Stephen F. Austin
Northwestern State
NOTES: #13/14 'Jacks Cross the Sabine for Rivalry Clash, Outright SLC Title
11/19/2025 3:30:00 PM | Football
College football's largest trophy is on the line in Natchitoches on Thursday night
79th meeting; NSU leads series 49-26-3
Natchitoches, Louisiana (Turpin Stadium)
FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - SFA faces a short week to close out the 2025 regular season as the 79th meeting all-time with Northwestern State awaits on Thursday, November 20. NSU holds the series lead at 46-29-3, but the 'Jacks have won three straight in the six-decade long rivalry. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. Live coverage links will be made available at www.SFAjacks.com.
• THE LARGEST TROPHY IN SPORTS: Last season marked the first year of a new 7-foot-6, 320-pound log topped with a pitchfork on one end and an axe on the other, with scores from past games adorning the length of the trophy. The winning team display's the trophy with its representative logo facing upward. The new adorned pine cylinder, designed by chainsaw artist Della Meredith, replaced the retired wooden statue "Chief Caddo."
• LAST TIME OUT: In front of a packed-out home side of Homer Bryce Stadium, #15/17 Stephen F. Austin answered the call on Saturday night as the 'Jacks knocked off #14/19 Lamar for the Southland Conference title and the league's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. The Lumberjacks built a 10-0 lead after the opening quarter, carried a 13-7 lead into the intermission and added 13 more points in the second half to top the Cardinals as a well-deserved celebration broke out on Jimmy W. Murphy Field following the 26-15 final.
SFA hit four field goals including a 56-yarder from the leg of Jacob Hand and three more from Carlos Alvarado, Jerrell Wimbley and Gavin Rutherford punched in rushing scores and Jalen Mayo grabbed a team-leading fourth interception which led to points as the 'Jacks controlled the football for nearly 35 minutes, converted 10-of-18 third downs and allowed just five Lamar conversions in 16 attempts combined on third and fourth downs.
• NSU LOWDOWN: The Demons won their season opener 20-10 against Alcorn State, before losing to Power 4 programs Minnesota and Cincinnati on the road. NSU was edged by Prairie View A&M to close out non-conference play and is looking for the team's first SLC victory on Thursday night. The Demons are led by second-year head coach Blaine McCorkle.
NSU averages 10.2 ppg, but holds a top 50 mark nationally in turnovers gained with 15. Fernando Washington leads the defense with 6.8 tackles per game which is a top 15 mark among SLC defenders. Abram Johnston commands the offense with over 1,100 yards passing, seven touchdown strikes and a top 10 mark in total offense. Myion Hicks averages over 34 yards per game on the ground.
• FREE FOOTBALL: With the win over Lamar, the 'Jacks locked up what will be the program's ninth FCS playoff appearance all-time and the first since 2021. SFA is nearly a lock for a top 16 seed with an outside shot at a top eight nod and a first round bye.
• DON'T MIND A LENGTHY DRIVE: Two of SFA's first-half scoring drives against Lamar went for 10+ plays marking the 15th and 16th scoring series of double digit plays this season, while the 17th such drive of the campaign came midway through the fourth quarter as Alvarado hit his third FG of the contest. This season, the 'Jacks have totaled 11 drives that have lasted 4:30 or more minutes including two drives of 7+ minutes. In terms of yardage, the 'Jacks have a dozen scoring drives of 75+ yards including a nation's best three drives of 95+ yards.
• OUTRIGHT TITLE HUNT: Having secured a share, the 'Jacks are now hunting for the outright league title. Last Saturday's win ensured the program's first league championship since claiming the WAC title in 2022. It is SFA's fifth Southland Conference title and the program's first since 2010.
• AIMING FOR TEN: Saturday's win gave the 'Jacks a ninth-straight victory which is its longest such streak since winning nine straight during the 1989 season. A win over the Demons would be the first ten-game win streak during a season in program history and would match the longest win streak ever of ten games across the end of the 1973 campaign and into the 1974 season. It would be the fifth season of 10+ wins in program history joining the 1988, 1989, 1995 and 2009 teams. SFA's 9-2 start is the program's best through 11 games since 2010 when that year's team posted a 9-2 regular season. The 'Jacks eye the program's first-ever eight-win campaign in league play and the program's first-ever eight-game win streak in conference action.
