Steven Hagler's FG block 2004
9/20/2011 4:40:00 AM | Football
Editor's note: The 86th "Battle of the Piney Woods" shoot-out presented by YP.com matching Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin returns to Reliant Stadium on Saturday, October 8, 2011.
GoBearkats.Com presents a series on the 10 biggest plays from the rivalry which the Bearkats lead 48 victories to 36.
Bearkats vs. SFA "Battle of the Piney Woods" Big Play #3
Steven Hagler's field goal block
October 30, 2004 - Sam Houston 31, Stephen F. Austin 28
None of the "Battle of the Piney Woods" meetings had more at stake than on Oct. 30, 2004, when the No. 7 ranked Bearkats traveled to Nacogdoches to meet the No. 12 rated Lumberjacks.
That Saturday afternoon was filled with plenty of big plays. But the 79th meeting between the two teams came down to Stephen Hagler's block of a Lumberjacks field goal attempt with 17 seconds remaining that allowed the Bearkats to win 31-28 before a homecoming crowd of 13,753.
It was perhaps fitting the decisive play unfolded as it did since SFA kicked a field goal to win 34-31 the previous year in Huntsville, ending a three-year victory streak in the series by SHSU.
What was not so fitting Saturday was a brawl between the two teams that occurred just after Bearkats quarterback Dustin Long touched a knee to the turf as the final seconds ticked away. Tempers flared, and helmets and fists flew for several minutes, reminiscent of two years ago when Sam Houston State won here 10-7.
"We were wrong," said Bearkats receiver Jason Mathenia, who caught six passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. "We were in the wrong. We were celebrating too much."
Sam Houston State (7-1) stayed atop the Southland with a 2-0 mark; Stephen F. Austin (5-3) fell to 0-2.
Long had a big day, completing 20 of 36 passes for 361 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted twice.
Lumberjacks quarterback Michael Williams was no less productive. Playing with a sore groin, Williams was 27-of-52 for 309 yards and three touchdowns but was intercepted three times. He also ran 19 times for 43 yards.
The final 30 minutes were in contrast to the first 30, during which Long and Williams each threw a pair of touchdown passes as the Bearkats took a 17-14 halftime lead. In the second half alone, the two teams exchanged leads four times.
Joe Kutac's recovery of teammate Ron Middleton's fumble in the Sam Houston end zone gave the Lumberjacks their first lead of the afternoon, 21-17, at 5:20 of the third quarter.
A little more than three minutes later, Long connected with Mathenia on a 35-yard touchdown pass that put the Bearkats back on top 24-21.
The Lumberjacks then proved again that no lead was safe when Williams threw a 14-yard scoring toss to tight end Matt Bodley as SFA bolted back in front 28-24.
The Bearkats' Robert Garmon then brought the ensuing kickoff back 42 yards to midfield. A halfback pass from Brad Baca to Long helped set up a 19-yard TD pass from Long to Bernard Campbell that put Sam Houston State back in command 31-28.
But nothing was settled until the Bearkats' Steven Hagler broke through to block a potential game-tying 40-yard field-goal attempt by Ryan Rossner with 17 seconds to play.
"Both teams are good teams," Sam Houston State coach Ron Randleman said. "It's maybe too intense a rivalry sometimes. It's just so much feeling, and it was such an important ballgame."
Sam Houston swept the Southland Conference Player-of-the-Week awards after the SFA victory. Mathenia won the offensive honor, Paul Donelson was named defensive "Player of the Week" and Hagler was the winner of the special teams honor.
The victory was part of a seven-game winning streak as Sam Houston powered its way to the 2004 Southland Conference championship and an NCAA Division I playoff berth. The Bearkats ended 2004 with an 11-3 record, their best ever at the Division I FCS level. Sam Houston earned their highest NCAA final national ranking ever (No. 4) and reached the semi-finals of the playoffs.
The latest chapter in the Kats-Jacks football rivalry continues Saturday, Oct. 8 when Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin meet at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
Tickets for the 86th "Battle of the Piney Woods" presented by YP.com may be purchased now online at www.gobearkats.com/tickets . Fans also may order their tickets through the Sam Houston athletic ticket office located in the Ron Mafrige Field House in the south end zone at Bowers Stadium or by calling ticket office at (936) 294-1729.
And be sure to follow the countdown of the 10 biggest plays in "Battle of the Piney Woods" history each week leading up to this year's rivalry showdown on www.gobearkats.com .
