Stephen F. Austin
Lamar
NOTES: #15/17 'Jacks Host #14/19 Lamar with SLC Title, FCS Postseason Berth on the Line
11/13/2025 6:45:00 AM | Football
SFA aims for ninth straight win, fifth Southland Conference championship
38th meeting; Lamar leads series 19-16-2
Nacogdoches, Texas (Homer Bryce Stadium)
FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Attention turns to the biggest matchup inside Homer Bryce Stadium in decades as all eyes look to Nacogdoches and the defacto Southland Conference championship game with the league's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs and a share of the league title on the line for the Lumberjacks. It will be the 38th matchup between the Lumberjacks and Cardinals with Lamar holding the series advantage at 19-16-2. The 'Jacks have won three straight against LU and 10 of the past 13 matchups dating to 1981. The two sides first contested on the gridiron in 1923. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. Live coverage links will be made available at www.SFAjacks.com.
• LAST TIME OUT: Stephen F. Austin handled business on Saturday afternoon inside Husky Stadium as the Lumberjacks unleashed on Houston Christian to the tune of a 47-point win that saw the 'Jacks defense post another dominant performance, while Gavin Rutherford was an efficient passer with three touchdowns through the air, including two to Isaiah Davis, and an additional 55 yards rushing. Any murmurs of a trap game for the 'Jacks were quickly quieted as Bugs Mortimer produced his nation leading third punt return touchdown of the season for the game's first points and the fourth punt return score of the season for SFA. SFA recorded 13.0 tackles for loss including six sacks, the defense held the Southland Conference's leading rusher in Xai'Shaun Edwards to 30 yards on 15 attempts and held HCU to 134 total yards including 13 in the second half.
• LAMAR LOWDOWN: Lamar is coming off a 14-12 win over previously FCS-unbeaten Southeastern Louisiana. Earlier this season, the Cardinals defeated South Dakota.
The Cardinals carry in the league's third-highest total defense (312.6) which lands inside the nation's top 20. Lamar's scoring defense (21.4) is inside the FCS top 30, while the Cardinals' third down defense leads the country. Like the 'Jacks, Lamar boast one of the top overall special teams units in the country paced by the team's effort during punts. The Cardinals rate inside the top 10 nationally in both punt returns and punt return defense and rank inside the top 25 in the FCS in net punting.
Aiden McCown has thrown for 957 yards and seven touchdowns and rates eighth in the SLC in total offense (124.0). Kyndon Fuselier ranks behind SFA's Bugs Mortimer in punt return average (19.0) nationally. Ronnie Hamrick II holds a top 40 tackles for loss mark nationally at 1.10, while Andrew Huff ranks inside the FCS top 35 in sacks per game at .65.
• TITLE HUNT: The 'Jacks are hunting for a piece of a league title for the first time since claiming the WAC title in 2022. It would be SFA's fifth Southland Conference title and the program's first since 2010.
• CARTHEL CLAIMS NO. 100: SFA's victory over HCU earned head coach Colby Carthel career win #100. Carthel, who led Texas A&M-Commerce, now East Texas A&M and then a Division II member, to the 2017 NCAA DII National Championship, won 59 games with the Lions. His 41st victory while leading SFA ties him for the third-most in program history.
• AIMING FOR NINE: Saturday's win gave the 'Jacks an eighth-straight victory which is its longest such streak since winning nine straight during the 1989 season. SFA's 8-2 start is the program's best through ten games since 2010 when that year's team posted a 9-2 regular season. The 'Jacks eye the program's first seven-win campaign in league play since 1974. A win over HCU would be the first seven-game conference win streak in program history.
• STREAKIN': During the eight-game win streak, the 'Jacks are averaging 409.5 yards of offense, scoring over 39 points per game and converting 48% of its third downs. SFA is +9 in turnovers during the stretch, +74 in points off turnovers and is holding its opposition to a 24% success rate on third downs. Opponents are averaging 220.6 total yards per game, managing just 1.4 yards per carry and have surrendered 28 sacks to the 'Jacks.
• CLIMBING: Stephen F. Austin moves into the back quarter of the 2025 regular season schedule on the climb in the national rankings as the 'Jacks were voted to a season high #15 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, while grabbing four spots to move to #17 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll.
• INVITED: Surrounded by his teammates and coaches following Tuesday morning's practice, Stephen F. Austin senior cornerback Charles Demmings received his official invite to the East-West Shrine Bowl from Eric Galko, Shrine Bowl Director of Football Operations, Player Personnel. College football's oldest all-star game kicks off on January 27, 2026, at 6 p.m. from inside the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
• CLOSING IN:
-Sam Vidlak is a single TD pass shy of moving into eighth outright on the all-time passing TD list
-Kylon Harris is 167 receiving yards from seventh place all-time
-Harris is two receiving TDs from fourth on the program's all-time TD catches list
-Harris is the fourth 'Jack with 200 career receptions and is 17 catches shy of second place all-time
-Jerrell Wimbley moved 119 yards from sixth on the all-time rushing list and he is one of just ten players in program history with 3,000+ all-purpose yards
-Charles Demmings recorded a PBU and an interception to move into a tie for first all-time in passes defended with 34
• MAKING MOVES: Seventh year head coach Colby Carthel is moving up the wins charts at SFA. He became the fourth head coach of the Lumberjacks to reach 40 in a tenure and is just the third since the 1980 season. At home, Carthel has totaled 25 victories, tied for the third-most by an SFA head coach, while an unbeaten campaign inside HBS this season would move him into third all-time.
