Box Score NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS – The Lions failed to capitalize on the momentum from last weekend's record-breaking game against ETBU, dropping their first road game of the season 38-17 to NCAA Division I FCS opponent Stephen F. Austin Saturday night at Home Bryce Stadium.
 
Senior quarterback Tyrik Rollison (27-49, 292 yards, one Int) never managed to find a comfortable rhythm as the SFA defense applied constant pressure, sacking Rollison five times and keeping the Lions signal caller scrambling.
 
Senior running back Joe Bergeron, who finished with 165 all-purpose yards on 16 touches, found some success with a few productive touches, his longest gain of the night coming on 22-yard pitch and catch from Rollison.
 
"We need to learn how to finish," Bergeron said.  "It does not matter how many yards we get if we do not get in the end zone.  We will go back and look at the film to see the stuff we missed -- the missed blocks, missed assignments and missed holes."
 
Defensively, A&M-Commerce had several bright spots despite surrendering 38 points. Junior linebacker Charles Woods was involved in 16 tackles and accounted for two Jack turnovers, one fumble recovery, one interception, while redshirt sophomore defensive back Steven Baker got in on seven tackles and forced a fumble. Additionally, defensive backs Izzy Eziakor and Demarlon Morris each had an interception of their own.
 
SFA opened the scoring with a four-play 75-yard scoring driving.  A&M-Commerce followed with a career-long 41-yard field goal off the leg of Chase Thrasher following an eight-play 47-yard drive.  The Jacks answered taking a 14-3 lead with 6:28 left in the first quarter on a Jayso Clements 10-yard touchdown reception from Zach Conque.
 
Neither team scored for the next 16 minutes until the Jacks pushed their lead out to 21-3 when Conque connected with DJ Ward for a 60-yard TD pass.  SFA tacked on a Jordan Wiggs 23-yard field goal before the half giving the Jacks a 24-3 lead. The two teams accounted for five turnovers through the first 30 minutes of play with the Lions turning the ball over twice, one fumble and one interception, and the Jacks handing the ball over three times, two INTs and one fumble.  The Lions also ended two drives on downs in the first half.  A&M-Commerce had its chances to cut into the SFA lead, but could not capitalize on the opportunities.
 
"We were really inconsistent tonight," head coach Colby Carthel said.  "That was our second game and their third game, and we did not improve too much from game one.  We left a lot of plays on the field but the credit goes to them. They are a good opponent and were tough to move around with some great athletes.  We could have performed a lot better than we did, so we are disappointed in the outcome."
 
SFA increased its lead and took control of the game with 14 points, a 24-yard TD pass from Conque to Tyler Boyd and a 20-yard run by Gus Johnson.  Conque finished with 293 passing yards connecting on 24 of his 38 pass attempts, while Johnson churned out 138 yards and two TDs on 13 carries.
 
The Lion offense was only able to generate two touchdowns in the second half during short-yardage situations thanks to backup quarterback Deric Davis. In the third quarter, Davis ran it down the middle for a two-yard score, and in the fourth, Davis executed a three-yard pass to a wide-open Jordan Jenkins for an easy touchdown marking the game's final score.
 
The Jacks accounted for 648 total yards, 198 yards on the ground and 450 through the air, compared to the Lions 327 yards of total offense, 32 rushing yards and 295 passing yards.  SFA picked up seven of its 15 third down conversions compared to a 3-for-16 mark for the A&M-Commerce. The Jacks also control time of possession eating up almost 35 minutes of game clock with the ball, while the Lions held possession for just over 25 minutes.
 
"I am interested to see how this team will bounced back from losing a game, and how we will handle ourselves next Saturday," Bergeron said.
 
The Lions will try to regroup in time for next Saturday's game against Texas A&M University-Kingsville at AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, September 20 at 10 a.m.