NACOGDOCHES, Texas --- The Western Colorado football team dropped their season opener to Division-I FCS Stephen F. Austin 64-7 on Saturday at Homer Bryce Stadium.
 
The Mountaineers (0-1) hurt themselves early with four first-quarter turnovers to fall behind the Lumberjacks (4-3) 37-0 after the first quarter and 58-0 at the half.
 
However, Western continued to fight in the second half and outscored SFA 7-6 in the final two quarters thanks to a Luke Nethercot 15-yard touchdown pass to Damian Macias with 1:04 left in the contest.
 
The Mountaineers were outgained by SFA 584-230 in the game and the Lumberjacks held the ball for 35 minutes, 53 seconds compared to 24:07 for Western.
 
Connor Desch finished 8-for-19 passing for 95 yards and an interception (mostly against SFA's first-team defense) while Nethercot went 6-for-8 for 57 yards and a touchdown.
 
Macias led the Mountaineers with four catches for 28 yards and a score while Elijah Garcia Gillespie had two catches for 18 yards. Deyvon Butler had a 43-yard reception to go along with a team-best 38 yards rushing. Jordan Goodloe added 20 yards on the ground on three carries.
 
Bradley Taylor and Darrious Gaines led Western with six tackles apiece while Andrew Arterburn, Angelo Ortiz and Sean Boylan had five tackles apiece. Bryce Lucas led the team with two pass breakups to go along with a tackle.
 
The Mountaineers return to action 1 p.m. Saturday as they travel to take on Colorado Mesa.