Thursday, September 26, 2013

GAME NOTES: S.F. Austin vs. Prairie View A&M



NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- The Lumberjacks are 5-0-1 (.916) all-time against Prairie View A&M, outscoring the Panthers 194-50 overall. Saturday will mark the first meeting between the two teams since the 1988 season when SFA defeated Prairie View 38-3 in Nacogodches. All previous six games were played at Homer Bryce Stadium.

TV COVERAGE: Saturday's contest will streamed on sfajacks.com and be broadcasted on the radio on KTBQ-FM 107.7.

UPSET CITY: SFA's win over No. 2/3 Montana State was the 'Jacks first over an FCS Top-3 ranked team since the 1996 season when SFA defeated No. 3 Troy State, 13-10 in Nacogdoches. It also marked the first time an unranked SFA team defeated an FCS Top-3 squad since the 1993 season when the 'Jacks defeated No. 2 Youngstown State, 35-15.

50-50 CLUB: With 52 points scored on Saturday, the 'Jacks recorded back-to-back games of 50-plus points scored for the first time since the 1989 season. SFA scored 50 points versus McMurry and 52 points against Montana State. In 1989 SFA defeated No. 13 Grambling State 59-56 and followed that up with a 55-25 win over No. 9 Southwest Missouri.

ATTAWAY CLIMBING THE CHARTS: SFA senior quarterback Brady Attaway passed for 392 yards while completing 34-of-56 pass attempts and two touchdown passes in SFA's victory over Montana State. Attaway surpassed former Texas State quarterback Bradley George for third place all-time in Southland Conference history with 772 completions. The Whitehouse, Texas native also moved into sixth place in SLC history with 65 career passing touchdowns, which also moved him into second place in school history in that same category, passing Todd Hammel. Attaway also moved up a spot in the league career ranks to seventh all-time in career passing yards with 8,420.

WE'RE GOING THE OTHER WAY: SFA recorded four more interceptions last Saturday, giving them a league-best nine for the season. Senior linebacker Ortavious Hypolite returned one of the interceptions for a TD, marking the first time the 'Jacks had an INT return for a touchdown since the 2010 season when Ben Wells did so at Lamar. 

SLC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Following their upset over the nationally ranked Montana State Bobcats, Stephen F. Austin junior running back Gus Johnson and senior linebacker Ortavious Hypolite were both rewarded by being named the Southland Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, the league office announced on Monday. Johnson, a native of Gilmer, Texas (Gilmer HS), recorded his third 100-plus yard rushing performance of the season and eighth of his career with 157 yards on 26 carries along with three rushing touchdowns. Johnson scored the game-winning touchdown with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Hypolite, a native of Orange, Texas (West Orange Stark HS), put the final touch on the upset with a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown on Montana State's final drive while also recording 11 tackles (1.5 tackles for a loss).

HOME SWEET HOME: 
SFA has made Homer Bryce Stadium one of the toughest places to play for teams over the course of the past four seasons. The Lumberjacks are 21-4 dating back to 2009 and are currently riding a nine-game win streak entering Saturday's contest. SFA is 13-1 (.929) in SLC games at home since 2010. The lone loss during that stretch was a three-point setback to Texas State in 2010.
 
WINNING RECORD: The 'Jacks are 32-19 (.627) over their last 51 games (previous four seasons/plus 4 games this season). Despite not recording a winning record in 2012, the first time in the past four seasons, SFA was able to keep its streak of conference winning seasons alive. The 'Jacks posted a 4-3 mark in Southland Conference play which marks the fourth consecutive season SFA has recorded above a .500 record in league games. It marks the longest stretch of conference winning seasons in program history. The 'Jacks recorded a stretch of non-losing seasons from 1993-97, but that included a 3-3 SLC record in 1996.

THE COACH: J.C. Harper became the 18th head coach of the SFA Lumberjack football team in December 2006. A two-time SLC Coach of the Year, Harper has guided SFA to two conference titles and NCAA playoff appearances. SFA is 36-37 (.493) in his six seasons in Nacogdoches.
 
Quick Hits
Brady Attaway is 13-13 (.500) all-time as the Lumberjacks' starting quarterback.
The Lumberjacks are now 18-22 (.436) in televised games dating back to the 1998 season. SFA was 2-4 (.333) in televised games in 2012.  
• Since 1995, the Lumberjacks are 22-33 (.400) against teams ranked in the NCAA Division I FCS top 25. After dropping 13 of 17 games against ranked teams, SFA has now won six of 11 games against the top 25.
• Since joining Division I FCS in 1986, SFA is 26-3 (.896) against non-Division I teams. The 'Jacks lost to Angelo State, 28-24, in 1990 and dropped a 17-14 decision in 2006. SFA opened the 2007 season with a 27-24 overtime loss to Tarleton State.

COURTESY STEPHEN F. AUSTIN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS

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