Football: Oct. 11 Scoreboard
Southland Conference
Sam Houston State 38, No. 5/4 McNeese State 22
No. 9/9 Southeastern Louisiana 61, Lamar 34
Stephen F. Austin 42, Nicholls 20
Northwestern State 49, UIW 12
Central Arkansas 70, Houston Baptist 0
Abilene Christian 55, Ave Maria 14
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FCS Rankings (Sports Network/Coaches’ Polls)
Sam Houston State 38, No. 5/4 McNeese State 22
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Sophomore quarterback Jared Johnson rushed for 190 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 192 yards and two more scores as Sam Houston upset No. 5/4 ranked McNeese State 38-22 Saturday at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.
Johnson’s 11 carries for 190 yards marked the highest single game rushing total by a Bearkat running back. The old mark was 16 carries for 163 yards by Ashley Van Meter vs. North Texas. The total included scoring runs of 73 and 67 yards.
The quarterback also hit LaDarius Brown for a nine-yard TD pass and Yedidiah Louis for a 22-yard tally.
The victory marked Sam Houston’s eighth victory in its 28 seasons as an FCS competitor to defeat a top 5 ranked opponent.
McNeese quarterback Daniel Sams rushed 20 times for 130 yards and a touchdown. He completed 11 of 25 passes for 84 yards including a 10-yard scoring pass to Kahlil Thomas.
Sam Houston drove 75 yards in nine plays on its opening drive as Keshawn Hill scored from the nine two minutes and 23 seconds into the contest. A 39-yard pass from Johnson to LaDarius Brown to the McNeese 16-yard line was a key play in the drive.
Ten minutes later, Brown caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to complete an eight-play 69-yard drive and SHSU up 14-0 with 2:40 to go in the first period.
Daniel Sams put the Cowboys on the board 11 seconds into the second quarter with a 29-yard run to complete a 65-yard scoring drive.
Johnson rolled his left and raced up the sideline for a 73-yard scorer to up the Kats ahead 21-7 with 2:14 remaining before intermission.
Yedidiah Louis opened the scoring in the third quarter on a 22-yard pass from Johnson, the freshman’s first college touchdown. The play completed a 7-play, 55-yard drive as Sam Houston extended its lead to 28-7.
After a three-and-out by McNeese, Johnson broke for a 67-yard touchdown run thanks to a block by Louis at the Cowboy 37. The two-play, 75-yard drive put Sam Houston up 35-7 with 6:42 to play in the third.
McNeese turned a fumble recovery into an eight-play, 54-yard scoring drive as Ryan Ross scored from the seven-yard line to cut SHSU’s margin to 35-14 with 13:12 to play.
The Kats bounced back for a 44-yard field goal by Luc Swimberge, his longest of the season. The score was set up by a 48-yard screen pass from Johnson to Jalen Overstreet to the Cowboy 29.
The Cowboys cut the lead to 38-22 with 4:41 to play after a 15-play, 74-yard drive ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Sams to Khalil Thomas. Sams ran for a successful two-point conversion.
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No.9/9 Southeastern Louisiana 61, Lamar 34
BEAUMONT, Texas – The No. 9 Southeastern Louisiana football team rushed for a single-game school record 484 yards on the way to a 61-34 victory over Lamar in Southland Conference action Saturday night in Provost Umphrey Stadium.
Southeastern (5-2, 3-0 Southland) scored 27 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to pull away from the host Cardinals (4-3, 1-2 Southland). The Lions are off to a 3-0 start to Southland Conference play for the third straight season and extended their winning streak over Southland competition to 13 games.
The Lion offense rolled up 651 total yards behind senior quarterback and Walter Payton Award candidate Bryan Bennett. The Granada Hills, California native rushed for a season-high 125 yards and tied a career-high with three rushing touchdowns. Junior Kody Sutton (86 yards, one touchdown), junior Xavier Roberson (84 yards, one touchdown), senior Marquis Hayes (58 yards, one touchdown) and junior Rasheed Harrell (64 yards) all contributed to Southeastern’s record-breaking rushing performance.
Bennett also threw for 165 yards on 11-of-22 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions. Senior Devante Scott led the Lions with six catches for a season-high 126 yards, while sophomore Jarrell Bennett caught his first touchdown of 2014.
