ABILENE - No. 16 Abilene Christian football began its home slate on a high note with a 28-20 win over No. 25 Stephen F. Austin at Anthony Field at Wildcat Stadium on Saturday night. The Wildcats earned their fourth victory in their last five matchups versus FCS Top 25 opponents.
ACU's defense led the way to the victory, forcing three turnovers and turning them into 14 points. It marked the Wildcat defense's first game with three turnovers since a 34-20 win over Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 19, 2024. ACU last had two fumble recoveries in a 55-30 win at Utah Tech on Sept. 28, 2024.
Redshirt junior linebacker Rashon Myles Jr. had a hand in 12 tackles with an interception, while redshirt senior defensive tackle
Kortlin Rausaw recorded 1.5 sacks with one of two key forced fumbles in the second quarter.
Redshirt sophomore outside linebacker
Isaiah Crawford was responsible for the Wildcats' other forced fumble to go with a sack. Graduate defensive end
Kaghen Roach and redshirt senior safety
Jordan Mukes each collected seven tackles with a tackle for loss. Roach scored ACU's second touchdown of the game with a fumble recovery in the end zone in the second quarter.
Redshirt senior running back
Jordon Vaughn powered ACU's offense with a pair of touchdowns and 87 yards on 23 carries, while redshirt senior quarterback
Stone Earle rumbled for a score of his own with 40 yards. Earle completed 23 of 34 passes for 239 yards.
Redshirt senior wide receiver
Javon Gipson reeled in seven passes for 82 yards, while redshirt senior WR JJ Henry caught each of his five targets for 48 yards. Redshirt senior tight end
Jed Castles had three grabs for 53 yards.
Following a three-and-out on the Wildcats' opening drive, the Lumberjacks struck first with a methodical drive downfield on their first possession of the game. SFA ate up 61 yards with 10 plays, finishing off the drive with Jordan Nabors' seven-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat formation.
The Lumberjacks bolstered their lead with a touchdown on their following possession, set up by a 47-yard connection from Sam Vidlak to Kylon Harris. Facing third-and-goal from the three-yard line, SFA's Blaine Green reeled in a pass in the corner of the end zone for the score.
ACU got on the board with 6:47 to go in the second quarter as Earle barreled into the end zone from a yard out. Redshirt junior TE Bryan "Itty" Henry provided the key block to pave a path for Earle. It closed out a 16-play drive that saw the Wildcats march 82 yards downfield. Earle hit Henry and Gipson on passes of 15 and 21 yards, respectively.
ACU wasted little time evening the score at 14, as an SFA quarterback fumble on the ensuing drive resulted in a Wildcat touchdown. On the third play of the possession, Rausaw tackled an unsuspecting Vidlak from his blindside at the ACU two-yard line, knocking the ball loose into the end zone, where Roach pounced on it for the score.
The Wildcats capitalized on their newfound momentum as both the defense and offense continued to make plays before the break. ACU delivered its second strip sack of the game on SFA's next drive, forced by Crawford and recovered by redshirt senior OLB
Chris Wright at the Lumberjacks' 33.
Vaughn supplied much of the Wildcats' offense following the turnover, as a 28-yard rush set ACU up at the four-yard line. Three plays later, he punched it in from a yard out to push the Wildcats ahead, 21-14 at halftime.
ACU came out of the locker room just as hot as it entered it. It allowed just three yards on SFA's opening drive before the Wildcats' offense used nine plays to pick up 63 yards. Vaughn capped the possession with his second one-yard touchdown plunge of the game. His score was staged by a pair of third-down conversions, including an 18-yard reception by Gipson.
With a two-touchdown cushion, ACU's defense held SFA at bay for the remainder of the contest, save for a 52-yard punt return for a touchdown by Bugs Mortimer with 20 seconds remaining.
ACU wraps up its nonconference schedule on Sept. 13 against TCU. The Wildcats have met the Horned Frogs just twice before, in 1925 and 1930. Kickoff under the lights at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas is set for 7 p.m.
