Southeastern take down McNeese, 38-24, for second straight win

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team never trailed on the way to a 38-24 Southland Conference victory over McNeese Saturday afternoon in Strawberry Stadium.

SLU (2-7, 2-3 SLC) rolled up 491 yards of total offense – including a season-high 333 yards on the ground – on the way to taking down the visiting Cowboys (0-8, 1-4 SLC). The fifth straight Southeastern victory over its in-state and conference rival evened the all-time series at 25 wins apiece.

Zachary Clement went the distance at quarterback for SLU, completing 15-of-27 passes for 158 yards and connecting with Darius Lewis and Xavier Hill on scoring throws. Clement also led the Lion rushing attack with 114 yards on 14 carries, while Rodeo Graham Jr. added 73 yards and a career-high three touchdowns on 16 rushes.

Ian Conerly-Goodly once again led the Southeastern defense with 10 tackles, while Victor Tademy intercepted a pass for the second straight game. Herman Christophe IV forced and recovered a fumble, while Arlen Williams and Donald Clay each recorded sacks for a Lion defense that yielded 376 total yards to the Cowboys.

Kamden Sixkiller (9-for-19, 130 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) and Ryan Roberts (3-for-5, 63 yards, 1 TD) shared time under center for McNeese. D’Angelo Durham rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries for the Cowboys. Micah Davey led the McNeese defensive effort with 16 tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

The Lions drove 63 yards on 10 plays to take the early lead. Lewis took a short pass from Clement, slipped a tackle and scored from 17 yards out to give SLU a 7-0 lead.

McNeese answered quickly. Jonathan Harris took a swing pass from Roberts and housed it from 54 yards out to tie the score at 7-7 with 7:45 left in the opening quarter.

Southeastern was forced to punt on its next possession, but snapped it to upback Jacob Logan, who busted loose for a 37-yard run on the fake punt. Two plays later, Graham Jr. powered in from six yards out to give the Lions a 14-7 lead with 3:38 remaining in the opening period.

SLU forced McNeese to punt then extended its lead. A 30-yard Bauer Sharp run set up Graham’s second score of the game – this time from 15 yards out to stake the Lions to a 21-7 lead with 13:42 left in the opening half.

The teams traded empty possessions for the remaining of the period. A 44-yard punt return by Lewis gave SLU an opportunity to add to its lead, but a 23-yard Riley Callaghan field goal try was blocked by McNeese’s Welland Williams to keep the halftime deficit at 21-7.

On the first play of the second half, Jihad Marks hauled in a pass from Sixkiller and raced untouched for a 77-yard touchdown to cut the Lion lead to 21-14 just 20 seconds into the third quarter.

SLU answered right back with a 75-yard scoring march. Graham Jr. scored from three yards out to give the Lions a 28-14 lead with 11:24 left in the third period.

McNeese cut into the lead on its next possession. Garrison Smith connected on a 41-yard field goal to pull the Cowboys within, 28-17, with 8:25 remaining in the third quarter.

On the next possession, Clement was stripped by Davey giving the Cowboys possession at the SLU 32-yard line. Six plays later, Durham ran in from four yards out to cut the lead to 28-24 with 5:02 left in the third quarter.

Southeastern forced its first turnover of the day to help it extend the lead. Tademy ran under a Sixkiller pass for his second interception of the season. Three plays later, Clement found Hill from 44 yards out to give SLU a 35-24 advantage with 10 minutes left.

After the teams traded punts, SLU put the final touch on the victory. Christophe IV forced a Marks fumble and recovered it at the Cowboy 28-yard line. The second turnover of the game set up a 41-yard field goal by Callaghan to extend the Southeastern lead to 38-24.

Southeastern will close out its road schedule next Saturday, traveling to Texas A&M-Commerce for a 3:30 p.m. SLC contest. The battle of the Lions will be seen on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM).

MCN – 7 0 17 0 – 24 (0-8, 1-4 SLC)
SLU – 14 7 7 10 – 38 (2-7, 2-3 SLC)

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
SLU – Lewis 17 pass from Clement (Callaghan kick), 10:24
MCN – Harris 54 pass from Roberts (Smith kick), 7:45
SLU – Graham Jr. 6 run (Callaghan kick), 3:38
2nd Quarter
SLU – Graham Jr. 15 run (Callaghan kick), 13:42
3rd Quarter
MCN – Marks 77 pass from Sixkiller (Smith kick), 14:40
SLU – Graham Jr. 3 run (Callaghan kick), 11:24
MCN – Smith 41 FG, 8:25
MCN – Durham 4 run (Smith kick), 5:02
4th Quarter
SLU – Hill 46 pass from Clement (Callaghan kick), 10:00
SLU – Callaghan 41 FG, 3:55

TEAM STATISTICS MCN SLU
FIRST DOWNS 16 24
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 211 345
PASSING YDS (NET) 193 158
Passes Att-Comp-Int 25-12-1 27-15-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 61-376 76-491
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards 2-29 1-37
Punt Returns-Yards 0-0 2-55
Interception Returns-Yards 2-0 1-0
Punts (Number-Avg) 6-35.5 3-42.0
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 3-17 2-15
Possession Time. 25:59 34:01
Third-Down Conversions 3-12 5-13
Fourth-Down Conversions 0-1 1-1
Red Zone Scores-Chances 1-2 4-7

RUSHING: MCN – Durham 14-78, Barbie 10-68, Sixkiller 8-32, Roberts 3-9, McCall 1-(-4). Totals – 36-183. SLU – Clement 14-114, Graham Jr. 16-71, Dixon 7-46, Sharp 3-38, Logan 1-37, Jackson 5-29, Lewis 1-2, Team 2-(-4). Totals – 49-333.

PASSING: MCN – Sixkiller 9-19-1-130-1, Roberts 3-5-0-63-1, Team 0-1-0-0-0. Totals – 12-25-1-193-2. SLU – Clement 15-27-2-158-2. Totals – Clement 15-27-2-158-2.

RECEIVING: MCN – Marks 3-87, McCall 3-21, Harris 2-54, Paris 2-17, Carter 1-15, Senegal 1-(-1). Totals – 12-193. SLU – Sharp 4-30, Lewis 3-35, Logan 2-26, Domingeaux 2-10, Hill 1-46, Hugley 1-7, Briggs 1-3, Dixon 1-1. Totals – 15-158.

A – 3,228.