HAMMOND --The records keep falling for Southeastern Louisiana quarterback Martin Hankins, as the true freshman from Hattiesburg, Miss., set school single-game records for passing yards and completions by hitting on 42 of 57 passes for 412 yards to power the Lions to a 43-23 victory over Jacksonville on Saturday in front of a Strawberry Stadium sellout of 9,758.
Hankins, who already holds the NCAA single-season record for completions, attempts and touchdowns by a freshman quarterback in Division I-AA, also set a school record for pass attempts, completions and yards.
Felton Huggins caught 10 passes for 114 yards and one touchdown, as Hankins connected with nine different receivers.
Ray Perkins gained 96 yards rushing on 17 carries to help the Lions roll up 565 yards of total offense, Southeastern's second highest output of the year, bested only by the 609 on October 18 versus Webber International.
Hankins' hot hand paced the Lions to 24 unanswered points in the second quarter that overcame a brief Jacksonville lead and put the game away for good.
Trailing 16-9 with just under 12 minutes left in the first half, Hankins moved the Lions (4-7) to the Dolphin 25 with a 37-yard completion to tight end Brooks Jordan.
Hankins moved the Lions close with a 21-yard hookup with Hutch Gonzales, and the drive culminated with a 2-yard touchdown burst by Ray Perkins.
Holder Brian Sheppard improvised a bad snap into a 2-point conversion on the point after, giving Southeastern a 17-16 lead, a cushion it would not relinquish.
The Lions added a 28-yard field goal on its next drive, and then put the game out of reach with a pair of touchdowns in the final three minutes of the first half.
The first came on a 23-yard pass from Hankins to Choni Francis, who circled out of the backfield and beat the Dolphin secondary to the end zone.
The next was a 22-yard hookup from Hankins to Jeffrey Howard, who ran a perfect post pattern to put the Lions up 33-16 with 30 seconds left before intermission.
Jacksonville (4-6) took the second half kickoff and drove 70 yards in seven plays to a 3-yard touchdown pass from Mike Sturgill to Julio Santiago to pull to within 33-23, but would get no closer.
The Lions responded to the Dolphin score by driving 68 yards on 11 plays to a touchdown of their own, capping the march when Hankins found Huggins in the left corner of the end zone from 2 yards out.
For the first time this season, an opponent actually attempted more passes than Southeastern and coach Hal Mumme's "Air Raid offense". Jacksonville quarterbacks Sturgill and Kevin Haggerty combined to throw the ball 58 times and completed 29 for 389 yards.
The teams traded field goals in the first quarter before the Lions grabbed a 9-3 lead when Scott Goldberg returned the kickoff following the Dolphin field goal 98 yards to a score.
The kickoff return for a touchdown was the third of the season for the Lions. Keylam Davis recorded the other scoring returns, taking one back 97 yards against Northwestern State on October 11 and 98 yards against Webber International one week later.
The Lions had a chance to extend the lead on their next offensive possession, but Josh Taylor fumbled inside the 5-yard line and the Dolphins recovered at their own 1.
Jacksonville took advantage of the change in momentum and drove 99 yards behind backup quarterback Haggerty to the tying touchdown on an 18-yard hookup with Richard Gayle.
The Dolphins missed a chance to take the lead for the moment when Jason Bense hooked the extra point wide left.
Jacksonville grabbed that lead on their next offensive play following after a Lion three-and-out, with starting quarterback Sturgill hitting Travis Lewis deep over the middle for an 80-yard touchdown.
Sturgill was 18-of-38 for 240 yards but was intercepted twice, while Haggerty was 11-of-20 for 149 yards.
Jacksonville running back Emmett Hunter, who entered with 1,266 yards on the season, was limited to nine yards on 12 carries as the Dolphins could muster just 55 yards on the ground.
Jacksonville 3 13 7 0-- 23
Southeastern La. 9 24 7 3-- 43
FIRST QUARTER
SLU—FG Jim Hall 27, 11:56
JU—FG Jason Bense 42, 5:08
SLU—Scott Goldberg 98 kickoff return (kick blocked), 4:52
SECOND QUARTER
JU—Richard Gayle 18 pass from Kevin Haggerty (kick failed), 14:01
JU—Travis Lewis 80 pass from Mike Sturgill (Bense kick), 11:58
SLU—Ray Perkins 2 run (Brian Sheppard run), 11;08
SLU—FG Hall 28, 5:19
SLU—Choni Francis 23 pass from Martin Hankins (Hall kick), 2:57
SLU—Jeffrey Howard 22 pass from Hankins (Hall kick), :30
THIRD QUARTER
JU—Julio Santiago 3 pass from Sturgill (Bense kick), 12:34
SLU—Felton Huggins 2 pass from Hankins (Hall kick), 8:42
FOURTH QUARTER
SLU—FG Hall 28, 4:07
A—9,758
JU SLU
FIRST DOWNS 20 26
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 22-55 25-153
PASSING YDS (NET) 389 412
Passes Att-Comp-Int 58-29-2 57-42-0
TOTAL PLAYS-YARDS 80-444 82-565
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards 1--4 3-22
Kickoff Returns-Yards 8-150 5-202
Int. Returns-Yards 0-0 2-23
Punts (Number-Avg) 8-41.9 5-35.8
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 8-66 9-92
Possession Time 26:28 33:32
Third-Down Conversions 5 of 17 3 of 13
Fourth-Down Conversions 1 of 2 1 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances 2-3 5-6
Sacks By: Number-Yards 1-6 1-4
RUSHING: Jacksonville-Julio Santiago 1-15; Travis Lewis 1-15; Mike Sturgill 5-11; Emmett Hunter 12-9; Kevin Haggerty 1-2; Jason Laurence 1-2; Chad Davis 1-1.
Southeastern La.-Ray Perkins 17-96; Keylam Davis 5-57; Choni Francis 1-4; Martin Hankins 2-minus 4.
PASSING: Jacksonville-Mike Sturgill 18-38-2-240; Kevin Haggerty 11-20-0-149.
Southeastern La.-Martin Hankins 42-57-0-412.
RECEIVING: Jacksonville-Richard Gayle 8-114; Julio Santiago 7-57; Eldin Ferguson 3-51; Travis Lewis 2-87; Jimmy Willman 2-39; Cliff Collins 2-24; Chad Davis 2-minus 6; Oliver Barnes 1-12; Charles Harper 1-6; Jason Laurence 1-5.
Southeastern La.-Felton Huggins 10-114; Hutch Gonzales 6-63; Josh Taylor 6-40; Jeffrey Howard 5-52; Brooks Jordan 4-69; Choni Francis 4-45; Ray Perkins 4-12; Keylam Davis 2-10; Josh Wilson 1-7.
