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    NACOGDOCHES, Texas _ Two old Southland Conference rivals will meet up again in a non-conference matchup Saturday at Homer Bryce Stadium.

    The University of Central Arkansas Bears (4-5, 3-1) travel to face the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (5-4, 2-1) at 4 p.m. The game will be carried live on The Bear 91.3, The Point 94.1 and on ESPN+.

    UCA and SFA will be meeting for the 16th time, but the second year in a row as a non-conference matchup. UCA now competes in the ASUN Conference while SFA has joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

    The Bears lead the overall series 11-4 but dropped last year's meeting 27-14 at home at First Security Field at Estes Stadium. UCA had won six straight in the series prior to last season.
    
    UCA has had consecutive games with arguably its best offensive performance two weeks ago against North Alabama and its worst last week at Eastern Kentucky. Against the Lions, UCA rolled up 733 yards of offense, including 465 on the ground, led by sophomore running back Darius Hale's 255 yards. Last week at EKU, UCA was held to 329 yards of total offense and played without Hale, who is nursing an injury.

    The Lumberjacks were open last week after a 47-44 loss to Utah Tech, their first home loss of the season. That was preceded by three consecutive victories over Abilene Christian, Tarleton State and Southern Utah. SFA features one of the most dynamic players in the country in wide receiver/punt returner Xavier Gipson, the career receiving leader at SFA. Gipson is approaching 1,000 yards receiving this season and has two punt returns for touchdowns.

    Four-year starting quarterback Trae Self runs the SFA offense. He threw three touchdown passes, all to Gipson, against UCA in 2021.

    The Bears will look to get their offense back on track after scoring a combined 213 points (53.2 avg.) in the four games before the loss to EKU. UCA quarterback Will McElvain is second in the ASUN in passing at 234 yards per game. Hale is second in rushing with 116 yards per game, while Jarrod Barnes is second in receiving yards per game (64.9).

    On the defensive side, sophomore safety TaMuarion Wilson leads the ASUN in tackles with 9.7 per game. Sophomore defensive end David Walker is No. 1 in sacks (7.5), followed by junior defensive end Logan Jessup (6.5). Junior receiver/return specialist Christian Richmond has the league's best kickoff return average at 28.4 yards, with a pair of touchdowns.

    UCA will close out the regular season next Saturday, hosting Jacksonville State for Senior Day on "The Stripes." Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.