NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Southeastern was a rude guest in crashing Stephen F. Austin's homecoming party Saturday afternoon at Homer Bryce Stadium.
Mario Gilbert rushed for three touchdowns while Trey Willie passed for a career-high 308 yards and two scores as Southeastern rolled up a season-high 526 yards total offense and dismantled Southland Conference rival SFA, 45-23.
One week after recording its first-ever SLC win in a 37-13 win against McNeese State, Southeastern (3-4, 2-2 SLC) picked up its first league win on the road since a 13-10 win at Mississippi College on Oct. 28, 1978. Covington's Hutch Gonzales caught seven passes for a career-high 155 yards while Felton Huggins, a former Northeast High product, had six receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown for the Lions, who visit Sam Houston State next week in a regionally-televised game.
"Our offense is finally starting to gel," Southeastern head coach Dennis Roland said. "Trey (Willie) is really starting to understand the offense and is working in concert with our receivers. When he scrambles, everybody is on the same page and our receivers did a good job of finding the open spaces.
"SFA entered the game as the No. 1 offense in the (Southland) conference. I thought our defense did a good job of bending, but not breaking."
SFA (4-4, 1-3 SLC), the SLC's top passing team coming averaging 288 yards per game, took the opening possession and drove to the Southeastern 15 before the Lions' defense stiffened and forced Cory Long to kick a 35-yard field goal to give the Lumberjacks a 3-0 lead. After forcing the Lions to go three-and-out, SFA quickly drove 61 yards to the Southeastern 16, but Long missed a 33-yard attempt that would have given the Jacks a 6-0 advantage.
After that, it was all Southeastern as they scored on their next three drives to take a 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
Gilbert, who finished with 65 yards on the ground, capped an 80-yard drive when he scored on a 3-yard run. After an SFA punt, the Lions went 82 yards in seven plays as Gilbert scored untouched on a 13-yard run to give Southeastern a 14-3 lead.
Willie, who completed 17 of 25 passes, gave Southeastern a 21-3 lead when he scrambled away from a pair of SFA defenders and found Huggins in the end zone for a 26-yard strike with 8:00 left in the second quarter.
After Danny Southall found Chance Dennis for a 7-yard TD that cut the Southeastern lead to 21-10, the Lions found themselves deep in its own territory after Ryan Gooch's punt was downed at the Southeastern 2.
But the Lions drove downfield, going 98 yards in 15 plays to increase their lead to 28-10 converting four third-down opportunities during the drive. Willie, who finished with 57 yards rushing, scrambled for an 11-yard gain on third-and-8 to the SFA 49 and later found Huggins for a 23-yard gain to the SFA 20 on third-and-4 as Southeastern took over seven minutes off the clock. Jerald Watson, who led Southeastern with 69 yards rushing on nine carries, capped of the drive when he sprinted around left end for an 11-yard touchdown with 3:17 remaining in the third quarter.
"I thought that drive was the turning point of the game," Roland said. "We executed the offense really well and wore them (SFA) down with our play selection."
Gilbert added his third touchdown of the day on a 5-yard run that gave Southeastern a 35-16 lead late in the third quarter before Willie found Josh Taylor for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 11:28 remaining.
SFA, which lost its third straight, added a 2-yard TD run by Louie Runnels and a 4-yard TD run by Southall. Southall, making his first career start at quarterback for the Lumberjacks, finished 19-for-33 for 265 yards with an interception. Runnels led SFA with 64 yards on the ground while Southall finished with 38.
Southeastern Louisiana 7 14 14 10 - 45
Stephen F. Austin 3 7 6 7 - 23
First Quarter
SFA - FG Long 35, 13:07.
SLU - Gilbert 3 run (Hall kick), 4:24.
Second Quarter
SLU - Gilbert 13 run (Hall kick), 12:12.
SLU - Huggins 26 pass from Willie (Hall kick), 8:00.
SFA - Dennis 7 pass from Southall (Long kick), 1:40.
Third Quarter
SLU - Watson 11 run (Hall kick), 3:17.
SFA - Runnels 2 run (kick failed), 2:19.
SLU - Gilbert 5 run (Hall kick), 0:07.
Fourth Quarter
SLU - Taylor 3 pass from Willie (Hall kick), 11:28.
SLU - FG Hall 36, 5:29
SFA - Southall 4 run (Long kick), 3:16.
A - 9,867.
SLU SFA
First downs 21 21
Rushes-yards 41-198 32-130
Passing 328 265
Comp-Att-Int 29-19-034-19-1
Return Yards 14 12
Punts-Avg. 4-44.3 4-36.0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-0
Penalties-Yards 8-57 8-65
Time of Possession 32:01 27:59
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Southeastern Louisiana - Watson 9-69, Gilbert 17-65, Willie 10-57, Savoy 5-7. Stephen F. Austin - Runnels 15-64, Southall 13-38, Brooks 3-28, Battle 1-0.
PASSING
Southeastern Louisiana Willie 17-25-0-308, S. Babin 2-4-0-20. Stephen F. Austin - Southall 19-33-1-265, Battle 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING
Southeastern Louisiana
Gonzales 7-155, Huggins 6-100, Taylor 2-13, Lanaux 1-39, Scates 1-16, Savoy 1-4, Watson 1-1. Stephen F. Austin - Dennis 5-60, Williams 5-48, Price 3-45, Bodley 2-53, Edison 2-41, Runnels 2-18.
