HAMMOND - Senior Trey Willie, in his first career start, threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns and Southeastern Louisiana finally opened the Dennis Roland era with a convincing 48-21 victory over regional rival Alcorn State Saturday at Strawberry Stadium.
As both teams played its first game of the season following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, Southeastern (1-0) piled up 459 yards of total offense and defeated Alcorn State (0-1) for the first time in three tries.
Leading 14-7 at halftime, Southeastern outscored Alcorn State, 27-0, in the third quarter with Willie tossing a 7-yard touchdown pass to Hutch Gonzales. Auburn transfer Jerald Watson and freshman Sam Savoy each rushed for a TD and Jim Hall nailed field goals of 36 and 31 yards to give the Lions a 41-7 lead after three quarters.
Roland, who served as offensive line coach for the Lions in 2003 under former coach Hal Mumme, earned his first win as a Southeastern head coach while bringing a physical approach to the game. The Lions used a balanced attack as they rushed for 223 yards with Mario Gilbert leading the way with 95 yards on 15 carries.
Defensively, Southeastern forced five turnovers, added a pair of sacks and held the Braves to 116 yards total offense through the first three quarters.
Alcorn State led 7-0 in the first quarter as Jeremy McCoy capped a 10-play, 77-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. The Braves added a pair of fourth quarter scores as Quentin Sullivan returned a blocked field goal attempt 85 yards for a touchdown and Vernadus Cooper added a 9-yard run.
Willie, who replaced Martin Hankins as the Lions' signal caller, threw a 15-yard TD strike to Gonzales in the first quarter to tie the game at 7-7. Watson, who scored twice in his Southeastern debut, capped an 11-play, 77-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge that gave the Lions a 14-7 advantage.
Willie added his third TD pass in the fourth when he hit Jamaal Jackson with a 7-yard pass in the fourth.
Alcorn State........ 7 0 0 14 - 21 Record: (0-1)
Southeastern La..... 7 7 27 7 - 48 Record: (1-0)
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
ASU - McCoy 3 run (Shea kick) 5:20
SLU - Gonzales 15 pass from Willie (J. Hall kick) 2:40
2nd Quarter
SLU - Watson 1 run (Hall kick) 2:40
3rd Quarter
SLU - Gonzales 7 pass Willie (Hall kick) 11:55
SLU - FG Hall 36 8:03
SLU - FG Hall 31 6:30
SLU - Watson 3 run (Hall kick) 4:04
SLU - Savoy 1 run (Hall kick) 2:23
4th Quarter
ASU - Sullivan 85 blocked FG return (Shea kick) 14:38
SLU - J. Jackson 7 pass from Willie (Hall kick) 12:47
ASU - Cooper 9 run (Shea kick) 1:31
A - 7,823
ASU SLU
FIRST DOWNS................... 15 19
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 39-172 41-223
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 62 236
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 26-12-4 33-16-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 65-234 74-459
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 1-10 1-40
Punt Returns-Yards............ 2-48 3-59
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 7-136 3-25
Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-3 4-63
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 6-35.3 3-41.3
Fumbles-Lost.................. 7-1 2-2
Penalties-Yards............... 5-30 8-60
Possession Time............... 33:27 26:33
RUSHING
Alcorn State - McCoy 15-110; Cooper 12-51; Bozeman 9-17; Williams 1-4; Shepherd 1-minus 2; Hughes 1-minus 8. Southeastern La. - Gilbert 15-95; Willie 10-68; Savoy 4-31; Watson 10-28; Alfortish 1-3; S. Babin 1-minus-2.
PASSING
Alcorn State - Bozeman 10-21-2-59; Hobson 2-5-2-3. Southeastern La. - Willie 16-30-1-236; S. Babin 0-3-0-0.
RECEIVING
Alcorn State - Spiller 4-23; Arceneaux 3-13; McFarland 2-10; McCoy 1-13; Franklin 1-9; Cooper 1-minus 6. Southeastern La. - Taylor 6-91; Gonzales 4-39; Huggins 2-62; Scates 1-15; Lanaux 1-14; Gilbert 1-8; J. Jackson 1-7.
