Stephen F. Austin

Sept. 7, 2003

PLANO, Texas - After stellar games versus NCAA Division I-A opponents, one a win and one a loss in overtime, Brent Hafford and Vernon Holman of Stephen F. Austin and Davon Vinson of Northwestern State have been voted Southland Conference football players of the week. SFA upended Louisiana-Monroe, 23-21, on the road while Northwestern dropped a 27-24 decision in overtime at Tulane. The win over ULM is the fourth consecutive for a Southland Conference team over the Indians. Following is a look at their performances. Southland Conference Players of the Week

Offense
Davon Vinson, Northwestern State, So., QB, Kilgore, Texas
Vinson threw for 264 yards and one touchdown on 19-of-34 aim without an interception while guiding the Northwestern State offense to 490 total yards in a 27-24 overtime defeat at Tulane. He ran for another touchdown and 26 yards on 10 carries, and also threw a two-point conversion pass.

Defense
Brent Hafford, Stephen F. Austin, Sr., S, 6-0, 185, Jasper, Texas
Hafford picked up where he left off last season as he led the Lumberjacks with 14 total tackles against Louisiana-Monroe in SFA's 23-21 win. Hafford also added an interception and a tackle for a loss.

Special Teams
Vernon Holman, Stephen F. Austin, Sr., DT, 6-3, 265, San Augustine, Texas
Holman blocked two field goal attempts on the night as the 'Jacks won, 23-21, over UL-Monroe. Holman blocked a 50-yard attempt midway through the second quarter to keep SFA ahead 16-0. He added another block on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 36-yard attempt by the Indians. At that time, ULM had cut the SFA lead to 16-14 and the field goal would have given the Indians the lead. SFA also added a blocked punt for a safety early in the game.

HONOR ROLL
OFFENSE
Rudy August, NICH, Sr., RB, 5-11, 205, Belle Rose, La.
August rushed 12 times for 78 yards in Nicholls' 27-17 loss at Division I-A South Florida.

Barrick Nealy, TXST, So., QB, Dallas, Texas
Nealy had another record breaking night by throwing for a school record 398 yards (363 - old record of Ron Rittimann) in Texas State's 42-7 win over Angelo State.  Nealy had 29 completions on 44 attempts with the completions being another school record.  His 66 percent completion mark also led to four touchdown passes.

Travis Tobaben, SHSU, QB, Jr., Red Oak, Texas
Tobaben completed 12-of-21 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns to lead Sam Houston State to a 30-9 season opening victory over Midwestern State. He rolled up the yardage in just two-and-a-half quarters as freshman quarterbacks took over in second and fourth quarters.

Tony Tompkins, SFA, So., WR, 5-8, 165, Pt. Arthur, Texas
Tompkins scored on the first play from scrimmage in 2003 for the Lumberjacks as he took a lateral from Zeke Dixon and went 81-yards for the touchdown. The run is the longest in Malone Stadium history. Tompkins finished the night with six carries for 94 yards and a touchdown and also added one reception for 27 yards.