No. 19 Southeastern closes home stand with Homecoming battle of the Lions

No. 19/20 Southeastern (3-2, 1-0 SLC) vs. Texas A&M-Commerce (2-2, 0-0 SLC)
Oct. 8, 2022 | 4 p.m. | Strawberry Stadium | Hammond, La.
Series History: Series tied 4-4-1
Last Meeting: Southeastern 41, Texas A&M-Commerce 7 (Sept. 5, 2009 | Hammond, La.)
Television: ESPN+ (Announcers: Chase Gispert, Lucas Hill and Taylor Nettle)
Radio: Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM (Announcers: Allen Waddell, Harris Beall, Blake Esta and Robbie Rhodes)

HAMMOND, La. – The No. 19/20 Southeastern Louisiana University football team will celebrate Homecoming Saturday, hosting new Southland Conference rival Texas A&M-Commerce for a 4 p.m. contest in Strawberry Stadium.

The final game of a four-game home stand for SLU (3-2, 1-0 SLC) will see the visiting Lions (2-2, 0-0 SLC) make their league debut in the team’s first trip to Hammond since 2009. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard in the Hammond area on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM).

Southeastern extended its win streak to three games with a 48-14 victory over Murray State last Saturday. The Lions outscored the Racers, 28-0, in the fourth quarter to pull away for the victory.

SLU is averaging 414.6 yards and 35.0 points per contest through five games. Cephus Johnson III (49-for-79, 533 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT) and Eli Sawyer (45-for-71, 674 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT) have split time under center for the Lions.

Gage Larvadain (17 catches, 260 yards, 1 TD) and CJ Turner (15-250-3 TD) have been the top targets in the passing game. Carlos Washington Jr. paces the SLU ground attack with 316 yards and five touchdowns on 57 carries (5.5 ypc).

The Lion defense is yielding 415.0 yards and 24.2 points per game. Donte’ Daniels leads Southeastern with 35 tackles, followed by Anthony Britton Jr. (32), Herman Christophe (29), Jack Henderson (24) and Donniel Ward-Magee (19).

Daniels also leads SLU with 3.5 tackles for loss, while Christophe has two interceptions. Henderson, Markell Linzer and Garrett Crawford all have picked off passes in 2022.

On special teams, punt returner Darius Lewis (14.8 average, 8th) and punter Austin Dunlap (44.6 average, 9th) both rank among the national FCS leaders. Riley Callaghan is a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals and 10-for-10 on PAT’s in his young collegiate career.

Saturday will be the first Southland Conference contest for the newest league member. The visiting Lions come to Hammond off a bye week, having earned a 63-3 win over North American Sept. 24.

Texas A&M-Commerce is averaging 382.0 yards and 39.3 points per contest. Zadock Dinkelmann (33-for-50, 407 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT) and Eric Rodriguez (26-for-38, 437 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT) have seen significant time under center.

Andrew Armstrong (20 catches, 452 yards, 7 TD) and J.T. Smith (119 yards, 2 TD) are the top weapons for AMC in the pass and run games, respectively.

Opponents are averaging 246.3 yards and 15.8 points per game versus Texas A&M-Commerce. Darius Williams leads the Lions with 28 tackles.

Southeastern is 4-4-1 all-time versus Texas A&M-Commerce. The teams last met in 2009 with SLU taking a 41-7 decision in Hammond.

Southeastern will enjoy its bye week following the Homecoming contest. The Lions will be back in action on Oct. 22, traveling to Jacksonville State for a 1 p.m. nonconference contest. The game with the Gamecocks will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM).

TICKETS
For ticket information, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net. Southeastern will continue offering mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2022-23 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail or text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @LionUpFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.