• BIG PLAY 'JACKS: SFA has produced 39 offensive plays of 20+ yards this season with 15 accounting for 40 or more yards. The longest play from scrimmage through eight games is a Sam Vidlak to Kylon Harris 76-yard touchdown against McNeese. The 'Jacks have accounted for five plays of 54+ yards this season.
• POINTS, POINTS, POINTS: SFA boasts a top 25 scoring offense nationally averaging 33.9 points per game which rates third in the SLC. The 'Jacks have crossed over 30 points in each of their eight games during the win streak marking the longest stretch of 30+ point games in program history.
• TOUGH TO GET TRACTION: Opponents have had issue running the football against SFA as the 'Jacks are allowing just under 66 yards per game on the ground at just 2.0 yards per carry. SFA ranks second nationally and leads the SLC in rushing defense.
• BACKFIELD BANDITS: The 'Jacks rank second in the FCS in tackles for loss with an SLC-leading per game average of 8.9. Twenty-six 'Jacks have recorded at least 1.0 tackle for loss with 18 responsible for 2.0 or more and a dozen having registered 3.0 plus. Ky Thomas leads with 10.0 for 45 lost yards. Additionally, SFA ranks eighth in FCS in sacks per game at 3.10.
• GETTING DEFENSIVE: SFA carries the nation's second-best total defense (247.9) into its Week 12 tilt against Lamar.
• ADD MAYO: First-year 'Jack Jalen Mayo has proven to be a key addition to the SFA secondary this season. The Virginia Union transfer leads the Southland Conference in passes defended with 1.0 per game. That total ranks inside the top 30 in FCS. He broke up a pass in four-straight games including two each in wins over UIW and Nicholls and has three interceptions on the season.
• GET OUT OF GAVIN'S WAY: Redshirt sophomore quarterback Gavin Rutherford has plunged his way into the endzone four times over the past four games establishing himself as a short-yardage threat. He has rushed 20 times this season for 96 yards with the aforementioned scores as well as a handful of fourth-down conversions. Recently, he tossed three touchdowns against HCU in his fourth career start and added four rushes for 55 yards.
• CAN'T CONTAIN KYLON: Senior wide receiver Kylon Harris hauled in a single-game program record 16 receptions for 183 yards and two touchdowns in the win at ETAM. Harris topped Duane Brooks' previous single-game program record of 15 receptions set in games against Eastern Washington and Northwestern State in 2009. His 16 grabs are tied for the third-most in a single-game in Southland Conference history.
• LIGHTNING BUGS: Opposing special teams coordinators are going looney in an effort to figure out ways to slow down electric Lumberjack return man Bugs Mortimer. He lead the country with three punt return touchdowns after his 74-yard scamper to open scoring at Houston Christian. In between lightning delays against Nicholls, Mortimer dazzled with an impressive tight-roping act along the SFA sideline before reversing field on a 66-yard race to paydirt. His 159 punt return yards set a new single-game program record besting former 'Jack and NFLer Floyd Dixon's 126 vs. Abilene Christian in 1985. He is the first 'Jack since at least 2002 to have three punt return touchdowns in the same season. Twice this season, Mortimer has garnered SLC ST Player of the Week honors.
• HAND HAS A LEG: Jacob Hand's 54-yard field goal, in his first career attempt, which opened scoring against Nicholls is tied for the second-longest FG in program history and marked the longest make by a Lumberjack since Storm Ruiz's 54-yarder against Northwestern State in 2019. Hand handles SFA's kickoff duties and is averaging 62.3 yards per kick with 32 touchbacks.
• 'BACKER BALLER: Senior linebacker Jaydon Southard is in the midst of a career year and has five games of double-digit tackles after recording 13 against Nicholls which resulted in weekly SLC honorable mention honors. His 16-tackle effort at UIW led to him being named the Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week in addition to receiving SLC defensive honors as well. His 10.9 tackles per game leads the SLC and rates sixth nationally. He produced back-to-back double-digit tackle efforts for the first time as a Lumberjack after a career-high 16 vs. Abilene Christian, which followed 11 in the season opener against Houston. He reached the century mark as a Lumberjack in the win over Cal Poly and enters Week 12 with 98 stops on the season in nine games played. He has crossed over 11+ tackles in a game five times in 2025 and Southard is the first Lumberjack with multiple games of 16+ stops since Devin Ducote in 2010. He is two tackles shy of becoming the first 'Jack since 2019 to reach the century mark in stops.
• SACK-OGDOCHES: Senior defensive lineman Ky Thomas ranks fifth in the SLC in sack average (0.50), while Victor Idusuyi II and Aaron Austin rank ninth in the Southland Conference with .40 sacks per game. Thomas leads SFA and ranks third in the SLC in tackles for loss average of 1.11. That mark ranks 36th nationally.
