CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears will send off 13 seniors in their final home game Saturday and hopefully inch closer to a Southland Conference championship when they host the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks on Senior Day/Salute to Service Day at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

The No. 13/14 Bears and Lumberjacks will meet at 3 p.m. on "The Stripes," with UCA sitting in a four-way tie for first place in the SLC with a 5-2 league record. UCA is coming off a shutout loss to Southeastern Louisiana, one of those teams tied for first, along with Sam Houston State and Nicholls.

UCA (7-3) closes the regular season on the road next Friday at Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.

The Bears have won the last six meetings with the Lumberjacks (2-8, 2-5), including a 27-17 victory a year ago in Nacogdoches, Texas. SFA won its final home game of the season last week, upsetting UIW 31-24, before finishing with a pair of road games.

Last season, UCA's defensive unit limited SFA to -20 rushing yards in the victory. This year, SFA ranks last in the SLC in total offense, ninth in rushing offense and seventh in passing offense. UCA, playing without a handful of injured starters, counters with the third-best passing offense (314.4 yards per game) but the league's worst rushing offense (71.3 per game). UCA sophomore quarterback Breylin Smith, a two-time SLC Offensive Player of the Week this season, is second in the SLC in passing and total offense. 

The 2019 senior class has won 33 games over the past four years, including two 10-win seasons. They are still in the hunt for their second SLC championship and third appearance in the NCAA FCS Playoffs.

The seniors include: quarterback Kirk Baugh (White Hall, Ark.); running back Carlos Blackman (Gosnell, Ark.); receiver Breyden Despain (Oolagah, Okla.); offensive lineman Dylan Desper (Madison, Miss.), defensive back Juan Jackson (Gardendale, Ala.), defensive back Isaiah Macklin (Lenexa, Kan.); defensive back Brandon Northcross (Ashdown, Ark.); tight end Jamison Patterson (Marion, Ark.); tight end Luke Ross (Madison, Miss.); defensive back Jaylin Small (Jonesboro, Ark.); punter Taylor Wallace (Jackson, Miss.); offensive lineman Hunter Watts (San Antonio, Texas) and snapper Reiv Wood (Grenada, Miss.).

That group will be recognized in a pregame ceremony featuring head coach Nathan Brown, Director of Athletics Dr. Brad Teague and President Dr. Houston Davis.