Box Score GAME STATISTICS

NATCHITOCHES – Stephen F. Austin embellished its No. 1 national ranking in sacks and tackles for loss Saturday, holding Northwestern State to 100 total yards and pulling away by scoring on its first four series after halftime for a 33-0 season-ending Southland Conference football win.
 
The Lumberjacks led just 7-0 at halftime but took command by scoring on its next four possessions, posting 17 third-quarter points while holding the Demons to a net of 6 yards in the period. The outcome gave SFA (6-5 overall, 5-2 in the Southland) its fifth straight win and kept the visiting Lumberjacks in possession of sports' largest trophy, “Chief Caddo,” a 7-foot-6, 320-pound wooden statue of a mythical Native American that pays homage to the shared heritage of the two universities.
 
The Demons (5-6, 3-4) lost their third straight while posting their lowest total offense in a Southland Conference game since joining the league in 1987. It was the first shutout in the 87-year-old rivalry since a 52-0 Northwestern win in 1991, and SFA's first shutout of the Demons since a 10-0 victory in 1963.
 
“They whipped us in all three phases, but my hat is off to my team,” said Demons' third-year coach Bradley Dale Peveto. “We fought as hard as we possibly could. We ran into a very good team playing its best.
 
“We finish a 5-6 football team, but there's a fine line between where we are and where we wanted to be,” he said. “We hit November on the brink of a great season and for various reasons, did not get the job done. We're making no excuses, we're not blaming injuries. You play with who you have in uniform, and our guys gave everything they had.”
 
With unbeaten Sam Houston State poised to move into the No. 1 ranking in FCS after last week's No. 1, Montana State, was drubbed Saturday, the Demons will have played against the No. 1 team in the three largest NCAA classifications. LSU whipped NSU 49-3 on Sept. 10, Sam Houston State beat the Demons 43-17 last week, and Delta State, which reached No. 1 in the Division II rankings, opened the season falling 24-23 to NSU.
 
SFA entered the game with FCS-best averages of 3.9 sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss per contest, and in its four wins before NSU, averaged 7.25 sacks. The Lumberjacks posted 8 sacks and 16 tackles for lost yards against the Demons, giving up a net of 6 rushing yards while throwing Demons' quarterback Brad Henderson for 58 lost yards.
 
A 42-yard touchdown strike between quarterback Brady Attaway and Cordell Roberson 11:35 before halftime broke a scoreless tie. SFA drove for touchdowns on its first two series after halftime, then added two short Jordan Wiggs field goals to clinch the outcome before a closing 10-yard pass from Dalton Williams to Ryan Gambel with 4:57 remaining. The Lumberjacks failed on a two-point conversion pass following their final touchdown.
 
Gus Johnson had the second SFA TD on a 2-yard run to cap a seven-play, 61-yard drive less than three minutes into the third quarter. Attaway tossed a 7-yard pass to Gralyn Crawford midway through the quarter for a 21-0 lead.
 
Northwestern didn't try a 52-yard field goal into a stiff wind after a 65-yard march midway through the first period. The Demons didn't finish another series in SFA territory.