No. 19 Southeastern Louisiana closes road swing at Eastern Washington

Game 3 | No. 19/22 Southeastern (0-2) at Eastern Washington (0-2)
Sept. 16, 2023 | 3 p.m. (Central) | Roos Field (8,700) | Cheney, Washington
Series History: First meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
Television: ESPN+
—Announcers; Dennis Patchin and Greg Peach
Radio: Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 103.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM
—Announcers; Mark Willoughby, Harris Beall and Robbie Rhodes

HAMMOND, La. – The reigning Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana University football team will play its third straight road contest to open the 2023 season Saturday, when it travels to Eastern Washington for a 3 p.m. (Central) contest at Roos Field.

The game between the No. 19/22 Lions (0-2) and host Eagles (0-2) 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/WFPR 1400 AM).

Southeastern and EWU will be meeting for the first time in school history, opening a home-and-home series between the two FCS schools that produced two of the most recent Payton Award winners in former quarterbacks Cole Kelley (SLU, 2020 – Spring 2021) and Eric Barriere (EWU, 2021). The Eagles will make the return trip to Hammond in 2024.

Eastern Washington is the first FCS opponent for Southeastern this fall. The Lions have opened up the season with road losses at Mississippi State and South Alabama.

Southeastern scored first versus South Alabama last Saturday and went into the half tied, 7-7. The Jaguars outscored the visiting Lions, 28-10, in the second half on the way to a 35-17.

Zachary Clement (23-for-33, 307 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) and Eli Sawyer (18-for-31, 168 yards) have split time at quarterback for a Lion offense that is averaging 310.0 yards per game through the first two games.

Harlan Dixon leads SLU on the ground with 70 rushing yards and a touchdown. Darius Lewis (10 catches, 106 yards) and Dixon (9-104) are the top receivers, while tight ends Jacob Logan and Ivan Drobocky each have touchdown receptions.

Opponents are averaging 517.0 yards and 41.5 points per contest against the Lions. Ian Goodly (26 tackles), Herman Christophe IV (15 tackles) and Anthony Britton Jr. (14 tackles) are the leading tacklers for SLU, while Tyrone Legette has the team’s lone interception.

Austin Dunlap is averaging 42.7 yards per punt to highlight the SLU special teams. Riley Callaghan has connected on his lone field goal attempt and all three extra-point tries.

EWU opened the season with a 35-10 loss versus No. 2 North Dakota State, before dropping a 34-31 double-overtime loss at FBS foe Fresno State.

The Eagles are averaging 352.5 yards and 20.5 points per game heading into Saturday’s contest. Kekoa Visperas leads EWU with 465 yards passing, two touchdowns and two interceptions on 46-for-80 passing.

Efton Chism III is the top target in the passing game with 17 catches for 150 yards, while Justice Jackson leads EWU with 79 yards rushing and a touchdown on 11 carries.

Opponents are averaging 34.5 points and 433.5 yards per contest versus the Eagles. Ben Allen leads EWU with 15 tackles, while Conner O’Farrell has the team’s lone interception.

Eastern Washington punter Nick Kokich carries a 43.5 punting average, while teammate Soren McKee is 2-for-3 on field goal tries.

Following Saturday’s contest, Southeastern will return to Hammond to open its home and Southland Conference schedule, hosting HCU Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. The game between the Lions and the visiting Huskies will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard live in the Hammond area on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 103.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM).

For the home opener, Southeastern will hold a Green Out, as all fans are encouraged to wear green. 2023 also marks the 20th anniversary of the return of football to Southeastern. All members of the 2003 team are invited to be recognized at the 2023 home opener Sept. 23. For more information on the 2003 team recognition, contact Assistant to the AD for Development Allie Crain at allie.crain@southeastern.edu.

Season and single-game tickets for the 2023 home football season, which includes visits from HCU, Tarleton State (Sept. 30), Lamar (Oct. 14), McNeese (Nov. 4) and Nicholls (Nov. 18) are available online at https://vivenu.com/event/2023-football-2klkar.

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 2023-24 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 X, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and follow lionupfootball on Instagram.

TOUCHDOWN CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the football program are encouraged to join the Touchdown Club. Lion football alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.

All membership fees and donations to both the Touchdown Club and S Club (football) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern football program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.

INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN FOOTBALL WITH FRANK SCELFO
The 2023 season of Inside Southeastern Football with Frank Scelfo is airing from its new home – Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux (305 CM Fagan Dr) in Hammond. Hosted by Scelfo and Allen Waddell, the hour-long radio show will air Mondays throughout the football season on Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM.

CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of the 2018 football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.