Stephen F. Austin Stuns No. 3/2 Montana State 52-38
SFA Athletics
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin stunned No. 2/3 Montana State, 52-38, Saturday at Homer Bryce Stadium in front of a crowd of nearly 10,000 to even their season record at 2-2.
SFA junior running back Gus Johnson scored one of his three rushing touchdowns with 5:01 remaining to give the Lumberjacks the lead for good at 45-38. Senior linebacker Ortavious Hypolite added the finishing touch on a monumental Lumberjacks victory with an interception returned for a touchdown with just 26 seconds remaining, making the final score of 52-38.
The Lumberjacks offense gained a season-high 567 total yards, which included a 392 yard performance from senior quarterback Brady Attaway. The Whitehouse, Texas, native completed 34 of 56 attempts and threw two touchdowns, surpassing Texas State’s Bradley George for second all-time in Southland Conference history with 772 completions to date.
Johnson posted the eighth 100-yard plus performance of his career and third this season, with 157 yards on 26 carries along with the three scores.
The victory was a bit of redemption for SFA, who fell last season at Montana State 43-35 in heartbreaker. The Lumberjacks improved to 2-4 all-time against the Bobcats and have now won nine consecutive games at home.
SFA stormed out of the gate in the first quarter, jumping out to a 17-3 advantage with 2:52 left in the quarter following a 23-yard scoring plunge from Johnson. Prior to that score, senior wide receiver Mike Brooks (9 receptions, 89 yards) scored his fourth touchdown of the season on a two-yard pass from Attaway.
Montana State (2-2) crept a bit closer to end the opening quarter on a 42-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Bleskin to Jon Ellis, cutting the deficit to 17-9 after a missed point after. The Lumberjacks responded right back on Attaway’s second touchdown pass of the night, this time going to D.J. Ward (6 receptions, 78 yards) from two yards away to make the score 24-9.
The Bobcats outscored the Lumberjacks 15-7 the remainder of the second quarter and SFA entered halftime with a 31-24 advantage in an offensive shootout. Montana State cut the lead to 31-30 with 1:59 left in the third quarter on a Jon Ellis 10-yard touchdown run but elected to go for a two-point conversion and failed, leaving SFA with a one-point lead.
Montana State took its last lead of the night at with 11:34 left in the game on a two-yard scoring run from Cody Kirk, putting SFA behind 38-31. However, the Lumberjacks put together an eight-play, 80-yard drive that was capped off by Joshawa West’s first career touchdown to knot the score 38-38.
The SFA defense shined the rest of the quarter, giving the offense an opportunity to win the game. On the game-winning drive Aaron Thomas came up with a massive 43-yard pitch-and-catch from Attaway to put the Lumberjacks in the red zone.
The Lumberjacks will look to carry their momentum into next Saturday’s home game against Prairie View A&M, which will kick off at 6 p.m.