No. 21 Lions host Murray State for Hall of Fame Game

No. 21/24 Southeastern (2-2, 1-0 SLC) vs. Murray State (0-4, 0-1 OVC)
Oct. 1, 2022 | 6 p.m. | Strawberry Stadium | Hammond, La.
Series History: SLU leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Southeastern 19, Murray State 11 (Sept. 15, 1979 | Murray, Ky.)
Television: ESPN3 (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: Mark Willoughby, Harris Beall, Allen Waddell and Robbie Rhodes)

HAMMOND, La. – The No. 21/24 Southeastern Louisiana University football team will continue its home stand with a 6 p.m. nonconference contest versus Murray State Saturday evening in Strawberry Stadium.

The game between the Lions (2-2, 1-0 SLC) and visiting Racers will be televised on ESPN3 and can be heard live on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM).

Saturday’s contest versus the Racers will also be the Hall of Fame Game. The 2022 class of Kevin Fogg (baseball), Harlan Miller (football) and Natalie Santana (soccer) will be honored at halftime of the football game after a private induction ceremony is held earlier in the day.

After a two-week absence, the Southeastern Louisiana University football team returned to the national polls and was named Athlon Sports FCS Team of the Week after a thrilling 41-35 victory over then-No. 4/7 UIW in last Saturday’s Southland Conference opener. CJ Turner caught the game-winning 59-yard touchdown pass from Eli Sawyer as time expired to make the Cardinals the highest-ranked opponent the Lions have defeated since the 2013 season.

For their efforts, Turner (five catches, 139 yards, two touchdowns), Donte’ Daniels (11 tackles, 1 TFL) and Riley Callaghan (2-2 FG, 4-4 PAT) were named SLC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Player of the Week, respectively.

Cephus Johnson III (472 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT) and Sawyer (440-4 TD-O INT) have split time under center for a Lion offense that is averaging just under 400 yards per game. Carlos Washington Jr. leads the team with 244 yards on the ground and a league-high five rushing touchdowns.

Turner (12 catches, 235 yards, 3 TD) and Gage Larvadain (9-138) have been the top targets in the passing game, while Ivan Drobocky has two receiving touchdowns.

Opponents are averaging 430.3 yards and 26.8 points per game versus the Lions. Anthony Britton Jr. and Daniels share the team lead with 28 tackles, followed by Herman Christophe (23), Jack Henderson (22) and Donniel Ward-Magee (14).

Daniels has a team-high three tackles for loss, while Christophe, Henderson, Markell Linzer and Garrett Crawford each have interceptions this season.

Two members of the SLU special teams rank among the nation’s leaders. Austin Dunlap is fourth in FCS with 45.5 yards per punt, while Darius Lewis is seventh nationally with a 14.8 punt return average.

Murray State comes to Hammond looking for its first win of the 2022 season. Eastern Illinois held off the Racers for a 35-21 victory in the OVC opener last Saturday.

Jayden Stinson threw for 334 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions in his debut under center for Murray State, which has seen four different players play quarterback through four games.

DeQuan Dallas (14 catches, 157 yards, 1 TD) and Jawaun Washington (198 rushing yards) are the top skill players for Murray State. The Racers are averaging 272.3 yards and 8.5 points per game in 2022.

Opponents are averaging 514.3 yards and 40.8 points per contest versus the Racers. Jamari Dailey leads the team with 32 tackles and three tackles for loss.

Saturday will mark the second meeting between SLU and Murray State. The Lions won the first meeting, 19-11, over the Racers in Murray, Kentucky in 1979,

Southeastern will close out its four-game home stand next Saturday, hosting Texas A&M-Commerce in a 4 p.m. Southland Conference contest for Homecoming. Saturday’s battle of the Lions 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
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