HAMMOND - After a pair of rugged games on the road against Division I-A opponents, Southeastern Louisiana was glad to finally play a game on its home field.

Led by a balanced attack that racked up 423 yards total offense, including 228 on the ground, Southeastern erupted for 28 points in the second quarter and cruised to a 41-13 win over Jacksonville (Fla.) University in the Lions' home opener Saturday night at Strawberry Stadium.

Texas A&M transfer Jay Lucas rushed for 125 yards on nine carries and Seth Babin completed 17 of 23 passes for 169 yards as Southeastern (1-2), which was playing without head coach Dennis Roland for the second consecutive game, led 35-6 at halftime before unloading the bench in the second half. JU, a Division I-AA non-scholarship program which was playing the first of four consecutive games on the road, fell to 0-2.

JU took the opening kickoff and went 70 yards in 13 plays, driving to the SLU 6 before the Lion defense held and Donovon Curry booted a 23-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 9:50 left in the first quarter.

Four plays and 78 yards later, Southeastern took the lead for good with Lucas finishing off the drive with a 42-yard sprint to the end zone. The Lions opened the drive with a four-yard run by Lucas before Babin completed passes of 25 and 7 yards to Merrick Lanaux and Robby Scates before Lucas rumbled down the right sidelines for his second touchdown of the season.

After forcing a Dolphin punt on the next possession, Southeastern went 80 yards in 12 plays for a 14-3 lead. Lucas highlighted the drive with a 28-yard run to the JU 36 before the Lions scored eight plays later when Babin hit Lanaux in the left corner of the end zone for a 4-yard TD strike.

Southeastern's special teams then got into the act as the Lions blocked punts on JU's next two possessions - the second of which led to a 6-yard touchdown run by Kendrick Perry with 5:59 remaining in the first half. Kevin Jackson's deflection of a Joseph Recktenwald punt was downed at the SLU 35 and after the Lions were forced to punt on the ensuing possession, Demoris Hardiman blocked a punt that was recovered by Romaliz Mayo at the JU 15.

The Lions benefited from Freddie King's fumble recovery at the JU 36 and needed three plays to score as Babin hit Krishna Muhammad on a 31-yard touchdown to put Southeastern up, 28-3.

On the Lions' next possession, Southeastern drove 82 yards in six plays for a 35-3 lead with 39 seconds left in the half. Lucas opened the drive with a bruising 34-yard run to the JU 48 before Babin completed passes of nine and six yards to the JU 33. Three plays later, Babin completed a screen pass to Byron Ross who scooted 18 yards for his first touchdown since the 2004 season.

Mario Gilbert, who rushed for 60 yards on five carries, scored on a 4-yard run in the third quarter for Southeastern, which posted its highest rushing total since recording 223 yards in a 48-21 win over Alcorn State last season.

JU, which finished with 221 yards of total offense, controlled the football for 11 minutes and accumulated 92 yards. In the second quarter, the Dolphins were held to 59 yards while allowing 175.

Southeastern returns to action next Saturday traveling to Lubbock, Texas to face Big 12 opponent Texas Tech in a 6 p.m. contest.

Jacksonville........ 3 3 7 0 - 13 Record: (0-2)
Southeastern La..... 7 28 6 0 - 41 Record: (1-2)

First Quarter
JU - FG Curry 23, 9:50
SLU - Lucas 42 run (Turner kick), 7:48

Second Quarter
SLU - Lanaux 4 pass from S. Babin (Turner kick), 11:35
SLU - Perry 6 run (Turner kick), 5:59
SLU - Muhammad 31 pass from S. Babin (Turner kick), 3:19
SLU - Ross 18 pass from S. Babin (Turner kick), :39
JU - FG Curry 37, 0:00

Third Quarter
JU - Gamble 9 run (Curry kick), 7:32
SLU - Gilbert 4 run (kick failed), 2:25

JU SLU
FIRST DOWNS................... 16 18
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 38-53 30-228
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 168 195
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 33-14-0 28-20-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 71-221 58-423
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 4-20 2-25
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 7-141 3-56
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 9-31.2 5-35.4
Fumbles-Lost.................. 4-1 2-1
Penalties-Yards............... 7-65 7-61
Possession Time............... 31:48 28:12

RUSHING
Jacksonville - Brant 15-59; Gamble 5-16; Coltrane 3-10; Harris 4-6; Horton 6-4; Brown 1-minus 1; Jenner 1-minus 1; Belcher 1-minus 2; Team 2-minus 38. SLU - Lucas 9-125; Gilbert 5-60; Perry 4-21; Betts 4-17; Dr. Adams 3-9; Savoy 3-8; S. Babin 2-minus 12.

PASSING
Jacksonville - Horton 11-26-0-151; Belcher 3-7-0-17. SLU - S. Babin 17-23-0-169; Schlosser 2-4-0-23; B. Babin 1-1-0-3.

RECEIVING
Jacksonville - Tribble 3-37; Jenner 2-52; Rogers 2-26; Gamble 2-15; Brant 2-14; Lusk 1-23; Conner 1-6; Bell 1-minus 5. SLU - Muhammad 4-49; Ross 4-29; Lanaux 3-45; Perry 3-27; Walls 1-17; Kilpatrick 1-9; Garrett 1-8; Lucas1-7; Scates 1-7; Gilbert 1-minus 3.