HAMMOND - Southeastern Louisiana's offense finally found its groove against Gardner-Webb as it piled up a season-high 479 total yards. But a pair of second-half turnovers by Southeastern and a pair of big plays by the Bulldogs in the final 30 minutes held the Lions at bay.
Philip Peoples rushed for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and Gardner-Webb scored touchdowns off consecutive Lion turnovers in the third quarter as it rallied for a 28-21 victory Saturday night at Strawberry Stadium.
The loss, which spoiled the return of head coach Dennis Roland after he missed the past three weeks with an infection, dropped Southeastern to 1-4 overall heading into its Southland Conference opener next week at Nicholls State.
Southeastern drove 69 yards on its second possession, highlighted by a 32-yard run by Mario Gilbert to the GWU 29, before the drive stalled and freshman Jeff Turner kicked a 26-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead. The Lions extended their lead to 10-0 in the second quarter when Jay Lucas capped an 80-yard drive with a 22-yard scoring run off the right side with 13:43 remaining.
In the opening half, Southeastern's defense held Gardner-Webb (3-2) to 86 yards total offense, including two yards on the ground on 11 carries.
But the second half was another story as GWU totaled 224 of its 310 yards total offense and erupted for 28 points, including a pair of touchdowns by Duvaughn Flagler in a 2:50-span.
After forcing GWU to punt on its first possession of the second half, the Lions turned the ball over when Seth Babin's pass on third-and-13 was intercepted by Mario Brown, who returned it 21 yards to the SLU 14. Flagler scored one play later when he raced untouched around the left side on an end around to cut the Southeastern lead to 10-7 with 10:39 remaining in the third quarter.
Southeastern turned the ball over on the ensuing kickoff when Mike Vesser forced Dremell Adams to fumble and Austin Gaines recovered at the Southeastern 30. Five plays later, Devin Campbell found Flagler in the left corner of the end zone on third-and-goal from the 5 and the Bulldogs went ahead 14-10, with 7:49 left.
A Babin pass to Merrick Lanaux on third-and-7 moved the ball to the GWU 3, but Southeastern couldn't get the ball in the end zone as Turner added his second 26-yard field goal that cut the lead to 14-13 with 13:25 left.
Peoples capped a 70-yard drive on the Bulldogs' next possession, highlighted by a 28-yard pass from Campbell to Flagler on second-and-15, as he burst in from 10 yards for a 21-13 lead.
Southeastern responded on the following drive as Lucas capped an 11-play, 67-yard effort as he fought off a pair of GWU defenders and scored on a 6-yard pass from Babin with 5:00 left. The Lions went for two and Babin found Lucas alone in end zone that tied the score at 21-21.
David Montgomery, who played for Roland at North Gwinnett (Ga.) High School, then scampered 73 yards to the Southeastern 1 and Peoples scored two plays later on a 4-yard run up the middle.
Southeastern took the ensuing drive and moved the GWU 6, but on fourth down, Babin's pass for Lanaux was incomplete and GWU ran out the clock for the win.
Montgomery rushed for 93 yards to lead Gardner-Webb while Campbell went 16-for-29 for 181 yards and a touchdown. Brown fueled the Bulldog defense with 25 tackles, including 15 solo, with three stops for loss and an interception.
Babin set career-highs going 33-for-44 for 283 yards, but was picked off twice as Southeastern committed three turnovers. Lucas posted his second 100-yard game fo the season, running for 115 yards on 20 carries. The sophomore added six receptions for 61 yards while Lanaux caught a career-high 10 passes for 102 yards.
Gardner-Webb........ 0 0 14 14 - 28 Record: (3-2)
Southeastern La..... 3 7 0 11 - 21 Record: (1-4)
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
SLU - FG Turner 26, 6:20
2nd Quarter
SLU - Lucas 22 run (Turner kick), 13:43
3rd Quarter
GWU - Flagler 14 run (Smith kick), 10:39
GWU - Flagler 5 pass from Campbell (Smith kick), 7:49
4th Quarter
SLU - FG Turner 26, 13:25
GWU - Peoples 10 run (Smith kick), 9:40
SLU - Lucas 6 pass from S. Babin (Lucas pass from S. Babin), 5:00
GWU - Peoples 4 run (Smith kick), 3:32
A - 5,122
GWU SLU
FIRST DOWNS................... 15 24
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 27-129 30-196
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 181 283
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 29-16-0 44-33-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 56-310 74-479
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 2-11 3-16
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 4-58 3-79
Interception Returns-Yards.... 2-21 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 7-43.3 3-41.3
Fumbles-Lost.................. 0-0 2-1
Penalties-Yards............... 6-47 8-70
Possession Time............... 28:00 32:00
RUSHING
GWU - Montgomery 6-93; Peoples 8-39; Flagler 1-14; Jackson 3-6; Wallace 2-0; Team 3-minus 4; Campbell 4-minus 19. SLU - Lucas 20-115; Gilbert 4-52; S. Babin 4-36; Dr. Adams 1-minus 2; Ross 1-minus 5.
PASSING
GWU - Campbell 16-29-0-181. SLU - S. Babin 33-44-2-283.
RECEIVING
GWU - Flagler 7-67; Alston 4-42; Payton 2-18; Tuten 1-28; Dixon 1-17; Jackson 1-9. SLU - Lanaux 10-102; Lucas 6-61; Scates 6-47; Muhammad 3-24; Ross 3-19; Kilpatrick 2-11; Davis 1-14; Garrett 1-5; Gilbert 1-0.
