#2 Jacks Relentless in Beaumont, Come Up Short at #12/13 Lamar

Saturday, November 7

Beaumont, TX

3:00 PM

Stephen F. Austin

9-1 , 6-1

Lamar

8-2 , 6-1

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
SFA	0	7	14	7	28
Lamar University	10	7	14	14	45

Photo by: Alex Nabor

11/7/2026 8:12:00 PM | Football

Box Score

SFA sees nation’s longest active regular season winning streak, SLC streak snapped

By: Jacob Pumphrey, Assistant AD for Communications

BEAUMONT, Texas – #2 Stephen F. Austin scored three second-half touchdowns and pulled within three points on three occasions before #12/13 Lamar secured a 45–28 victory Saturday from inside Provost Umphrey Stadium in Beaumont.

Clayton Wayland enjoyed a career effort with nine catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns, while Bugs Mortimer added eight receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown. They combined for 297 of SFA's 388 receiving yards.

Trailing 17–7 at halftime, the Jacks held Lamar scoreless on its opening possession when a 47-yard field-goal attempt struck the right upright. SFA then drove 70 yards in six plays, extending the possession with Chris Martinez's 28-yard run on a fake punt on fourth-and-six. Gavin Rutherford followed with a 36-yard completion to Derrick Bohler, who converted an over-the-shoulder grab, and JT Kitna bullied his way in from two yards out to make it 17–14 with 7:55 remaining in the third quarter.

After Lamar answered with a touchdown, SFA needed just two plays and 47 seconds to respond. Rutherford completed consecutive passes to Wayland for 14 and 79 yards, cutting the deficit to 24–21. The Cardinals scored again before the quarter ended, restoring their 10-point lead.

SFA's defense provided another opportunity in the fourth quarter, forcing three consecutive incompletions before Lamar missed a 46-yard field goal. On the next snap, Kitna connected with a wide-open Mortimer for a 71-yard touchdown, bringing the Jacks within 31–28 with 6:02 remaining.

Lamar answered with a 62-yard touchdown pass and converted a subsequent SFA fumble into another score. The Jacks finished with 268 second-half yards and 21 points after intermission. Wayland and Mortimer both surpassed 100 receiving yards, combining for 297 yards and three touchdowns as SFA repeatedly reduced the deficit. The four SFA touchdown drives each covered at least 70 yards, including three of 88 yards or longer.

Stephen F. Austin used a late touchdown drive to cut Lamar's lead down to ten at 17–7 at halftime, overcoming a difficult start to regain momentum before the break.

On SFA's second drive of the afternoon, and after both teams traded punt, Lamar returned a third-down interception to the SFA20, but the Jacks held LU out of the endzone and forced a successful field goal attempt from 37 yards outs as the host opened scoring with 8:14 to play in the first quarter.

In the first quarter, SFA outgained Lamar 98–56 and held the ball for 8:26, but the interception helped the Cardinals establish the lead with the 37-yard make. The Jacks finished the opening quarter with offensive momentum: Rutherford completed five straight passes for 47 yards on the possession spanning the quarter break, but a fumble four plays into the second quarter ended an SFA drive in LU territory.

The Cardinals turned the turnover into seven points as a nine-play, 60-yard drive placed the host up 17-0 at the 7:45 mark of the second quarter. McCown started 0-for-4 passing, but helped LU build the three-score advantage by completing eight straight passes for 103 yards including a throwing score that made it 10-0.

Lowote Jurkin sacked McCown for a loss of seven to prompt a punt and end Lamar's string of three-straight scoring drives. Rutherford then connected with Mortimer for 20 yards, the first big play for the Jacks, up to the SFA43 on the first play of the ensuing drive, but his second interception of the game on the next play brought an end to the possession.

The Jacks came alive offensively in the final two minutes of the half with the aforementioned drive that covered 91 yards in just six plays and 83 seconds. Rutherford accounted for all 91 yards, rushing for 38 and completing three passes for 53. His 27-yard scramble, a 21-yard completion to Preston Alford and the 22-yard touchdown strike to Clayton Wayland covered the drive's final 70 yards.

POSTGAME NOTES

SFA's seven points at the intermission were a season-low
In the first half, SFA held Lamar to 11 net rushing yards, recorded three sacks and five tackles for loss and forced punts on the Cardinals' final two full possessions of the half
Lamar scored 17 points off SFA's four turnovers, matching the final margin. The Jacks lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions while finishing without a takeaway
SFA recorded three sacks for 19 yards and seven TFLs for 26 yards.
All four SFA touchdown possessions covered at least 70 yards—91, 70, 88 and 71. The final two scoring drives required just three combined plays and 58 seconds
Gavin Rutherford completed 24-of-34 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns, adding a team-leading 50 rushing yards on 10 carries. He completed 70.6% of his attempts
JT Kitna recorded a two-yard rushing touchdown and threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Mortimer. He finished 2-of-4 for 73 passing yards
Jurkin led SFA's pass rush, recording 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss with a quarterback hurry among his four tackles
Kyran Moore led the Lumberjacks with 11 tackles, including three solo stops. Moore was one of two SFA defenders to finish with double-digit tackles
Malachi Williams recorded 10 tackles, including three solo stops, while adding a half-tackle for loss and a pass breakup
Chance Sautter finished with eight tackles and a team-high two pass breakups, accounting for half of SFA's four breakups in the game
Cam Brooks contributed nine tackles and a team-leading four solo stops. Brooks, Moore and Sautter combined for 28 tackles from the secondary

UP NEXT
SFA heads south to the Rio Grande Valley for a Week 11 matchup with UTRGV. The Jacks won the first-ever meeting with the Vaqueros 41-17 last season in Nacogdoches. UTRGV, in its second season of collegiate football, holds a 10-1 record at home inside Robert & Janet Vackar Stadium. Live coverage links are available at www.SFAjacks.com.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR THE REGULAR SEASON FINALE
The Lumberjacks have just three more home games on the regular season schedule! Don't miss a single snap as SFA looks to defend its Southland Conference title. Visit www.SFATickets.com to secure your tickets today and be part of the action all season long.

FOLLOW THE LUMBERJACKS
For all the latest information on SFA football, visit SFAjacks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Lumberjacks on X, Instagram and Facebook.

#AxeEm x #EastTexasTough