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    'Jacks Head to San Marcos for Southland Conference Showdown
    SFA faces Texas State Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
    Freshman Jeremy Moses
    Freshman Jeremy Moses

    Oct. 18, 2007

    NACOGDOCHES - The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack football team (0-6/0-2 SLC) will try and put a disappointing 17-16 setback against No. 14 Nicholls State behind them as it travels to San Marcos to take on Texas State. The Bobcats enter the game 1-5 on the season and 0-2 in conference play. The Bobcats have dropped five consecutive games, after defeating No. 15 Cal Poly in its season opener. The game, which was originally scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., has been moved to 3:30 to accomodate Fox Sports Southwest. It will mark the second time this season SFA has been televised (Sept. 8 at North Dakota State, FSN North).

    Saturday's game against Texas State will mark the 82nd meeting in the series. The Lumberjacks trail the all-time series 29-51-1 (.364), but the Lumberjacks have closed the gap a little over the past six seasons. SFA has won four of the last six meetings between the two schools, and is 6-4 (.600) in last 10 contest. SFA has struggled against the Bobcats in San Marcos, owning a 6-15 (.286) record away from Nacogdoches since the 1966 season.

    The Lumberjacks fell behind 10-0 in the first half, but rallied to outscore Texas State, 24-3, in the second half for the win. Despite surrendering 420 yards of total offense, SFA didn't allow Texas State to break the goal line in the second half. SFA recorded 292 of its 367 yards of total offense in the second half. Southall completed 13-of-24 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown, while carrying the ball seven times for 90 yards and a score. Louie Runnels toted the ball 15 times for 84 yards, and led the team with three catches for 63 yards in the victory.

    Saturday's game will pit a Texas State starting offensive line that averages 6-5, 294 pounds, against a young Lumberjack starting defensive line that averages 6-2, 256 pounds. The Lumberjacks' offensive line enters the game averaging 6-4, 298 pounds. The Bobcats' defensive line averages 6-1, 279 pounds.

    The Lumberjacks enter the seventh game of the 2007 season with an overwhelmingly young team. The 'Jacks boast 29 (63 percent) freshmen or sophomores on their depth chart, including 11 (46 percent) on offense and 18 (82 percent) on defense.

    J.C. Harper became the 18th head coach of the SFA Lumberjack football team in December, 2006. Harper spent the past two seasons as the 'Jacks' defensive coordinator, turning the SFA defense into one of the top units in the conference. He is currently 0-6 in his first season as head coach. Texas State head coach Brad Wright is in his fourth season with the Bobcats, but his first as the head coach. After serving as the assistant head coach and special teams coordinator under David Bailiff, Wright was named the program's 15th head coach this past spring. He is currently 1-5 (.167) in his first season.