The Lion defense yielded 349 yards and finished with a season-high five sacks. Senior Isiah Corbett, senior Drew Misita, junior Aaron Price, senior Scott Korte, junior Dereck Robinson and senior Justin Church were all credited with at least partial sacks. Junior Herbert Harris led the Lions with 10 tackles. Junior Reggie Lesueur forced a fumble and junior Denzel Thompson recovered.
Lamar senior Caleb Berry threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-35 passing. Sophomore Kade Harrington and senior Mark Roberts each caught touchdown passes. Harrington also led the Cardinals with 54 rushing yards and a score, while junior Carl Harris also scored a rushing touchdown.
Lamar jumped out to a lead after junior Logan Moss stripped Bennett and senior Anthony Beard fell on the loose ball in Southeastern territory. Six plays later, Harris scampered in from 11 yards out to give Lamar the lead. Senior Marquel Combs blocked the extra point to hold it to a 6-0 lead with 10:14 left in the opening quarter.
Southeastern answered with a 10-play, 50-yard scoring drive. Senior Ryan Adams capped the drive with a 37-yard field goal to cut the lead to 6-3 with 5:30 left in the first quarter.
After the two teams traded empty possessions, Scott set the Lions up in Lamar territory early in the second quarter with a 27-yard punt return. 11 plays later, Bennett bulled in from a yard out to give Southeastern a 10-6 lead with 9:13 left in the second quarter. The march was keyed by a 10-yard strike from Bennett to senior Chris Malott on a fourth-and-nine.
Lamar answered quickly, however. Roberts hauled in a 38-yard pass from Berry to put the Cardinals up, 13-10, with 7:56 left in the first half.
The Lions answered with a quick drive of their own. A 42-yard catch and run by Scott highlighted a five-play, 51-yard scoring drive. Bennett raced in from three yards out to give SLU a 17-13 lead with 5:35 remaining in the second quarter.
Southeastern had an opportunity to add to its lead, moving into Lamar territory on the final drive of the half. However, sophomore Tommie Barrett stepped in front of a Bennett pass and his interception kept LU within 17-13 at the break.
The Lions didn’t take long to add to their lead in the second half. On the second play from scrimmage, Roberson burst through the line for a 75-yard touchdown run. The longest run of the Atlanta, Georgia native’s career put the Lions up, 24-13, with 14:10 left.
Lamar quickly moved into Lion territory, but sacks by Misita and Corbett allowed SLU to end the drive and take over on downs. Two plays later, Bennett raced in from 64 yards out to push the lead to make it 31-13 with 11:44 left in the third quarter.
The Cardinals cut into the SLU lead with a six-play, 50-yard scoring drive. Harrington scored from 12 yards out to cut the Lion advantage to 31-20 with 6:52 left in the third quarter.
The Lions would add to the lead on their ensuing drive. A 41-yard rush by junior Jeff Smiley on an end around set up a 23-yard field goal by Adams that put SLU up, 34-20, with 3:42 left in the third quarter.
After another stop by the Lion defense, Bennett threw his second pick of the game. Sophomore Xavier Bethany returned the interception 40 yards for a touchdown and cut the Southeastern lead to 34-27 with 1:40 remaining in the third quarter.
SLU answered with a five-play, 71-yard drive that moved into the third quarter. Bennett found Jarrell Bennett from 16 yards out to end the march and put the Lions up, 41-27, with 14:25 left in the contest.
After another stop, Bennett engineered another five-play, 59-yard drive. On his way to the end zone from 12 yards out, the Lion signal caller fumbled into the end zone, but junior Byron Johnson fell on the loose ball for a SLU touchdown and a 48-27 lead with 10:19 left.
On the ensuing kickoff, Lesueur stripped LU junior Devonn Brown and Thompson returned the loose ball to the Lamar 12-yard line. Five plays later, Sutton bulled in from three yards out to give Southeastern a 54-27 lead with 7:41 left.
Southeastern forced another punt to regain possession. On the first play, Hayes raced in from 57 yards out to give SLU a 61-27 advantage with 6:13 remaining in the contest.
