No. 25 Southeastern keeps Southland title hopes alive with win over league-leading Northwestern State

HAMMOND, La. – The No. 25 Southeastern Louisiana University football team jumped out to a 23-0 halftime lead and never looked back on the way to a 23-7 victory over Southland Conference leader Northwestern State Saturday evening in Strawberry Stadium.

With its fourth straight victory, Southeastern (7-3, 4-1 SLC) moved one step closer to its first Southland Conference championship since 2014. The victory – SLU’s 12th straight over its in-state rival – gave the visiting Demons (4-6, 4-1 SLC) their first league loss and puts the Lions in position to clinch a berth in the NCAA FCS playoffs for the third time in four years with a win in Thursday’s regular season finale at Nicholls.

The Lion offense finished with 499 total yards and 27 first downs, doing all of its damage on the scoreboard in the opening half. Eli Sawyer (16-for-29, 182 yards, 1 TD) and Cephus Johnson III (5-for-8, 89 yards, 1 INT) split time under center for SLU. Southeastern’s Gage Larvadain hauled in seven passes for 137 yards, while Jessie Britt carried 18 times for 120 yards.

The Southeastern defense limited Northwestern State to 14 first downs and 209 total yards. Ian Goodly and Donte’ Daniels shared the team lead with nine tackles, while Donniel Ward-Magee and Jack Henderson each intercepted passes for the Lions.

NSU starting quarterback Zachary Clement was limited to 108 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions on 16-for-30 passing. Jacob Washington led the Demon defense with 12 tackles and a fumble recovery.

Johnson III, Britt, Ward-Magee, Ferlando Jordan, Anthony Spurlock, Brandon Barbee, Nick Kovacs, Terrell Carter, Taron Jones, Carlos Washington Jr., Heath Stephen II, Tyree Rhodes and CJ Turner were honored prior to their final regular season home games in a Senior Day ceremony.

Southeastern took its opening drive 13 plays for 91 yards to take the early lead. A 46-yard pass from Johnson III to Larvadain set up a three-yard touchdown run by Washington Jr. to put the Lions up, 7-0, with 3:07 remaining in the opening quarter.

After the two teams traded punts, the Lions extended their lead early in the second quarter. Riley Callaghan connected on a 28-yard field goal to give SLU a 10-0 lead with 14:09 left in the second quarter.

After forcing a NSU punt, SLU added to its lead on the next possession. Callaghan connected on a 39-yard field goal to put the Lions up, 13-0, with 9:07 remaining in the opening half.

The Lions again forced a punt and a stiff wind forced Scotty Roblow’s punt to travel just 10 yards and was downed at the SLU 41-yard line. 10 plays later, Sawyer found Bauer Sharp from a yard out to send Southeastern into the break with a 23-0 advantage.

The teams traded turnovers in the third quarter before NSU got on the board. Travon Jones hauled in a 31-yard scoring toss from Clement to cut the lead to 23-7 with just over four minutes remaining in the third period.

After a SLU punt, Southeastern looked to have forced a Northwestern State three-and-out. However, the Lions roughed Roblow on the punt to extend the drive. Zy Alexander stopped Kenneth Lacy on a fourth-and-short pass to give Southeastern the ball back early in the fourth quarter.

The Lions looked to put the game away, driving deep into NSU territory. However, Johnson III fumbled inside the Demon 10-yard line to give Northwestern State another chance.

NSU picked up a few first downs, but Clement took a deep shot and Henderson snagged it at the Lion 13-yard line with 7:49 remaining. Southeastern methodically ran out the clock, picking up four first downs and marching 62 yards to close out the win.

SLU will close out the regular season Thursday, traveling to Nicholls for a 6 p.m. Southland matchup in Thibodaux. The 2022 version of the River Bell Classic 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).

NSU – 0 0 7 0 – 7 (4-6, 4-1 SLC)
SLU – 7 16 0 0 – 23 (7-3, 4-1 SLC)

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
SLU – Washington Jr. 3 run (Callaghan kick), 5:04
2nd Quarter
SLU – Callaghan 28 FG, 14:09
SLU – Callaghan 39 FG, 9:07
SLU – Callaghan 46 FG, 2:39
SLU – Sharp 1 pass from Sawyer (Callaghan kick), 0:05
3rd Quarter
NSU – Jones 31 pass from Clement (Godina kick), 4:16
4th Quarter
No Scoring

TEAM STATS NSU SLU
FIRST DOWNS 14 27
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 29-101 47-228
PASSING YDS (NET) 108 271
Passes Att-Comp-Int 30-16-2 37-21-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 59-209 84-499
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards 3-51 2-41
Punt Returns-Yards 0-0 2-6
Interception Returns-Yards 1-1 2-0
Punts (Number-Avg) 7-34.7 3-29.3
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-2
Penalties-Yards 1-15 5-35
Possession Time. 22:57 37:33
Third-Down Conversions 3-13 11-19
Fourth-Down Conversions 1-2 1-1
Red Zone Scores-Chances 0-0 3-4

RUSHING: NSU – Adams 11-43, Clement 10-36, Lacy 7-24, Team 1-(-2). Totals – 29-101. SLU – Britt 18-120, Washington Jr. 11-45, Johnson III 5-27, Graham Jr. 10-21, Sawyer 1-9, Jones 2-6. Totals – 47-228.

PASSING: NSU – Clement – 16-30-2-108-1. Totals – 16-30-2-108-1. SLU – Sawyer 16-29-0-182-1, Johnson III 5-8-1-89-0. Totals – 21-37-1-271-1.

RECEIVING: NSU – Patterson 5-29, King 4-27, Jones 2-34, Antonio 2-7, Adams 1-11, Walters 1-0, Lacy 1-0. Totals – 16-108. SLU – Larvadain 7-137, Washington Jr. 5-43, Massey 4-44, Britt 2-24, Carter 2-22, Sharp 1-1. Totals – 21-271.

A – 5,091.