No. 21 Southeastern pulls away for 45-34 Southland-opening win over Lamar

HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana quarterback Chason Virgil tied a career high with four touchdown passes and led the No. 21/23 Lions to a 45-34 win over Lamar in the Southland Conference football opener for both teams Saturday night in Strawberry Stadium.

The Lions (2-1, 1-0 Southland) amassed 502 total yards of offense on the night and erased a halftime deficit, as Southeastern outscored the Cardinals, 21-3, in the third quarter to erase a three-point halftime deficit and open conference play with a win for the first time since 2016. Lamar, one of three schools to represent the Southland in last season’s playoffs, fell to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in league play.

“This was a good win to start Southland Conference play against a very good football team,” Southeastern head football coach Frank Scelfo said. “We played very well offensively throughout the game. Our defense busted some assignments in the first half, but they made the necessary adjustments at halftime and played a whole lot better in the second half.”

Virgil completed 26-of-34 passes for 307 yards to go with four scores, matching his career-best total that he set in the 2018 season opener at ULM. Austin Mitchell (five catches, 136 yards) and Javon Conner (3-46) each caught a pair of touchdowns for the Lions, while CJ Turner caught a game-high six passes for 56 yards and a score.

Devonte Williams led the SLU ground game, rushing for 63 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Cole Kelley spotted Virgil in key moments, throwing a touchdown and rushing six times for 24 yards.

The Lion defense sacked Lamar quarterback Jordan Hoy five times, though Hoy threw for 303 yards, a touchdown and an interception on 14-of-33 passing. Miles Wanza (13 carries, 60 yards), A.J. Walker (8-44) and Hoy (17-29) each rushed for a touchdown. Kirkland Banks was Hoy’s favorite target, finishing with 112 yards on five catches, while Kenny Allen hauled in a touchdown pass.

Southeastern, which came into the game leading FCS with 12.0 tackles for loss per game, added 10 more behind the line of scrimmage on Saturday. Josh Carr led SLU with four tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Issac Adeyemi-Berglund added 1.5 sacks of his own, while Mike Mason and Deijon Lynch each shared a sack. Mason also led the Lions with 10 tackles, while Xavier Lewis added an interception and a forced fumble.

Earlier in the day, Southeastern inducted the four newest members to the SLU Athletics Hall of Fame. The 2019 class of Bryan Bennett (football), Karin Smith Gadberry (softball), Stefan Lopez (baseball) and Simmie Yarborough (football) were recognized at halftime of Saturday’s win.

First Quarter
After the two teams traded empty possessions, Lamar took the early lead. Hoy raced in from 19 yards out to cap a six-play, 64-yard drive and put the visitors on top, 7-0, with 5:26 remaining in the opening quarter.

Southeastern answered right back on its third drive of the game. Kelley converted a key fourth-and-two on a 11-play, 75-yard scoring march. Williams tied up the score with a 12-yard touchdown run to knot the score at 7-7.

On the final play of the quarter, Hoy found a wide open Case Robinson for a 56-yard catch-and-run that set up a first-and-goal scenario to open the second quarter.

Second Quarter
On the first play of the period, Walker scored from six yards out to put Lamar up, 14-7.

The lead would be short-lived. Virgil found Mitchell on a short pass along the Cardinal sideline. The speedster from Plaquemine shook a LU defender and was off to the races, scoring untouched from 58 yards out to knot the score at 14-14 just over a minute into the second quarter.

After the two teams traded three-and-outs, Southeastern forced the first turnover. With Lamar moving into Lion territory, Lewis made a great break on a short out route and picked off Hoy’s pass, returning the ball to the LU 46-yard line.

Southeastern moved the ball inside the Cardinal 30-yard line, but were stopped on a fourth-and-five to give Lamar the ball back. The Cardinals took advantage, as a scrambling Hoy found a diving Allen in the back corner of the end zone to put LU back ahead, 21-14, with 5:44 left in the half.

The Lions were forced to punt on their next possession, but Jacq’co Price was able to down Austin Dunlap’s 43-yard effort at the Cardinal two-yard line. Lamar failed to make a first down and Lorenzo Nunez blocked the ensuing punt to give the Lions the ball at the LU 18-yard line. Three plays later, Virgil found Turner on a quick slant from three yards out to tie the score at 21-21.

Lamar answered to close the half. A 38-yard field goal by Bailey Giffen sent the Cardinals into the break with a 24-21 cushion.

Third Quarter
Derek Turner II and Mason combined to stop Hoy on a third-and-short to force a three-and-out. Southeastern took the lead for good on the ensuing possession. Conner grabbed a short Virgil pass, slid past a Lamar defender and danced down the sideline from 24 yards out to put SLU up, 28-24, with 9:59 left in the third quarter.

