FRISCO – Stephen F. Austin secured a share of the Southland title and claimed the league’s automatic qualifier to the FCS Playoffs, while Southeastern stayed firmly in the postseason hunt with a thrilling win over UIW. Nicholls, East Texas A&M, and UTRGV all added victories in this week’s Week 12 Rundown.
#15/17 SFA 26, #14/19 Lamar 15
In front of a packed home crowd at Homer Bryce Stadium, No. 15/17 Stephen F. Austin (9-2, 7-0 SLC) answered the call on Saturday night as the ’Jacks knocked off No. 14/19 Lamar (8-3, 5-2 SLC) to secure the Southland Conference title and the league’s AQ to the FCS Playoffs. The Lumberjacks jumped out to a 10-0 first-quarter lead, carried a 13-7 edge into halftime, and added 13 more points after the break as a well-deserved celebration broke out on Jimmy W. Murphy Field following the 26-15 final.
SFA hit four field goals, including a 56-yarder from Jacob Hand, and scored rushing touchdowns from Jerrell Wimbley and Gavin Rutherford. Jalen Mayo grabbed his team-leading fourth interception, which set up points, as the ’Jacks controlled possession for nearly 35 minutes, converted 10-of-18 third downs, and allowed just five combined Lamar conversions on 16 third- and fourth-down attempts.
Lamar finished with 258 yards of offense (134 rushing, 124 passing), while SFA totaled 329 yards and held the ball nearly 10 minutes longer than the Cardinals.
#21/23 Southeastern 10, UIW 7
Khalid Moore got just enough of a piece of
Will Faris’ potential game-tying 38-yard field goal to send it off the crossbar, securing No. 21/23 Southeastern Louisiana University’s 10-7 victory over UIW Saturday afternoon at Benson Stadium.
Southeastern (8-3, 6-1 SLC) held the Cardinals (4-7, 2-5 SLC) scoreless for more than 55 minutes before UIW finally found momentum on its final two drives. Faris rushed the last kick, Moore deflected it, and SLU earned its first road win at UIW since 2016.
For the second straight week, KK Reno set a new career high with 17 tackles. The Lion defense, which held UIW to just six first downs over the first three quarters, posted four sacks from Joshua Randall, Ahmad Bradley, Evan Aubrey, and Max Elkman.
Quarterback Carson Camp went the distance, completing 19-of-32 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown. Jaylon Domingeaux (5-61) and Brandon Hayes (5-39) led the receiving corps, while Deantre Jackson scored his team-high 10th touchdown of the season on a screen pass and finished with a team-best 79 total yards (53 receiving, 26 rushing).
RV UTRGV 28, McNeese 21
The RV UTRGV Vaqueros earned their first-ever conference road win—and second road win of the season—defeating McNeese 28-13 on Saturday at Navarre Stadium.
Of the 11 football programs launched from scratch at the DI-AA/FCS level since 1978, UTRGV is now just the second brand-new program to win multiple road games, joining Coastal Carolina (2003). This also marks UTRGV’s fifth win over FCS competition, tying the record set by FIU in 2002 for most FCS wins by a first-year program.
Sharyland Pioneer alum Eddie Lee Marburger led the Vaqueros (8-3, 4-3 SLC) by going 17-for-29 for 257 yards and four touchdowns, adding seven carries for 51 yards. Freshman Tony Diaz posted his fourth 100-yard game with seven catches for 134 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. On defense, graduate student Spencer Rich tallied a career-high 16 tackles (nine solo).
Nicholls 26, Northwestern State 21
Redshirt freshman
Shane Lee powered the Nicholls offense with a career-high 134 yards and three touchdowns, but it was the senior duo on defense that sealed the victory as Nicholls defeated rival Northwestern State 26-21 on Senior Day at Manning Field.
After Lee’s final touchdown gave Nicholls (4-7, 4-3 SLC) the lead with seven minutes remaining, Northwestern State drove just outside the red zone. Facing 4th-and-12 from the 24 with under a minute left, senior Ty Marsh broke up the pass in the end zone and classmate Laurence Sullivan Jr. grabbed the interception to clinch it.
Nicholls finished its home slate a perfect 4-0 in league play and retained the N-S-U Rivalry Trophy for the second straight year, beating the Demons for the eighth time in nine meetings. Northwestern State (1-10, 0-7 SLC) fell short of its first league win since 2022.
Lee needed just 14 carries for his second 100-yard game of the season.
East Texas A&M 37, HCU 32
Playing its final home game of the season, East Texas A&M picked up a 37-32 win over Houston Christian on Saturday evening at Ernest Hawkins Field, closing Senior Day with a strong performance.
The win prevented the Lions’ first winless home season since 2003. East Texas A&M improved to 3-8 overall and 3-4 in Southland play, matching last year’s overall win total with one game remaining.
Quarterback Eric Rodriguez went 21-for-31 for 233 yards and four touchdowns, with Christian Jourdain leading all Lion receivers with 69 yards on four catches. Devin Matthews added 65 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions.
Defensively, Kyree Anderson paced the Lions with 12 tackles (one for loss), while Cinque Williams forced a fumble that Gilbert returned 36 yards.