• 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 tied him for the third-most in program history.
• STREAKIN': During the nine-game win streak, the 'Jacks are averaging 400.6 yards of offense, scoring over 38 points per game and converting 49% of its third downs. SFA is +9 in turnovers during the stretch, +77 in points off turnovers and is holding its opposition to a 25% success rate on third downs. Opponents are averaging 224.8 total yards per game, managing just 1.8 yards per carry and have surrendered 30 sacks to the 'Jacks.
• CLIMBING: Stephen F. Austin hits the last week of the 2025 regular season schedule inside the nation's top 15. SFA moved to a season-high No. 13 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and rose to No. 14 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25.
• FINALIST FOR DORIS ROBINSON SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Graduate defensive lineman Ky Thomas is one of 13 finalist for the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award given annually to FCS Football's who exemplify excellence on the field, in the classroom and across the community.
• INVITED: Surrounded by his teammates and coaches following November 4th'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
-Vidlak is 70 yards shy of reaching 5,000 passing yards for his collegiate career
-Kylon Harris is 131 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 12 catches shy of second place all-time
-Jerrell Wimbley moved 54 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
-Wimbley is two rushing TDs shy of sixth all-time
-Charles Demmings is tied 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 26 victories, the third-most by an SFA head coach.
• BIG PLAY 'JACKS: SFA has produced 40 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 33.2 points per game which rates second in the SLC. The 'Jacks crossed over 30 points in the first 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 72 yards per game on the ground at just 2.2 yards per carry. SFA ranks second nationally and leads the SLC in rushing defense.
• BACKFIELD BANDITS: The 'Jacks lead the country in tackles for loss at 8.5. SFA has recorded 94.0 total tackles for loss with twenty-nine 'Jacks having at least 1.0 tackle for loss with 19 responsible for 2.0 or more and a dozen having registered 3.0 plus. Ky Thomas leads with 10.5 for 46 lost yards. Additionally, SFA ranks ninth in FCS in sacks per game at 3.00.
• GETTING DEFENSIVE: SFA carries the nation's second-best total defense (248.8) into the regular season finale. The 'Jacks rank second in third down conversion defense at 29.9%. SFA's 166 first downs allowed are the sixth-fewest surrendered nationally and an SLC-best mark. The 'Jacks rank fourth in scoring defense allowing just 15.4 ppg which paces the Southland. SFA's 20 turnovers gained are a top ten total in FCS.
• 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 1.09 per game. That total ranks inside the top 25 in FCS. He broke up a pass in four-straight games including two each in wins over UIW and Nicholls and has four interceptions on the season with one in each of the last three games.
• GET OUT OF GAVIN'S WAY: Redshirt sophomore quarterback Gavin Rutherford has plunged his way into the endzone five times over the past five games establishing himself as a short-yardage threat. He has rushed 33 times this season for 171 yards with the aforementioned scores as well as a handful of fourth-down conversions. He tossed three touchdowns against HCU in his fourth career start and added four rushes for 55 yards. In the win over Lamar, Rutherford completed 17 passes for 140 yards and added 75 rushing yards on 13 attempts.
• 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 leads the country with three punt return touchdowns, after his 74-yard scamper to open scoring at Houston Christian, and in punt return average at 19.8. 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. He enters the final week of the regular season five yards back of a new single-season program standard in total punt return yards.
• HAND HAS A LEG: Jacob Hand nailed a 54-yard field goal, in his first career attempt, to open scoring against Nicholls. At the time, it was 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. However, Hand bettered his career long with a 56-yard make in the win over Lamar in his second-ever FGA. It's the second-longest FG in program history and the longest since Chuck Rawlison's 58-yard make against Sam Houston in 1991. He is the third 'Jack placekicker with multiple makes of 54+ in a career and the first with multiple such makes in a single season. Hand handles SFA's kickoff duties and is averaging 62.6 yards per kick with 37 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 10.6 tackles per game leads the SLC and rates seventh 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 13 with 106 stops on the season in ten games played becoming the first SFA defender to cross over the century mark in tackles since 2019. 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.
