Cardinals still stuck against Lumberjacks

Published 11:06 pm Saturday, October 28, 2017

Lamar sports information

BEAUMONT — Lamar could muster only seven points and 225 yards of total offense falling to Stephen F. Austin, 34-7, Saturday evening at Provost Umphrey Stadium. The loss extends LU’s (1-7, 1-6 Southland) skid to six consecutive games following their victory against UT Permian Basin in the home opener.

While LU struggled to move the football in its first home game in a month, the Lumberjacks finished the night with 571 yards, including 250 on the ground. Saturday’s contest will be remember more for missed opportunities as Big Red forced five turnovers, including two interceptions, but came away with just the one score from SFA’s mistakes. The Lumberjacks finished the night with more than an 11-minute advantage in time of possession.

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“Obviously, we’re disappointed,” said LU head coach Mike Schultz. “But give credit to SFA, they played a very good football game. That was as good a defensive performance as we’ve had all year. We played the run as well as I’ve seen all season. We didn’t play well on offense, no doubt about it. We didn’t capitalize on our chances and we didn’t make enough first downs. Our defense just got worn down.”

SFA got the first points on the board nearly 9 minutes into the first quarter, when Jake Blumrick hit Will Taylor from 14 yards out for the score. The 7-0 lead held for five minutes until senior Andrew Allen guided the Cardinals back down the field for an equalizing score. LU capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive with Allen catching a pass from freshman Kirkland Banks from six yards out. The scoring drive took 3:59 off the clock.

Despite the eventual final score, the Cardinals had their chances early in the contest to take the lead. Trailing by just three points, 10-7, Blumrick was picked off by Caleb Abrom at the SFA 49, but the Cardinals were turned away forced to punt the ball just five plays later.

Still trailing by just three points, the Red and White came up with another turnover as junior Chaston Brooks recovered an SFA fumble on the LU 45 yard line and returned it 11 yards. The Cardinals went for it all on the very next play as Allen found junior Dorian Gaston open down the far sideline only to have the ball slip through Gaston’s fingers incomplete. The Cardinals again came away empty handed on the drive.

LU’s inability to score on the drive swung momentum back in favor of the Lumberjacks, as the SFA closed the half with a six-play, 63-yard drive that ended with a 19-yard TD pass from Blumrick to Tamrick Pace with just 14 seconds remaining. SFA took a 10-point advantage, 17-7, into the locker room.

The score remained 17-7 until midway through the third quarter when the Lumberjacks tacked on another touchdown. It was the third consecutive score as the Lumberjacks closed the game on a 27-0 run. SFA recorded the game’s final score with a touchdown from Kijana Amous with 11:37 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Senior quarterback Andrew Allen completed 9-of-19 passes for 188 yards. He also carried the ball 17 times for 26 yards. Junior Isaiah Howard hauled in three passes for a career-high 90 yards on the night.

Defensively, the Cardinals were led by two players with double-figure tackles – Jaylon Bowden and Chaston Brooks. Bowden recorded a game-high 13 stops, while Brooks had 12 tackles and also forced and recovered a fumble.

In addition to Abrom’s interception, junior Nate Jones picked off his team-high fourth pass of the season, and his third in the past two weeks. Sophomore James Jeffery also forced a fumble to go along with five tackles on the night.

The Cardinals will be back in action Saturday, Nov. 4, when it hosts nationally ranked and league-leading Central Arkansas. The game against the Bears will kick at 6 p.m. from Provost Umphrey Stadium. It can be heard live on Newstalk 560 KLVI, and seen live on ESPN3.

About I.C. Murrell

I.C. Murrell was promoted to editor of The News, effective Oct. 14, 2019. He previously served as sports editor since August 2015 and has won or shared eight first-place awards from state newspaper associations and corporations. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, grew up mostly in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and graduated from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

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