The Lion defense again forced a three-and-out on the next possession and took over at midfield. On the first play, Mitchell got behind the Cardinal defense and scored from 50 yards out to put Southeastern ahead, 35-24, with 8:51 remaining in the third quarter.

Lamar moved into the SLU red zone on its next drive. But on third-and-two from the Lion 20-yard line, Adeyemi-Berglund sacked Hoy for a 10-yard loss, holding the Cardinals to a 47-yard Giffen field goal that cut the Southeastern cushion to 35-27 with 3:56 remaining in the period.

Southeastern extended the lead with a nine-play, 75-yard march. Kelley rolled out and found Conner in the left corner of the end zone from 14 yards out to give the Lions a commanding 42-27 lead heading into the final quarter.

Fourth Quarter
Lamar took the final period’s first possession and made it a one-score game again. Wanza took a pitch around the right end from three yards out to pull the Cardinals closer at 42-34 with 11:47 remaining.

The two teams traded punts when Southeastern embarked on the drive that would ice the game. The Lions methodically moved 87 yards on 15 plays, taking nearly six minutes off the clock. While SLU was stopped from finding the end zone, newcomer Bryce Broussard connected on a 19-yard field goal to give SLU a 45-34 lead with 1:48 remaining.

Lamar had one last chance, but Carr and Mason sacked Hoy on fourth down to secure the SLU victory.

Up Next
Southeastern will open up the road portion of its Southland Conference schedule in Natchitoches, facing league foe Northwestern State at 6 p.m.. The game will air on Cox Sports Television and ESPN3 (outside of the CST viewing area). It also can be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU-FM (90.9), Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM WFPR), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Radio FX and TuneIn Radio apps.

LU – 7 17 3 7 – 34 (2-2, 0-1 SLC)
SLU – 7 14 21 3 – 45 (2-1, 1-0 SLC)

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
LU – Hoy 19 run (Giffen kick), 5:26
SLU – D. Williams 12 run (Broussard kick), 0:44
2nd Quarter
LU – Walker 6 run (Giffen kick), 14:54
SLU – Mitchell 58 pass from Virgil (Broussard kick), 13:40
LU – Allen 36 pass from Hoy (Giffen kick), 5:44
SLU – Turner 3 pass from Virgil (Broussard kick), 1:24
LU – Giffen 38 FG, 0:10
3rd Quarter
SLU – Conner 24 pass from Virgil (Broussard kick), 9:59
SLU – Mitchell 50 pass from Virgil (Broussard kick), 8:51
LU – Giffen 47 FG, 3:56
SLU – Conner 14 pass from Virgil (Broussard kick), 0:39
4th Quarter
LU – Wanza 3 run (Giffen kick), 11:47
SLU – Broussard 19 FG, 1:48

TEAM STATISTICS LU SLU
FIRST DOWNS 19 28
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 38-133 39-166
PASSING YDS (NET) 303 336
Passes Att-Comp-Int 33-14-1 37-29-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 71-436 76-502
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0 Kickoff Returns-Yards 4-74 5-90 Punt Returns-Yards 3-61 1-0
Interception Returns-Yards 0-0 1-14
Punts (Number-Avg) 6-34.3 5-42.6
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0 Penalties-Yards 8-54 5-35
Possession Time. 27:51 30:40
Third-Down Conversions 7-of-17 3-of-10
Fourth-Down Conversions 0-of-1 1-of-2
Red Zone Scores-Chances 4-4 4-4
RUSHING: LU – Wanza 13-60, Walker 8-44, Hoy 17-29. Totals 38-133. SLU – D. Williams 18-63, Cooper 6-34, Kelley 6-24, Jones 3-19, Petit-Frere 1-16, Virgil 4-14, Team 3-(-4). Totals – 39-166.

PASSING: LU – Hoy 14-33-1-303-1. Totals 14-33-1-303-1. SLU – Virgil 26-34-0-307-4, Kelley 3-3-0-29-1. Totals 29-37-0-336-5.

RECEIVING: LU – Banks 5-112, Allen 2-50, Wanza 2-29, Green 2-27, Robinson 1-56, Sikes 1-29, Walker 1-0. Totals 14-303. SLU – Turner 6-56, Mitchell 5-136, D. Williams 4-14, Conner 3-47, Cooper 3-26, Petit-Frere 2-25, Magee 2-18, Nunez 2-17, Schwebel 1-7, Allen 1-(-10). Totals 29-336.

A – 6,352.