UIW ends SLU win Streak with 52-34 victory

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Incarnate Word outscored Southeastern Louisiana, 28-7, in the second quarter and never looked back on the way to a 52-34 victory over the Lions, in Southland Conference football action Saturday evening at Benson Stadium.

Southeastern (2-4, 2-2 Southland) jumped out to a 14-3 lead, but the Cardinals (3-2, 3-0 Southland) controlled the final three quarters to send the Lions to their first lost in the lat. UIW remained undefeated in league play thanks to accumulating 621 total offensive yards.

Junior Juwan Petit-Frere was the top performer for Southeastern, finishing with 195 total yards and two touchdowns. Junior Chason Virgil threw for 315 yards on 27-of-41 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Lions rushed for 159 yards on the night, as senior Darren Johnson finished with 67 yards and a rushing touchdown. Senior Devonte Williams and Petit-Frere also rushed for scores.

After a slow start, UIW was able to do what it wanted to do offensively. Cardinal freshman quarterback Jon Copeland threw for a school-record 411 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-37 passing. Copeland’s top targets were senior Phillip Baptiste (seven catches, 174 yards, two touchdowns) and junior Kam Williams (6-163-1 TD).

Freshman Ameer King led the Cardinal rushing attack with 180 yards and a score on 17 carries.

Despite allowing the high yardage and point totals, SLU had several defensive standouts. The Lions tied their season-high with five sacks, led by senior Sean Clavelle with two sacks. Senior Zeke Walker added a sack and a half, while junior Fred Brown and senior Tamarcus Russell were also credited with sacks.

Sophomore Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund led SLU with 12 tackles. Russell added 11 stops to his team-high season total.

The Lions jumped on top early in the first quarter. Petit-Frere took a handoff on a jet sweep and raced untouched to give SLU a 7-0 lead with 11:52 left in the opening quarter.

UIW answered with a scoring drive of its own. Freshman Rhett Marshall knocked in a 47-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 with 8:58 left in the first period.

However, SLU answered right back. Two plays later, Petit-Frere raced under a long bomb from Virgil for a 74-yard touchdown pass and a 14-3 SLU lead with 8:20 remaining in the first quarter.

The two teams traded empty possessions until the Cardinals cut into the lead on their first possession of the second quarter. An eight-play, 80-yard drive was capped by a four-yard plunge by Dickens to pull UIW within, 14-10, with 11:38 left in the opening half.

The Lions moved into UIW territory, but a bad screen pass by Virgil was picked off and returned 55 yards for a touchdown to give the Cardinals a 17-14 lead with 8:16 left in the second quarter.

UIW padded their lead with a 13-play, 86-yard scoring drive late in the first half. The drive was highlighted by a 20-yard scamper on a fake punt by junior punter David Balcomb. Later in the drive, freshman Ameer King raced in from seven yards out to put the Cardinals up, 24-14, with 1:35 left in the first half.

On the ensuing kickoff, a nice return by junior Devonte Williams and a UIW facemask started the Lions at the Cardinal 43-yard line. Five plays later, senior Darren Johnson caught a 15-yard scoring pass from Virgil to cut the Cardinal lead to 24-21 with 38 seconds left.

However, the Cardinals took back the momentum heading into halftime. A three-play, 75-yard scoring march only took 28 seconds off the clock and senior Phillip Baptiste hauled in a 35-yard pass from Copeland to put UIW up, 31-21, at the break, after outscoring the Lions, 28-7, in the second quarter.

The two teams traded punts to start the third quarter. UIW added to its lead when Virgil fumbled in the end zone and UIW junior Lukas Termin fell on the loose ball to give the Cards a 38-21 advantage just over four minutes into the second half.

UIW stretched its lead after forcing a SLU punt. An 11-yard strike from Copeland to Kam Williams pushed the Cardinal advantage to 45-21 with 3:10 remaining in the third quarter.

Southeastern cut into the lead early in the fourth quarter. Williams scored from a yard out to cap a 13-play, 80-yard drive. The Lions missed the two-point conversion, but cut the lead to 45-27 with 10:07 left.