Lamar would cut into the final margin as Berry found Harrington on a 24-yard screen pass for a touchdown to finish
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Stephen F. Austin 42, Nicholls 20
THIBODAUX, La. – Stephen F. Austin got all it could handle from host Nicholls, but the Lumberjacks pulled away in the fourth quarter to notch a 42-20 victory at Guidry Stadium. The win is the first road victory for SFA since 2011, snapping a 12-game road losing streak.
The Lumberjacks improve to 4-2 and 1-1 in Southland Conference play while Nicholls fell to 0-7 and 0-3 in SLC action. The ‘Jacks improve to 24-7 all-time against the Colonels and have now won seven-straight against Nicholls, including five-straight in Thibodaux.
Gus Johnson led the way for the ‘Jacks, racking up 202 yards on 19 carries with three touchdowns while Zach Conque added three rushing touchdowns as well while throwing for 291 yards on the night.
Johnson notched a number of impressive career milestones on the night, further etching his name into the Lumberjack record book. He became SFA’s all-time touchdown leader with 42, surpassing former teammate Cordell Roberson’s 39. Johnson moved into third all-time in career rushing yards, moving past Larry Centers’ 2,943 yards. He then became the third member of the 3,000-yard club, sitting at 3,076 for his career.
Additionally, Jordan Wiggs also cemented his place in SFA’s record book by notching six points on the night, upping his career total to 304 and surpassing Chuck Rawlison as SFA’s all-time leading scorer.
On the night, SFA notched 599 yards of total offense, including 308 on the ground. Johnson’s 202 led the way with Conque adding 51 and Fred Ford recording 31 yards in relief.
Through the air, Tyler Boyd finished with 11 catches for 69 yards while DJ Ward notched four receptions for 30 yards. Aaron Thomas had 59 yards on three catches, including a 35-yarder in the fourth quarter to set up an SFA touchdown.
SFA once again took the early lead, accomplishing the feat for the fifth-straight game. The ‘Jacks put together an eight-play, 72-yard drive covering 3:22, capped by Johnson’s 19-yard touchdown run, giving SFA the early 7-0 lead.
But miscues kept SFA from adding to its advantage as the Lumberjacks were unsuccessful on a pair of fourth down opportunities while Conque threw an interception in the end zone in the second quarter, stifling an SFA scoring chance.
Nicholls made the most of that Lumberjack turnover, putting together its longest drive of the 2014 season. The Colonels covered 96 yards on 14 plays while running 7:01 off the clock, ending with a one-yard touchdown punch to tie the game at 7-7 at the half.
The Lumberjacks came out aggressive in the third quarter, forcing a three-and-out for Nicholls to give SFA the short field. Johnson then made the Colonels pay, punching it in from 34 yards out to give the ‘Jacks the 14-7 lead with 11:47 remaining in the third quarter.
The Colonels answered back quickly on the next drive, converting a screen pass into a 66-yard touchdown run, the longest play of the season for Nicholls. But the extra point attempt was blocked, giving SFA the 14-13 lead with 9:30 left in the third.
Johnson then took the game into his hands, reeling off 46-yard rush to set up a Conque two-yard touchdown plunge. SFA then forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff which was capped by a one-yard touchdown rush by Johnson, giving SFA the 28-13 lead midway through the third quarter.
Nicholls wasn’t done yet, closing out the third quarter with a 41-yard touchdown rush, cutting the deficit to 28-20 heading to the fourth. SFA responded on the next drive, going the distance with Conque punching it in from one yard out to give the ‘Jacks some breathing room at 35-20 early in the fourth.
SFA’s defense then came up with a pair of key stops and with the clock winding down late in the game, Conque led the ‘Jacks on an 8-play, 57-yard drive and capped it with a 12-yard scamper to seal SFA’s first conference victory of the season.
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Northwestern State 49, UIW 12
NATCHITOCHES, La. – Garrett Atzenweiler ran for 146 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown on his last carry, as Northwestern State had its biggest rushing total in 10 years Saturday night while Zach Adkins tossed four second-quarter touchdown passes to fuel a 49-12 blowout of Incarnate Word in Southland Conference football.
