WEEKEND PLANS

The University of North Dakota will wrap up its tour of the South and its early-season road schedule as it looks for win No. 2 against Stephen F. Austin. The Fighting Sioux and the Lumberjacks will kickoff at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Homer Bryce Stadium in Nacodoches, Texas.

This is the first meeting between the Fighting Sioux and the Lumberjacks in all sports. SFA will be the 134th different opponent for the Fighting Sioux.

UND has faced five different teams for the first time with Chris Mussman as head coach and are 2-3 in those games. The team is also 6-3 against non-conference foes.

Last Saturday, North Dakota picked up its first win of the season thanks to some hefty plays by both the defensive and special teams units. On two occasions, the defense stopped NWLA on fourth-and-one plays, including an opening-drive, four-play, goal line stand.

The special teams unit was credited with a pair of safeties, one thanks to a blocked punt by redshirt freshman Mitch Sutton (Plover, Wis.) and the other resulted from a botched snap by the Demons on their own two yard line. That play came after senior Brandon Hellevang (Fargo, N.D.) neatly placed a quick-kick inside the Demon five yard line.

To add to the defensive/special teams notables of the day, junior Ty Boyle (International Falls, Minn.) blocked his first career extra-point and junior Kris Ankenbauer (Murphy, Texas) recovered a pair of fumbles. Ankenbauer's first recovery stemmed from a hard hit compliments of senior Andrew Miller (Menomonie, Wis.) and the other from a failed Demon punt return attempt.

The Sioux move into game-three with an average of 84.5 yards on the ground and 153.3 in the air. They are 10-of-29 on third-down conversions and are 100 percent on fourth-down. Junior quarterback Jake Landry (Grand Forks, N.D.) has gone 32-48-1 (66.7 percent) over the last two games and is averaging 150 yards per game. His top targets thus far are sophomore Ismael Bamba (Montreal, Quebec) and redshirt freshman Mitch Sutton (Plover, Wis.). Last week, Bamba grabbed a career-high 98 yards on six catches, including a 55-yard touchdown reception. He is averaging 60.5 yards per game. Sutton has been a factor in both the ground and air attacks. He has recorded 106 yards (50.3ypg) rushing with two touchdowns and has 37 yards (6.2ypg) on the receiving end. At Northwestern, he not only rushed for a TD, but he also threw for one as he took a reverse pitch and found junior Ryan Dressler (Bismarck, N.D.) in the endzone.

The defense has held opponents to 163 yards rushing, but has given up over 700 in the air - although only five of those plays have resulted in a touchdown. They have stopped 53.3 percent (16-of-30) third-down conversions and have only allowed four fourth-down conversions. Junior Kris Ankenbauer (Murphy, Texas) tops UND with 15 tackles (12 solo) and two fumble recoveries. Junior Joel Schwenzfeier (Hallock, N.D.) is second on the list with 12 tackles (10 solo) and three interceptions. Sophomore Delano Saporu (Blaine, Minn.) has the only sack for the Sioux so far in 2009.

For the second game in a row, senior Brandon Hellevang (Fargo, N.D.) was called upon to make a 50-yard field goal, and for the second game in a row ... he came through. Hellevang is 3-for-3 in field goals, 3-for-4 in extra-point attempts, is averaging 61.7 yards per kickoff and 41.8 yards per punt. On kickoff return, sophomore Dominique Hawkins (Plymouth, Minn.) has picked up 85 yards on five carries. Redshirt freshman Mitch Sutton (Plover, Wis.) and junior Ryan Dressler (Bismarck, N.D.) have combined for 15 yards on just two punt returns. Last week, the punt team held the Demons to ZERO yards 

NOTING THE LUMBERJACKS

The Lumberjacks are 2-1 after taking a 40-30 win over Western Illinois last weekend and are looking to ties a school-record with a third-consecutive win.

SFA is led by sophomore quarterback Jeremy Moses who is 78-122-6 (63.9 percent) for 1,039 yards and 12 touchdowns. Six of those TD passes came during the 92-0 win over Texas College on Sept. 12. His top targets: Duane Brooks (18 receptions, 275 yards (91.7ypg), two TDs) and Aaron Rhea (15 receptions, 286 yards (95.3ypg), four TDs). On the ground, Vincent Pervis leads the team with 224 yards (73.7ypg) on 38 carries.

Contrevi Parks is the Lumberjacks' top kick returner with 205 yards (25.6ypc) and a trio of players have totaled 102 yards on punt return.

Defensively, Chad Haynes leads the team with 19 tackles (10 solo) and has grabbed one interception. Kennet Charles had four of the team's 26 total sacks and Cory Barlow has snatched a pair of interceptions. 

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN HEAD COACH J.C. HARPER

J.C. Harper is in his fifth season with the Lumberjack football program and his third as the 'Jacks' head coach. Harper was named the school's 18th head coach in December 2006.

During his first season as head coach, Harper guided the 'Jacks through a season that saw its roster get decimated by injuries. After an injury-free offseason, the 'Jacks were beset by injuries in the season-opener losing five players that included four starters, three All-SLC selections and an All-American, not to mention the team's top three running backs.

The 2006 season marked the second consecutive year that SFA had produced the league's top tackler. Former Lumberjack Ryan Luedecke made the switch to linebacker as a senior and recorded a career year in 2005. Luedecke led the SLC in tackles on his way to honorable mention All-America honors. Harper's athletes have been recognized at the regional and national level throughout his time at SFA. Harper has produced seven All-Americans, two all-region selections and 23 All-SLC honorees, including five first-team selections.

A 20-year veteran of collegiate coaching, Harper has spent time serving on the coaching staffs at Western Michigan, Northwestern State, McNeese State, Southwest MissourI.

MEDIA INFORMATION

All UND football games can be heard on 96.1 FM ("TheFox") in Grand Forks and on stations across the Fighting Sioux Radio Network. Dan Hammer calls the play-by-play with former Grand Forks Central High School football coach Mike Berg as his color analyst. Former UND defensive back Kelly Howe provides sideline reports. You can also listen online at www.FightingSioux.com.

Saturday's game can also be heard on KTBQ-FM 107.7 in the Nacogdoches, Texas area.

Live stats will be available on both FightingSioux.com and SFAJacks.cstv.com.

-Go Sioux -