Cowboys fall to SFA

LAKE CHARLES – Two first half special teams miscues and a late fourth quarter interception by McNeese led to 21 Stephen F. Austin points proved to be the culprit in the Lumberjacks beating the 13th-ranked Cowboys 31-28 in the Southland Conference opener for both teams in a game that lasted nearly four hours.

It’s the first league loss by McNeese since the 2014 finale against Lamar. SFA’s win makes it four years straight the visiting team has won in the series.

In a game that featured a high output of offense – McNeese (1-2, 0-1) with 486 total yards to SFA’s 410 – the Lumberjacks (2-1, 1-0) were able to stall the Cowboys’ offense in their final four fourth quarter possessions after taking a 28-24 lead on a 10-yard James Tabary pass to Darius Crawley four second into the final period.

“We let that one get away from us,” said head coach Lance Guidry. “We beat ourselves tonight. It was a total team effort. You win as a team and you lose as a team.”

Tabary completed 22 of 49 passes for 348 yards, four touchdowns and an interception, that coming at a critical time late in the fourth quarter that set up the game-winning touchdown drive for the Lumberjacks. It was Tabary’s first interception thrown on the season.

Crawley hauled in six passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns while Kent Shelby added five catches for 94 yards and two scores.

SFA quarterback Zach Conque completed 14 of 38 passes for 262 yards and two TDs and ran for another 63 yards on seven carries, including a 36-yard touchdown score.

In the end, it wasn’t Conque that put the ‘Jacks on top. Instead it was backup quarterback Hunter Taylor whose 4-yard fade to Tamrick Pace with 3:35 to play put SFA up for good.

McNeese was able to drive to the Lumberjack side of the field on its next possession after a nice sideline grab by Shelby for a 26-yard gain to put the ball at the 47, but an incompletion followed by a loss of a yard rushing and two more incomplete passes turned the ball back over to SFA on downs.

“That was a good call by them,” said Guidry about subbing in Taylor for Conque on that final scoring drive. “We faced him last year when Conque was injured. He’s a good player.”

SFA got on the board first on Conque’s 36-yard TD run with 12:11 to play in the first quarter. But that never would’ve happened had McNeese been whistled for a roughing the punter. SFA added a 40-yard field goal by Storm Ruiz to make it 10-0 with 7:44 to play in the first.

McNeese stormed back with a 60-yard touchdown strike by Tabary to Crawley to put the Cowboys on the board and cut the margin to 10-7 with 5:11 to play. That scoring play was set up by a couple of first down run by Dylan Long on a third-and-short to keep the drive alive.

Another special teams’ miscue occurred in the second quarter when Crawley muffed Caleb Lewallen’s punt at the McNeese 31 and was recovered by the ‘Jacks. Three plays later Conque found Trae Hart on a slant as he split the McNeese defense en route to a 30-yard touchdown score to make it 17-7 with 13:28 to play in the half.

Eight minutes later Tabary found Shelby for a 44-yard strike to cut the margin to 17-14 and a 36-yard field goal by Trent Manuel was missed wide right with 15 seconds to play in the half.

McNeese took its first lead of the night midway through the third quarter when Tabary connected with Shelby for the second time on the night, this time from five yards out to give the Cowboys a 21-17 lead with 7:25 to play.

SFA didn’t take long to answer though when on the third play on its next possession, Conque found De’Quan Ruffin on the sideline for a 58-yard score to make it 24-21 with 6:17 to play in the quarter.

Both teams came up empty on their next two possessions. McNeese was set up with good field position at its own 48-yard line after a SFA punt and seven plays later, Tabary found Crawley in the endzone for the second time on the night, this time from 10 yards out to put McNeese up 28-24 just four seconds into the fourth quarter.

The two teams went back and forth with defensive stands until the Cowboys seemed to have broken that trend midway through the fourth quarter when Tabary hit Kylon Highshaw for an 11-yard gain to set up a first down at its own 43-yard line. But the drive took a turn for the worse when Tabary’s third down pass was intercepted by Alize Ward at the SFA 47 and returned to the McNeese 42.

Taylor came in off the bench at the QB spot for the Lumberjacks the next series and completed his final three passes of the series, the last a 4-yard touchdown toss to Pace for the game winner.

WORTH NOTING:
• Tabary’s 348 yards passing was the third straight 200-yard or more game to start the season, tying a school record set by Blake Prejean in 1999.
• Prejean was in attendance for the game.
• 60-yard touchdown pass by Tabary to Crawley was the longest scoring play of the season.
• Six former greats were inducted into the McNeese Athletics Hall of Fame at halftime of the game – football’s Keith Ortego, BJ Sams, Vincent Landrum and Richard Vidrine; baseball’s Chip Stratton; and men’s basketball’s Dean Glenn.