hitting a 23-yard field goal. A strip sack by Sam Houston State's Derick Roberson led to another Bearkat touchdown with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter. Quarterback Mike Dare found Chase McCray from 17 yards out to make the score 54-14, capping a four-play, 42-yard drive in 1:33.
'Jacks Outscore Bearkats 7-0 in Third
SFA allowed just 18 total yards by the Bearkat offense in the final quarter, scoring a touchdown after gaining 64 yards in the final 15 minutes of play. A 21-yard hookup from junior quarterback Jake Blumrick to Pace with 5:18 to go made it 54-21 and completed a six-play, 43-yard scoring drive that took nearly four minutes.
The Bottom Line
Sam Houston State gained 334 yards through the air as Dare went 6-for-7 for 85 yards and a touchdown as Brock completed 16 of his 26 pass attempts. The Bearkats collected another 166 yards on the ground with Jackson gaining 64 yards on 12 carries and Brock adding 46 yards on six keeps. With Hutchings' 89 yards on seven runs, the 'Jacks racked up 103 rushing yards. Sawyer finished the game with 106 yards and a touchdown on 15-of-28 passing as Blumrick was 8-of-14 for 85 yards and a touchdown. Pace led SFA's receiving corps with four catches for 56 yards and sophomore Garden City Community College wide receiver collected seven catches for 48 yards. Sam Houston State's Nathan Stewart led all receivers with four catches for 87 yards and a touchdown, while Davion Davis hauled in five passes for 69 yards and a score. Junior safety Alize Ward and senior linebacker Ryan Woods led the Lumberjack defense with eight tackles a piece. The Bearkats' Will Lockett led all defenders with nine total tackles, including seven solo stops.
Of Note
By taking a 7-0 lead early in the opening quarter, SFA held an advantage in the Battle of Piney Woods for the first time since 2015. The 'Jacks held a 21-17 lead in the third quarter during the 2015 version of the historic rivalry. Pace became the first SFA receiver to record two touchdown receptions in a game since Nick Jones did so on Sept. 24, 2016, during a 41-30 win over Abilene Christian in Nacogdoches. With his pair of touchdowns and four total catches, Pace is now just three touchdown receptions and 30 catches from breaking into the Lumberjack top-10 career list in both of those categories.
Up Next…
After two weeks away from Nacogdoches, the 'Jacks will return to Texas' oldest town next Saturday, Oct. 13 for a 2 p.m. tilt with nationally-ranked Central Arkansas. Presented by BancorpSouth, the game will be broadcast on national television on Eleven Sports and streamed everywhere via the Southland Digital Network, which is available at Southland.org/live and the Southland Conference app.
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Lumberjack football throughout the 2018 season.
-SFA-
Team Stats
SFA 7, SHSU 0
SFA - Pace, Tamrick 9 yd pass from Sawyer, Foster (Ruiz, Storm kick) 8 plays, 35 yards, TOP 2:29
SFA 7, SHSU 7
SHSU - Davis, Davion 15 yd pass from Brock, Ty (Honshtein, Tre kick) 3 plays, 20 yards, TOP 0:39
SFA 14, SHSU 7
SFA - McGowen, Josh 5 yd run (Ruiz, Storm kick), 10 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:28
SFA 14, SHSU 14
SHSU - Brock, Ty 8 yd run (Honshtein, Tre kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:39
SFA 14, SHSU 21
SHSU - Curtis, DJ 30 yd interception (Honshtein, Tre kick)
SFA 14, SHSU 28
SHSU - Brock, Ty 32 yd pass from Schmid, Eric (Honshtein, Tre kick) 4 plays, 85 yards, TOP 1:24
SFA 14, SHSU 35
SHSU - Jackson, Kyran 4 yd run (Honshtein, Tre kick), 2 plays, 22 yards, TOP 0:24
SFA 14, SHSU 41
SHSU - Stewart, Nathan 43 yd pass from Brock, Ty (Contreras, Adri rushfailed) 4 plays, 81 yards, TOP 1:12
SFA 14, SHSU 44
SHSU - Honshtein, Tre 27 yd field goal 6 plays, 46 yards, TOP 0:39
SFA 14, SHSU 47
SHSU - Honshtein, Tre 23 yd field goal 9 plays, 56 yards, TOP 3:37
SFA 14, SHSU 54
SHSU - McCray, Chase 17 yd pass from Dare, Mike (Honshtein, Tre kick) 4 plays, 42 yards, TOP 1:33
SFA 21, SHSU 54
SFA - Pace, Tamrick 21 yd pass from Blumrick, Jake (Ruiz, Storm kick) 6 plays, 43 yards, TOP 2:18
