“We had first game jitters, but once we settled down we played really well,” Head Coach Mike Sherman said, “Stephen F. Austin came in well-prepared. In the first half I think we kind of shot ourselves in the foot but our defense played extremely well.”
A sophomore on the other side of the ball opened the scoring gap further when cornerback SFA senior quarterback Jeremy Moses (19-37, 171 yards, TD-INT), then scampered untouched down the right side of the field for a 35-yard interception return, giving the Aggies a 17-0 lead with 7:45 to play in the first half.
The Aggie defense held the Stephen F. Austin offense to 266 total offensive yards, and forced two turnovers in the matchup.
“I think Stephen F. Austin is a good football team,” defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter said, “You’re not going to play perfect [on defense], but overall the effort was good. I thought we played physical and tackled well for most of the game. We forced the two turnovers, but I think we had a couple [more] opportunities.”
Moses and the Lumberjacks replied with a drive of their own, going 56 yards on 10 plays and ending in the end zone with a 21-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Cordell Robertson, cutting the lead to 17-7.
The final score of the half came off of the leg of senior kicker Randy Bullock, who made a 27-yard field goal from the left hash mark to give the Aggies a 20-7 lead with 59 seconds to play in the second quarter.
“The first half we kind of shot ourselves in the foot but our defense played extremely well,” Sherman said.
The Aggies began the second half with a time-eating drive, running 5:03 off the clock on the 15 play, 69 yard drive. Senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson (23-35, 278 yards, 3 total TDs) scored his first touchdown of the season with a one-yard run off a read option.
“I really wanted to get the running game going,” Sherman said, “We had some repeat runs that were hard and downhill.”
Randy Bullock’s kickoff went to Lumberjack Malcom Mattox, who returned it 10 yards before losing it. Sophomore defensive back Blaine Cheatham escaped the scrum with the football. Just seven plays later, Johnson had his first passing touchdown of the 2010 campaign, finding junior wide receiver Jeff Fuller for a seven-yard touchdown pass. Bullock’s extra point gave the Aggies a 34-7 lead with 6:52 left to play in the third quarter.
After a sack by freshman Demontre Moore quashed a fourth down attempt by the Lumberjacks, the Aggies struck quickly, needing only three plays and 43 seconds to go 50 yards. Michael was the catalyst for every yard, taking a shovel pass from Johnson for a 46 yard gain on the second play, and following it up with a four yard rush. Bullock’s extra point ended the scoring in the third frame, and gave A&M a 41-7 lead.
The final score came on yet another Johnson-Fuller connection, this time in the back-left corner of the end zone to give the Aggies a 48-7 lead following the extra point.
Senior LB Von Miller left the game with a sprained ankle, but should be fine to play next week according to Sherman.
“We didn’t use him very much at all to get him ready for next week,” Sherman said.