Sophomore quarterback Jake Blumrick had to collect himself before stepping onto the stage inside the field house at Homer Bryce Stadium. He was in visible pain, looking battered and broken from the neck down. From the neck up? Blumrick was beaming.
On homecoming in Nacogdoches, Jake notched his first win as a Division I quarterback as Stephen F. Austin (3-5, 3-3) rolled over Houston Baptist by a 27-10 score.
The Lumberjacks started slow on both sides of the ball. The Huskies of HBU drove right down the field for an easy score while Blumrick's unit anchored a three-and-out with a sack-fumble that nearly gave the ball away right off the bat. By the end of the contest, aided in part by HBU's inept rotation of quarterbacks and worn down linebackers, both Jeff Byrd's defense and Gary Crowton's offense were rolling. It was enough for the most complete game of the season for SFA and a bit of late October momentum.
After falling in three-straight weeks, each time to top 25 teams, the feeling of victory was welcomed and relieving for the home team. Now headed into a stretch against Lamar, Nicholls and Northwestern State to end the season, SFA is suddenly in a position to (maybe) make a miniature run.
Here are some things we learned:
The rotation of running backs will make or break this team going forward -
After more than a month of absence with two fractures in his hand, redshirt freshman Josh McGowen returned to the fray on Saturday. Arkansas transfer Juan Day scored his first as a Lumberjack and was effective in relief of Kijana Amous and (in the second half) Jamall Shaw.
Here's the thing, though: the running room wasn't there at the beginning of the game. Dealing a pair of stud linebackers, SFA made a conscious effort to stretch the field laterally with swing passes, screens, and counter runs. As the contest progressed, the middle began to open up. It was a good strategy against a solid defensive team and it might be something we need to get used to seeing more of.
People who are longing to see a down-the-field passing attack need to realize that right now it just isn't in Blumrick's arsenal - not with the offensive line struggling the way they have for much of the season. There will be times when SFA takes a shot with Tamrick Pace or one of the other large bodied receivers, but personnel limitations require the Lumberjacks to focus instead on what will best open up their rushing and short passing attack.
If that's play action passing, so be it - some weeks it probably will be. But generally speaking, with a young quarterback still trying to find his way, the rushing attack needs to be the center of everything else they do. When the running backs aren't moving the ball (See: Woods, Battle of the Piney), SFA's offense is going to look worse than HBU's did yesterday.
And when they are, like on this homecoming afternoon, Blumrick's unit can quietly hog the ball and methodically pull away. It's the blueprint to winning games with a young quarterback - and it requires Amous and his backfield crew to become the stars of this team every week.
So what if it wasn't pretty? SFA did not have a bad day offensively -
The turnovers were a bit discouraging, sure. Blumrick's telegraphed throw over the middle that resulted in an interception, the muffed punt by Cody Williams, the fumble by Will Taylor - those could have been huge against a better team. A third fumble, Blumrick's on the first drive, also could have taken a different bounce on any other day.
But for whatever sloppy play there was at times, however long it took SFA to find any sort of offensive groove, by the end of the contest it was a pretty good night for Gary Crowton.
In fact, the 'Jacks racked up 483 yards of offense on the afternoon. Only Southeastern Louisiana with their triple option offense has gained more on the Huskies' defense in a contest (503) with an HBU schedule that has included bouts with Central Arkansas, McNeese and Texas State (FBS).
Combined with the all out dominant performance (albeit against an ineffective HBU trio of quarterbacks) by the defense, it was by far the most complete game of the season for SFA.
So, was it fun to watch? That's a matter of opinion. Was it effective? Definitely.
SFA's defensive line is quietly one of the best in the conference -
They don't always collect a bunch of eye-popping stats and they're part of a unit that has struggled against in the run during certain games. Still, the always rotating three-man front that Jeff Byrd employs in his new-look defense are, without a doubt, one of the strongest position groups on this team and one of the best at their position in the league.
In the past three games, against Sam Houston State, Central Arkansas, and this weekend against Houston Baptist, SFA has (mostly) won the battle in the trenches defensively. If you want to know why the 'Jacks defense has been so much better in recent weeks, that's it right there. The incredible luxury of being able to rush three and drop eight and still get pressure on the quarterback is a defensive coordinator's dream.
It has been the base template for this defense all season but they're getting better and better at executing it. John Franklin is the headliner of the group but there are multiple contributors, many of them young players, who could anchor this defense for years to come.
The Lumberjacks still need a "good win" to validate their progress -
The convincing win over HBU was big for SFA after falling in the three prior weeks. Obviously, against an opponent they were supposed to beat, it was one they had to have. In the big picture, though, SFA still hasn't picked up what many would consider a quality victory.
The Abilene Christian win, the closest to that status, diminishes a bit each week as ACU has started to fold. Other victories over Incarnate Word and Houston Baptist are against opponents with a single combined win in conference play. I guess it's something about the private religious schools that seem to be a winning formula for SFA in 2017.
If the 'Jacks are to be taken seriously and the near misses of the last couple weeks to garnish more respect, a win over a team in the top half of the league is required. Clint Conque's squad faces another bottom-dweller this weekend with a Lamar team that is winless in conference play but things get interesting a couple weeks later.
The final opportunity to collect that biggest win of the season will come when a resurgent Nicholls team comes to Homer Bryce Stadium on November 11th. It will probably be the game that determines how we remember the 2017 season.
In the meantime, after a tough scheduling stretch and three weeks of heartbreak, the mission this weekend was to take the first step in a bona fide winning streak.
In that regard, mission accomplished.
