Nachogdoches, – Sam Houston struggled to move the ball as the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks wheeled to a 42-3 victory.
Between switching quarterbacks and non-existent running game, the team amassed a feeble 67 yards by halftime, and only 186 total yards.
The absence of starting quarterback Blake Joseph was apparent from the opening snap, as the running game was less than active.
“It’s a tough loss anytime you go 1-2 in conference it’s hard,” said defensive back Jarvis Pippins. “But you got to suck it up and play.”
Sam Houston played well at first, forcing a three and out, and forcing a punt. However the offense was unable to capitalize on the opportunity and was forced to punt after three plays as well.
Stephen F. Austin was able to drive the field on the next play, but after making it to the Sam Houston 30-yard line on a fourth and one they were unsuccessful on their fourth down attempt.
The Bearkats got the ball back and junior quarterback Bryan Randolph took the team down field to the Lumberjack 18, but the drive stalled when Miguel Antonio missed a 35 yard field goal.
The first score of the game came in the second quarter when the Lumberjacks scored on an 11 play, 80-yard drive, just 15 seconds into the quarter as Jeremy Moses completed a 26-yard strike to wide receiver Aaron Rhea.
“We had a good drive, but after we had that second drive we just kind of stalled out and went three and out,” said quarterback Bryan Randolph.
Jeff Welch entered at quarterback for the Bearkats on the ensuing drive but with no luck as the drive lasted only three plays.
Stephen F. Austin went for a homerun play on the very next play and again Moses connected with Rhea for a 49-yard touchdown pass to break the game open.
Each team exchanged field position for the remainder off the second quarter, but with under a minute left in the game, the lumberjack offense struck again as the Moses completed another touchdown pass this time to Brandon Scott to take the lead 21-0 at the half.
The game was getting out of hand but the Bearkats got the ball back at the beginning of the second half, which would allow them to put some points on the board.
However after only three plays Sam Houston was forced to punt. Stephen F. Austin again made the Bearkats pay by scoring in just four plays covering 74-yards as again Moses threw for another touchdown pass.
The Bearkats went three and out on the next series and again the Lumberjacks scored on a Moses pass taking the score to a 35-0 lead after just three quarters of play.
“What we saw on film is what they ran, the defensive backs kind of gave us a hassle,” Randolph said. “But we were going try to implement to run a lot more but we didn’t get to.”
Miguel Antonio scored Sam Houston’s only points of the game when he knocked through a 23-yard field goal.
The game was Stephen F. Austin’s largest victory of margin over Sam Houston state, and put the all time series at 48-34-2 with the Bearkats in the lead.