As if Stephen F. Austin's five touchdowns on its first seven possessions wasn't tough enough, the Northern Colorado football team lost another starting quarterback Saturday evening in a 48-7 loss to the Lumberjacks in Nacogoches, Texas.
SFA quarterback Sam Vidlak threw three touchdown passes in the first half, and running back Jerrell Wimbley ran for two more as SFA built a 35-0 halftime lead, sending UNC to its fourth loss in four games this season.
Bears' quarterback Hank Gibbs left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury In his first collegiate start and is doubtful for next week, according to UNC coach Ed Lamb.
Running back Darius Stewart scored UNC's only touchdown on a 59-yard run early in the third quarter.
"SFA was very good," Lamb said in a text message. (Vidlak) made some excellent throws to beat our man coverage and forced us into some softer defenses to help our DBs more. We played and coached poorly."
Vidlak finished 16 of 26 for 219 yards with touchdown passes to Kylon Harris, Jordan Nabors and Rohan Fluellen.
The UNC program losing streak extended to 16 games dating to November 2022. UNC's last win was Nov. 12, 2022 with a 21-20 victory over Northern Arizona at Nottingham Field in Greeley.
UNC opens its Big Sky Conference schedule next week at Nottingham Field, hosting Cal Poly at 1 p.m. Saturday at Nottingham Field on Homecoming Weekend.
The big question for the team next week will be the starting quarterback. Gibbs was the third starter this season and fifth different starter since the beginning of the 2023 season, which was Lamb's first in Greeley.
Gibbs, a 22-year-old graduate transfer from Wyoming, earned his first start in his fifth season season of college football. After playing high school ball in Arkansas, Gibbs went to Wyoming where he saw limited time on the field but came away with a bachelor's degree.
He's studying for a master's in business administration at UNC.
Working with a limited playbook last week, Gibbs took over for Jonah Chong in a home loss to Abilene Christian at Nottingham Field. Gibbs scored what appeared to be the go-ahead touchdown on a 3-yard run with 1:10 left in the game. Stewart was a big contributor with 132 yards, which is a best for UNC in a game this season.
ACU quarterback Maverick McIvor led the Wildcats down the field, and Ritse Vaes kicked a 54-yard field goal as time expired to clinch a 24-22 win. .
Chong and Kia'i Keone, both graduate transfers from the state of Hawaii, filled in the rest of the SFA game Saturday for Gibbs. With Gibbs out, the Bears were reduced to a one-dimensional, run-based offense for the second week in a row.
The Lumberjacks (2-2) totaled 509 yards of offense (259 passing, 250 rushing) with 26 first downs to 242 total yards and 12 first downs for UNC. UNC ran for 224 yards on the ground with 76 yards from Keone and 61 from Stewart.
Keone saw more time at quarterback in the second quarter and through the remainder of the game. He played at Colorado Mesa before UNC.
Keone and Chong combined for the majority of the Bears' 18 passing yards. Keone was 10 of 14 for 20 yards and Chong was 1 of 5 for -2 yards.
Gibbs was 1 of 1 for five yards passing and he ran three times for 25 yards before he was injured.
A week after UNC came as close to a win as it has in the last two seasons, the team took its largest margin of defeat by points in the same span against Stephen F. Austin. Montana beat UNC 40-0 last year, which was the team's largest margin of defeat in a winless season.
Sacramento State beat UNC 55-7 in October 2022.
Chong stepped in to start against Abilene Christian after Peter Costelli was injured Sept. 7 at Colorado State. Costelli won the job in preseason over Gibbs, who backed up Jacob Sirmon last year.
Gibbs suffered a concussion at Montana last year and was out for the season after coming into the game for the injured Sirmon.
With Costelli picked as the starter this year, the UNC coaching staff looked for other ways to use Gibbs on the field. At 6-foot-6, 240 pounds, he's one of the biggest guys on the Bears' roster. Gibbs worked with the tight ends in addition to his responsibilities on special teams, which limited his time on quarterback repetitions.
Against SFA, Gibbs completed a 5-yard pass to Tama Tuitele on the Bears' first play from scrimmage and trailing 7-0. Stephen F. Austin scored on its first drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Vidlak to Harris.
Gibbs ran for first downs of 12 and nine yards on the drive that ended after 32 yards at the Lumberjacks' 43. Gibbs' third run was a 4-yard gain on second down and 10 from the SFA 45. Tony Anyanwu and Luke Watson were credited with the tackles, and Gibbs didn't play for the rest of the game.
Chong came in for the next play and completed a pass to running back Jacquez Robertson for a 2-yard loss on third down.
The Bears' defense forced SFA to punt on the Lumberjacks' second possession, and Chong returned for the Bears' second series.
UNC had a good chance to score a first touchdown late in the second quarter. A fumble by SFA's Harris on a punt return set up the Bears with first down at the Lumberjacks' 10-yard line.
After a short gain by back Caden Meis, the Bears lost 15 yards on the series. Keone's completion to tight end Kolby Howard ended up as a 12-yard loss, and Meis was tackled for a loss to the 24 on the next play.
Hunter Green missed a 41-yard field goal with 1:46 remaining in the second quarter.
Green, a team captain this year and the most honored player a year ago, punted nine times for 422 yards and an average of 46.9 yards per punt. In the third quarter, he hit a 65-yard punt from the Bears' 27 pinning SFA at its own 8.
SFA -- 1st Q, 12:51, Sam Vidlak 20 yard pass to Kylon Harris (Chris Campos kick), 7-0 SFA. 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:09 time of possession.
SFA -- 1st Q, 4:25, Jerrell Wimbley 1 run (Campos kick), 14-0 SFA, 4 plays, 67 yards, :37.
SFA -- 2nd Q, 14:55, Vidlak 9 pass to Jordan Nabors (Campos kick), 21-0 SFA, 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:14.
SFA -- 2nd Q, 9:23, Wimbley 2 run (Campos kick), 28-0 SFA, 6 plays, 55 yards, 2:03.
SFA -- 2nd Q, :42, Vidlak 15 pass to Rohan Fluellen (Campos kick), 35-0 SFA, 7 plays, 76 yards, 1:04.
UNC -- 3rd, 13:23, Darius Stewart 59 run (Hunter Green kick), 35-7 SFA, 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:37.
SFA -- 3rd, 6:36, Jaylen Jenkins 72 run (Campos kick), 42-7 SFA, 4 plays, 89 yards, 1:32.