NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Houston Christian University put up a valiant effort before falling 37-6 to No. 2 ranked Stephen F. Austin State University at Homer Bryce Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies forced an SFA punt on the first possession of the afternoon, but after driving 42 yards were not successful on a 48-yard field goal. The Lumberjacks took over at their own thirty-yard line and proceeded to drive 70 yards in 12 plays, capped by a seven-yard touchdown burst up the middle by Jaylen Jenkins with 1:20 remaining in the opening quarter.
After trading possessions, HCU would get the ball in good field position at the SFA 48 after a short punt. The drive started with 14 yards on two carries by
Elijah Harris and then a 12-yard pickup from
Cutter Stewart to Jamaal Hall. A penalty aided the drive as HCU got down to the six-yard line, but had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by
Lukasz Smolen, cutting the deficit to 7-3 with 8:14 remaining in the half.
HCU then forced another SFA punt from midfield, taking over on their own nine with 5:30 on the clock. The drive stalled after netted just one first down and HCU's ensuing punt was brought back 35 yards by Bugs Mortimer to the HCU 35.
SFA went big on the first play from scrimmage as Gavin Rutherford hit Clayton Wayland for a 35-yard scoring strike, giving the host Jacks a 14-3 lead with just 2:24 to go before intermission.
The Jacks got the ball back quickly and went into hurry-up mode with 1:10 remaining. The Jacks moved the ball all the way to HCU's 33-yard line with five seconds left before converting a 51-yard field goal off the foot of A.J. Rosen as time expired, giving the hosts a 17-3 edge at the break.
HCU got the opening possession of the second half but a three-and-out led to a punt. Bugs Mortimer returned that kick for a touchdown just 26 seconds into the frame, giving SFA a 24-3 lead.
A 34-yard catch by Jamaal Hall got the Huskies into the red zone on their next possession. HCU would settle for a 43-yard field goal by
Lukasz Smolen, matching his season-best to cut the deficit to 24-6.
Wayland would grab his second touchdown of the day, a 46-yard strike from Rutherford with 5:14 in the third to push the SFA lead to 30-6. Makai Frisby added a 36-yard pick six on the next HCU possession nearing the end of the third quarter that put the game out of reach.
Jamaal Hall II had his second 100-yard receiving game of the season of the season on a career-best nine catches going for 112 yards.
Champ Dozier rushed six times for 32 yards and grabbed 35 yards worth of passes to go over 500 yards receiving for his career.
Cutter Stewart went 19-34 for 140 yards while
Elijah Harris rushed 13 times for 50 yards.
Jayven Anderson,
Rufus Toe and
Jeremiah Queen each had six tackles to lead HCU.
Clayton Wayland had six catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns to lead SFA (9-0 overall | 6-0 SLC). Jaylen Jenkins rushed for 36 yards and a touchdown while Gavin Rutherford passed for 185 yards and two scores. Malachi Wiliams and Eli Ellis led the nation's third-best scoring defense with seven and six tackles respectively. SFA, which came into the game second in the nation in sacks, had eight sacks by six different players.
HCU goes to 4-5 overall on the season and 3-3 in the Southland Conference. The Huskies will now play two of their final three regular season games at home, beginning with next Saturday's Homecoming mathcup against McNeese. Kick-off is scheduled for 4 pm from Dunham Field at Husky Stadium.
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