The Demons (3-3 overall, 1-1 in the Southland) piled up 390 rushing yards and 581 total yards against the Cardinals (1-6, 1-3), in their first year of Southland football and full Division I FCS membership. It was NSU's third win in the last four tries heading into a 3 o'clock home game next Saturday against Sam Houston State, a 38-22 winner at home Saturday over No. 4-ranked McNeese State.
Adkins threw touchdowns of 12, 40, 3 and 3 yards to four different receivers to blast NSU ahead 35-3 to delight the homecoming crowd of 8,931. The Demons added two more TDs in the third period before backups played the fourth quarter.
It was the first home game in 43 days for the Demons, whose 581 total yards were their most since posting 615 against Elon in a 47-20 victory in 2002. The 390 rushing yards was tops by NSU since 446 in 2004 in a 45-27 win over third-ranked Sam Houston State by a Demons' team that won the Southland title.
The Demons' Purple Swarm defense held UIW to a pair of Ramon Cato field goals until the game's last play, when the Cardinals completed a 95-yard drive against defensive backups with a game-ending 23-yard Jordan Scelfo pass to Gabriel Taylor. Before that series, NSU had allowed only 172 yards on 56 snaps while forcing four turnovers, interceptions by Adam Jones and Imoan Claiborne and fumble recoveries by Claiborne and Lyn Clark.
Claiborne forced a fumble in the UIW end zone midway through the first quarter that Clark pounced on for the Demons' first score.
Adkins laced a 12-yard strike to Tuff McClain less than a minute into the second period, but UIW responded with Cato's 22-yard field goal to draw within 14-3. The Demons quickly expanded the margin on Adkins' 40-yard bomb to Ed Eagan less than two minutes later.
NSU posted a pair of 3-yard Adkins shots in the final 3:37 of the half. An 81-yard drive was capped by a leaping Corey Simmons grab to make it 28-3, then Claiborne's fumble recovery gave the Demons possession at the Cardinals' 35 and Adkins completed four passes, the last going 3 yards over the middle to Cody Jones with 21 seconds left before halftime for the 35-3 advantage.
Coto booted a 30-yard field goal early in the third period for UIW. Atzenweiler, who had a season-long 51-yard run in the second quarter, roared up the middle on his 47-yard TD with 5:27 showing in the third quarter and on their next series, the Demons drove 89 yards for De'Mard Llorens' 1-yard dive near the end of the quarter to make it 49-6.
Atzenweiler ran it just 12 times. True freshman running back Ronald Green narrowly missed giving NSU two backs with 100-yard rushing totals for the first time since the 2007 season opener, finishing with 96 yards on six carries, including a 47-yarder.
The rushing total was the first over 300 for the Demons since 2008, and it was the most allowed ever by UIW.
Adkins, who entered the game 10th nationally in completion percentage (66.3), went 15 of 21 for 159 yards while his four TD passes matched, for the second time this season, a single-game record shared by six other quarterbacks, including Bobby Hebert.
Jones was the Demons' top tackler with seven, while Jacob Merriman, Marion Chapman and Chase Collins each recorded six stops.
"Our defense played a heck of a game and our offense took over in the second quarter. Our offensive line did a super job," said Demons' coach Jay Thomas. "It was great to give the homecoming crowd a convincing win. Zach was extremely sharp once again and it was great to see Garrett finally break a couple long ones, and get into the end zone on one. He's been telling me about his 4.5 speed and tonight we saw a flash of it."
The Cardinals got 66 rushing yards from Junior Sessions on 14 carries and 64 yards on four receptions by Casey Jennings. Coto punted six times for a 49-yard average while NSU's Andy Wickman had his best average, 46.2 on four punts, including a 58-yarder, in the first-ever football meeting of the schools.
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Central Arkansas 70, Houston Baptist 0
CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas Bears tallied 10 touchdowns from nine different players Saturday night as they rolled past the Houston Baptist Huskies 70-0 in Southland Conference action at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.
UCA (4-3), which improved to 3-0 in league play, did not attempt a pass after halftime, finishing 15 of 17 for 287 yards and four touchdowns among three different quarterbacks. Freshman running back Dominique Thomas was the only player to score multiple times, with consecutive touchdown runs of 56 and 12 yards midway through the second quarter.
