Aug. 15, 2001

Defense was the story of the night, as the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks went through their first scrimmage of the fall Wednesday night. The defensive unit limited the potent Lumberjack ground game to only 31 yards on 22 carries in the 46-play scrimmage.

Gary Allen led the Lumberjacks on the ground with three carries for 14 yards, while fullback Will Bowers added three carries for 13 yards to pace the offensive attack.

Four SFA quarterbacks combined to complete 14 of 24 passes for 170 yards and one touchdown. Michael Williams, a redshirt freshman from Houston, hit true freshman Michael David for a 58-yard scoring strike late in the scrimmage for the only touchdown of the 46-play scrimmage. Senior Wes Pate was five of nine on the night for 39 yards, while junior Matt Williford was two of three for 16 yards. Freshman Zeke Dixon also was two for three on the night for a total of 14 yards.

Michael Williams was the most productive of the group as he connected on five of nine attempts for a total of 101 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The defensive unit kept the ground game bottled up most of the night and continually pressured the quarterback. Mike Kroese, a senior from Allen, came up with the one interception on the night for the defense.

The `Jacks return to two-a-day workouts Thursday and Friday before a second scrimmage Saturday night at Homer Bryce Stadium. The scrimmage Saturday night is set to begin at 7:00 p.m., admission is free.

SFA opens the season September 1, when they play host to Portland State at 7:00 p.m.