UIW came right back with its final score of the game, as Baptiste hauled in a 43-yard Copeland scoring pass to take a 52-27 lead with just over eight minutes left.

The Cardinals were set up to add to their lead after an interception deep in Lions territory. However, junior Darius Doakes blocked Marshall’s field goal attempt and gave SLU the ball back with just over four minutes remaining.

Southeastern will play its next two games at home, starting with next Saturday’s Homecoming game versus Houston Baptist at 4 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. A live video stream, produced by the Southeastern Channel, will be available on the Southland Digital Network at www.Southland.org/live.

Fans will also be able to hear the Lions-Huskies tilt 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.

SLU – 14 7 0 13 – 34 (2-4, 2-2 SLC)
UIW – 3 28 14 7 – 52 (3-2, 3-0 SLC)

Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
SLU – Petit-Frere 71 run (Tatum kick), 11:52
UIW – Marshall 47 FG, 8:58
SLU – Petit-Frere 74 pass from Virgil (Tatum kick), 8:20
2nd Quarter
UIW – Dickens 4 run (Seidel kick), 11:38
UIW – Montgomery 55 interception return (Seidel kick), 8:16
UIW – King 7 run (Seidel kick), 1:35
SLU – D. Johnson 15 pass from Virgil (Tatum kick), 0:37
UIW – Baptiste 35 pass from Copeland (Seidel kick), 0:09
3rd Quarter
UIW – Termin 0 fumble recovery (Seidel kick), 10:50
UIW – K. Williams 11 pass from Copeland (Seidel kick), 3:10
4th Quarter
SLU – D. Williams 1 run (Virgil pass failed), 10:07
UIW – Baptiste 43 pass from Copeland (Seidel kick), 8:17
SLU – D. Johnson 3 run (Tatum kick), 0:38

TEAM STATISTICS SLU UIW
FIRST DOWNS 21 26
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 33-159 43-210
PASSING YDS (NET) 318 411
Passes Att-Comp-Int 42-28-2 37-23-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 75-477 80-621
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards 5-45 4-52
Punt Returns-Yards 0-0 2-0
Interception Returns-Yards 0-0 2-74
Punts (Number-Avg) 7-38.0 4-40.0
Fumbles-Lost 3-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards 10-90 10-103 Possession Time. 27:23 32:37
Third-Down Conversions 6-of-14 1-of-10
Fourth-Down Conversions 1-of-1 1-of-2
Red Zone Scores-Chances 3-3 3-5

RUSHING: SLU – D. Johnson 11-67, Petit-Frere 2-64, D. Williams 11-50, T. Jones 2-14, Virgil 7-(-36). Totals – 33-159. UIW- King 17-180, Dickens 10-31, Balcomb 1-20, Fields 2-2, Philio 2-(-1), Team 1-(-2), Brophy 1-(-4), Campbell 1-(-7), Copeland 8-(-9). Totals- 43-210.

PASSING: SLU – Virgil 27-41-2-315-2, Verhaegh 1-1-0-3-0. Totals – 28-42-2-318-2. UIW – Copeland 23-37-0-411-3. Totals – 23-37-0-411-3.

RECEIVING: SLU – Petit-Frere 6-131, D. Williams 5-59, Jackson 4-24, Schwebel 3-40, A. Mitchell 3-23, D. Johnson 2-19, Turner 2-11, Tolbert 1-7, Ingraffia 1-6, Dawson 1-0. Totals – 28-318. UIW – Baptiste 7-174, K. Williams 6-163, Johnson 4-25, Edwards 2-18, Anthony 1-20, Parra 1-8, King 1-2, Campbell 1-1. Totals – 23-411.

A – 2,345.

TICKET INFORMATION
For individual game tickets, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. The Lions’ remaining home schedule includes visits from foes Houston Baptist (Oct. 13 – Homecoming), Abilene Christian (Oct. 20 – Hall of Fame Game) and McNeese (Nov. 3).

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.