Southeastern, Northwestern State renew rivalry Saturday for White Out, Youth Day

Southeastern Louisiana (1-3, 1-1 SLC) vs. Northwestern State (2-1, 1-0 SLC)
Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018 | 7 p.m. | Hammond, La. | Strawberry Stadium (7,408)
Series History: SLU leads 32-29
Last Meeting: Southeastern Louisiana 49, Northwestern State 20 (Sept. 30, 2017 – Natchitoches, La.)
Television: Cox Sports Television / ESPN 3 (Outside of Cox Sports TV viewing area)
Announcers: Lyn Rollins, Stan Humphries, Carley McCord
Radio: Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU 90.9, Kajun 107.1, The Highway 104.7, WFPR 1400)
Announcers: Mark Willoughby, Robbie Rhodes and Allen Waddell

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana football team will look for its first home win of the 2018 season on Saturday, when it welcomes Southland Conference foe Northwestern State for a 7 p.m. contest in Strawberry Stadium.

Saturday is a White Out, as all Lion fans are encouraged to wear white to the contest. Saturday is also Youth Day versus the Demons. All children ages 12 and under will receive a free ticket to the game. Lastly, a discounted ticket will be available for any middle, junior and high school students for an $11 bench seat ticket when they present their local school ID.

The SLU-NSU contest will be a family affair. Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo’s son, Anthony, coaches quarterbacks for Northwestern State.

Both Southeastern Louisiana (1-3, 1-1 Southland) and Northwestern State (2-1, 1-0 Southland) will be coming in off wins over Lamar and looking for their respective second straight Southland Conference victory on Saturday.

The Lions outscored Lamar, 20-7, in the second half to rally for a 30-24 win over the Cardinals last Saturday in Beaumont. Despite committing a season-high five turnovers, SLU racked up 488 yards of total offense in the victory under the direction of junior quarterback Chason Virgil (26-for-44, 279 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT).

Senior linebacker Tamarcus Russell was named the Southland Defensive Player of the Week after helping Southeastern to its first win, finishing with 12 tackles and three tackles for loss. Freshman Ferlando Jordan and junior Tre’ Spann each had interceptions, while senior Zeke Walker recovered a fumble forced by freshman Josh Carr.

Northwestern State finished with 562 total yards in a wild game with Lamar two weeks ago that the Demons secured, 49-48, with a blocked extra point late in the fourth quarter. Junior quarterback Shelton Eppler led NSU with 474 yards and six touchdowns through the air in the shootout with the host Cardinals.

The Lion offense is averaging 418.8 yards per game through the first three weeks. Virgil is currently second in FCS with 1,210 passing yards, as the newcomer has completed 61.7 percent (103-for-167) of his passes and thrown for seven touchdowns versus five interceptions. Petit-Frere (20 catches, 395 yards, 2 touchdowns) and junior tight end Bransen Schwebel (15-216-2 TD) are Virgil’s top targets.

Northwestern State is allowing 533.3 yards and 38.0 points per game heading into Saturday’s game – numbers skewed greatly by playing FBS foe Texas A&M in the opener. Junior linebacker Quindarrius Whitley leads the Demons with 23 tackles, while sophomore safety Hayden Bourgeois has intercepted a team-high three passes.

Southeastern is yielding 30.5 points and 420.8 yards per game heading into Saturday’s contest. Russell paces Southeastern with 43 tackles, followed by sophomore linebacker Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund (26), junior defensive back Xavier Lewis (23) and junior defensive back Dejion Lynch (23).

Lynch also leads SLU with five pass breakups, while freshman Ferlando Jordan has two interceptions. Russell and Adeyemi-Berglund also pace the team with four tackles for loss apiece.

Eppler has thrown for 842 yards and 10 touchdowns with no interceptions for a Demon offense that is averaging 439.0 yards and 30.0 points per game. Eppler’s top targets are the trio of senior Jaylen Watson (16 catches, 163 yards, 2 TD), junior Jazz Ferguson (15-345-4 TD) and junior Quan Shorts (13-172-1 TD).

Petit-Frere, the reigning Southland Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, averages a league-best 31.1 yards per kickoff return for the Lions heading into Saturday’s game. Junior Ivy Wall has averaged 45.7 yards per punt – fifth-best in FCS – to highlight the SLU kicking game in the opening four weeks.

Last Saturday at Lamar, senior Jonathan Tatum tied a career high with three field goals. Freshman Myles Ward is the top return man for the Demons, averaging 21.0 yards per kickoff return.

Southeastern leads the all-time series between the two teams, 32-29. This week’s 62nd meeting marks the most times the Lions have faced an opponent in program history. SLU has had the upper hand in the highly-competitive rivalry in recent years, winning the last six meetings between the two schools, including a 49-20 victory last season in Natchitoches.

TICKET INFORMATION
For season ticket information and individual game tickets, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. The Lions will welcome conference foes Central Arkansas (Sept. 15), Northwestern State (Sept. 29), Houston Baptist (Oct. 13 – Homecoming), Abilene Christian (Oct. 20 – Hall of Fame Game) and McNeese (Nov. 3) to Strawberry Stadium in 2018.

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

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.

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

INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN FOOTBALL WITH FRANK SCELFO
Inside Southeastern Football with Frank Scelfo, the Lion first-year head coach’s radio show, is held every Monday through Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at Tope La Catering (113 East Thomas Street) in downtown Hammond.

Hosted by Scelfo and Allen Waddell, the show will air on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU-FM (90.9), Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and WFPR 1400 AM). Fans can also listen live at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Radio FX, TuneIn Radio and Lions Gameday Experience apps. A live video stream of the show will be available via Facebook Watch at www.facebook.com/sluathletics.