‘Jacks Outgain Cardinals in Second Half, Fall in Southland Opener on the Road

Saturday, September 15

San Antonio, Texas / Benson Stadium

6 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

0-2 , 0-1

UIW

1-2 , 1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Stephen F. Austin

UIW

Photo by: Soobum Im | UIW Athletics

‘Jacks Outgain Cardinals in Second Half, Fall in Southland Opener on the Road

9/15/2018 9:16:00 PM | Football

Box Score

SFA outgains host UIW 248-111 in the second half but falls 31-7 in 2018 Southland Conference opener

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

Photos

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – After a 14-day hiatus from competition on the gridiron due to Stephen F. Austin football's home opener being canceled because of thunderstorms, the Lumberjacks took on a hungry the University of the Incarnate Word team on the road. Despite outgaining the host Cardinals (1-2, 1-0 Southland) 248-111 in the second half, SFA (0-2, 0-1 Southland) was unable to overcome a 21-point second quarter by UIW and fell 31-7 in both team's Southland Conference opener.

"You don't turn the ball over three times and beat anybody," interim head coach Jeff Byrd said following the game. "We went through a rough spot there when Foster (Sawyer) was injured and tried to play through it. We struggled a little bit there but at halftime we told everyone to calm down and play one play at a time. You can't do anything about what happened, you just have to play from here on. I thought we played well in the second half but it was too little, too late."

"I thought they (UIW) did a great job on the first drive, came out and kind of set the tone," coach Byrd continued. "We answered a little bit and then the turnover bug hit us. We created a few but then we let them get out on that big run there at the end of the half and it really hurt where we were at as far as trying to make a comeback."

Cardinals Strike Early
UIW took an early 7-0 lead after the first offensive possession of the night in just 2:44 of play, scoring on a 13-yard rush by running back Ra'Quanne Dickens at the 12:16 mark of the first quarter. Aided by a pair of defensive pass interference calls against SFA, the Cardinals went 77 yards on nine plays for the game's first touchdown.

'Jacks Make it a Three-Point Game
With the Lumberjack offense still showing signs of rust from their two-week break from game action, SFA's defense came up with a nice stop following first-and-goal for UIW at the 10. The 'Jacks forced the Cardinals to kick a 27-yard field goal with 5:09 remaining in the first quarter, which capped a 10-play, 67-yard drive for the home team and gave UIW a 10-0 lead. SFA reached the promised land for the first time of the season on its ensuing drive. A 14-yard catch and run touchdown by sophomore running back Josh McGowen from senior quarterback Foster Sawyer topped a seven-play, 53-yard drive that took 2:32. The score made it a three-point game at 10-7 with 2:32 to go in the opening quarter.

Big Second Quarter for UIW
The Cardinals scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter, racking up 209 yards of offense and reaching the end zone twice through the air and once on the ground. UIW gunslinger Jon Copeland found Kam Williams from 27 yards out at the 9:46 mark, finishing off a four-play, 51-yard drive that consumed 1:45 of clock. With 2:40 remaining in the half, graduate student safety Chris James collected his first career interception, giving the 'Jacks a chance at a two-minute drill score. However, the Cardinals forced a SFA punt with 1:20 to go in the half as senior punter Caleb Lewallen pinned UIW at its own three-yard line. It took the Cardinals just 31 seconds to score as Dickens took off down the sideline for a 79-yard touchdown run. Moments later, UIW forced a fumble on a sack and got the ball at the Lumberjack 18. The Cardinals needed just one play to tack on their third touchdown of the quarter and take a 31-7 lead with only 26 ticks remaining before the break. It would prove to be the final score of the game.

At the Half
The home team accumulated 342 total yards of offense in the first 30 minutes of play, including 175 on the ground and 167 through the air. Contrarily, SFA had 117 offensive yards at the break with 90 passing yards and 27 rushing yards.

Missed Opportunities in Second Half
The 'Jacks outgained the hosts 156-76 in the third quarter and 92-35 in the fourth quarter but were unable to come away with any points. SFA had two long drives in the third quarter, a 12-play, 68-yard drive that lasted nearly five and a half minutes and a 16-play, 83-yard drive which took over 6:30 of clock. A missed 24-yard field-goal attempt and a failed fourth-and-two conversion at the UIW six left the 'Jacks empty handed on both drives. Forced to go for it on fourth downs, SFA got to the Cardinal 43 following sophomore cornerback Eli Jones' first career interception early in the fourth quarter. However, the 'Jacks were unable to convert a fourth-and-10 and were later stopped on fourth-and-16 at SFA's 41 following a seven-play, 37-yard drive that lasted just over two minutes of play.

The Bottom Line
Despite outgaining UIW in the second half, the visiting 'Jacks totaled 365 total yards of offense for the game compared to the Cardinals' 453. UIW claimed 265 yards on the ground, including Dickens' impressive 220 yards on 17 carries. SFA racked up 238 passing yards and held the Cardinals' Copeland to 180 yards on 15-of-33 passing. Junior running back Jamall Shaw led the Lumberjacks' ground attack by collecting a career-high 72 yards on 11 carries, all of which came in the second half. Senior wide receiver Terian Goree tied his career-high in receptions with a team-best seven for 63 yards, while McGowen reeled in a career-high five catches for 62 yards. Junior quarterback Jake Blumrick, who started the second half, finished with 148 yards on 15-of-25 passing as Sawyer was 10-for-18 for 90 yards. Junior running back Jae'Lon Oglesby tallied 54 yards on a pair of kickoff returns, including a 28-yard return on UIW's first kickoff of the game. Junior Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College transfer Aretavious Hendrix earned his first forced and recovered fumble of his Lumberjack career in the first quarter. Senior safety Lawrence Ghansah recorded a career-high nine total tackles, while James had a career-best seven and senior defensive tackle Demetrion Amie tied his career-high with six. West Lambert led the Cardinal defense with a game-high 14 total tackles and Mar'kel Cooks notched 11 of his own.

Up Next…
The 'Jacks will welcome Abilene Christian to Homer Bryce Stadium next Saturday for SFA's home opener. The game, presented by Tipton Ford, will be the program's annual Cally Belcher game and will take place during Parents Weekend. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.

Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete coverage of Lumberjack football throughout the 2018 season.

-SFA-