The Bears finished with 545 yards of total offense on just 55 offensive plays, averaging 9.9 yards per play. UCA's defense held HBU to 131 total yards of offense, including just 47 yards on 31 plays in the second half. The Bears missed a field goal on their initial possession of the game, but then reeled off touchdowns the next 10 times they had the ball, including a 23-yard interception return by junior linebacker Ricky Wyatt and a 36-yard punt return by redshirt freshman defensive back George Odum.
None of UCA's three quarterbacks _ Ryan Howard, Taylor Reed and Hayden Hildebrand _ threw more than eight passes, while the Bears' leading rusher was Thomas with 89 yards runs on just five carries. Thomas had a 12-yard touchdown run, Reed had a 6-yarder and redshirt freshman Darrien Daniels had the game's final touchdown, a one-yarder, with 6:00 left in the third quarter as UCA rushed for a season-high 258 yards.
The Huskies (1-5, 0-3) did not convert their first down until the 12:46 mark of the second quarter, with the Bears already leading 35-0. UCA, on the other hand, did not attempt a punt until the 1:20 mark of the third quarter. The Bears ended up using its No. 1 punter Matt Spencer just once, with backup cornerback Tremon Smith punting twice for a 40-yard average. Spencer is No. 2 in the SLC and hit a 54-yarder in his lone attempt.
The 70 points was the seventh most in UCA history and the most since the Bears also scored 70 in a 70-3 victory over Bacone on Sept. 14, 2012.
After the missed field goal from 49 yards early in the first quarter, Reed hit Desmond Smith with a 36-yard touchdown pass to begin the rout. He then found a wide-open Damien Watts for a 46-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead. Howard then came back on and hit an even wider open Justin Dickey for 73 yards and a 21-0 margin. Reed went in from six yards for the fourth touchdown and Wyatt followed with his pick six for a 35-0 lead in the opening minute of the second period.
Thomas' two touchdowns and a perfectly thrown 60-yard pass from Hayden Hildebrand to Courtney Whitehead with 1:19 left in the second quarter made it 56-0 at the half. UCA piled up 467 yards in the opening 30 minutes.
The Huskies, who were missing their starting quarterback, completed only 7 of 21 passes for 50 yards on the night. Quarterback Isaiah Hall was their leading rusher with 47 yards. A trio of quarterbacks combined to throw five interceptions, with UCA's Smith picking off the first two passes of his career. UCA, which entered the game with only six interceptions on the season, also got picks from Jordan Meyers and Aum'Arie Wallace.
The Bears hit the road next week to face the other 3-0 team in the Southland, the Southeastern Louisiana Lions. SLU beat Lamar 61-34 on Saturday. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium in Hammond, La.
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Abilene Christian 55, Ave Maria 14
ABILENE, Texas – De’Andre Brown ran for three touchdowns and Cade Stone caught eight passes for 121 yards and a score Saturday to help Abilene Christian University to a 55-14 Homecoming afternoon win over Ave Maria University in a non-conference game in Shotwell Stadium.
The Wildcats of the FCS Southland Conference rolled to 513 yards of total offense while the Gyrenes of The Sun Conference (NAIA) ran into a second-half brick wall in falling to 1-5.
ACU quarterback Parker McKenzie completed 22 of 31 passes for 304 yards and a score in just three quarters of action. The Wildcats allowed the Gyrenes 315 yards of offense and two touchdowns in the first half, but no points, 39 yards of offense and two first downs in the final two quarters. ACU ran off 38 straight points after AMU cut its second-quarter lead to 17-14.
Brown, a redshirt freshman, rushed for scores of 8, 5 and 32 yards, and Herschel Sims added a 39-yarder to lead the Wildcat running game. Adrian Duncan and Randy Gober added short TD runs of their own and Nik Grau kicked two field goals.
ACU rushed for 168 yards, led by Sims’ 86 yards on 10 carries and Brown’s 58 on 10 carries. Tight end Noah Cheshier caught five passes for 60 yards and linebacker Justin Stephens’ 12 tackles led the Wildcats’ suffocating second-half defense.
Clayton Uecker led AMU with 276 yards of passing and two touchdowns and 47 yards of rushing. Ryan O’Rourke caught six passes for 72 yards. Uecher’s two scores came on a 48-yard pass to Travis Makauskas and a 22-yarder to Brian Byrd.
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