NACOGDOCHES, Texas — Sam Vidlak threw five touchdown passes in the first quarter, 10 players scored for Stephen F. Austin and the Lumberjacks routed NAIA foe North American University 77-0 in their season opener on Thursday night.
North American University is in Stafford, outside of Houston.
SFA gained 371 yards in the first quarter and Vidlak was 7-for-7 passing for 264 yards. His five touchdowns went to Kylon Harris for 53 yards, Rohan Fluellen for 47 yards, Jordan Nabors for 61 yards, Chris Taylor for 15 yards and Blaine Green for 50 yards.
The Lumberjacks scored five times on their first 11 plays and led 42-0 after one quarter. Vidlak, who formerly played at Boise State and Montana, finished 8-for-8 passing for 288 yards.
The Lumberjacks involved their running game more in the second quarter and still scored four touchdowns to lead 70-0 at halftime. They led in total offense 565 yards to 33 and 25-3 in first downs.
The second half was reduced to two 5-minute quarters.
Three SFA quarterbacks combined to go 14-for-15 for 383 yards with seven touchdowns.
Qualan Jones had 121 yards rushing and Jaylen Jenkins scored twice on the ground.
Dalton McElyea's 17-yard pass to Dax Bridges midway through the shortened fourth quarter was the only score of the second half. McElyea was 2-for-2 passing with two touchdowns.
The Lumberjacks finished with advantages of 675-40 in total yards and 32-3 in first downs.
The start of the game was delayed by more than an hour due to lightning in the area.
This isn't the first time SFA has won by an eye-popping score. Back in 2022, the Lumberjacks topped Warner, 98-0.
About North American University
North American University is in Stafford and plays their home games at Stafford High School. NAU's head coach and athletic director Kenneth Apanda said the football program started in 2019. Their first season of action was in 2020 with six games and then one in the fall.
The school, which is NAIA and has an enrollment of around 1,000 students, also has cross-country, soccer, track and basketball.
According to Apande, the school used to be in the Greenspoint area but moved to Stafford in 2015.
