NATCHITOCHES - Northwestern State's Sterling Endsley's 18-yard touchdown run with 8:00 remaining in the game capped a six-play, 73-yard drive and the Demons continued their mastery of Southeastern Louisiana at Turpin Stadium with a 27-24 victory over the Lions in Southland Conference action Saturday afternoon at Turpin Stadium.
Southeastern (2-4, 1-1 SLC), which lost for the 10th straight time in Natchitoches since 1968 and missed out on their first 2-0 conference start in 33 years, suffered their first league loss of the season after opening league play with a 21-3 win over Stephen F. Austin last Saturday. Northwestern State (3-3, 2-1 SLC) bounced back from a 58-0 loss at Nicholls State last weekend behind a career performance from junior running back Byron Lawrence.
Lawrence finished the game with a career-high 194 yards on 33 carries. In his first career start, junior quarterback Drew Branch completed 12 of 21 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.
"We have to learn to win games on the road in the Southland Conference," Southeastern head coach Mike Lucas said. "We started off slow getting down 14-0, but we gained momentum heading into halftime. But when you play on the road in this conference, you have to learn to finish off opponents and we were not able to do that. It was a very disappointing loss in a game that was very winnable."
Southeastern junior running back Jay Lucas continued his impressive play. The Baton Rouge native finished with 141 total yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Brian Babin threw two touchdowns, completing 10-of-23 passes for 231 yards. However, Babin was sacked five times by the Demons.
While neither team committed a turnover, the game was far from mistake-free. Southeastern was backed up 98 yards on 12 penalties, while the Demons were called for nine penalties for 62 yards.
Northwestern State took the lead with eight minutes left in the contest. Endsley's scoring jaunt put the Demons on top, 27-24, less than three minutes after Southeastern had retaken the lead.
The Lions had a chance to even the score or better, driving down inside the NSU 20 to answer the drive. However, penalties and sacks pushed Southeastern back to the NSU 46, from where they had to punt inside four minutes remaining. Lawrence ran out the clock with three first down runs on the final drive.
Southeastern took the lead with 10:41 remaining. Babin hit senior wide receiver Byron Ross with a 72-yard scoring strike to put the Lions up, 24-20.
Northwestern State took the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter. Lee Scott's 30 yard field goal broke a 17-17 tie, putting NSU up, 20-17, with 14:55 remaining in the contest. The tie-breaking kick was set up by a reverse that Dudley Guice ran for 25 yards.
In the third quarter, Southeastern clung to a three-point lead as both teams exchanged punts to start the second half. On the second Demon drive of the quarter, Lawrence broke off a 37-yard run to set up a 35-yard Scott field goal to knot the score at 17 with 3:46 left in the third quarter.
Southeastern overcame a 14-0 first quarter deficit and went into halftime with a 17-14 lead. The Lion defense came alive after allowing touchdowns on the first two NSU drives. Southeastern scored 17 unanswered points in the second quarter, out-gaining the Demons, 106 to -1 in the period.
Southeastern's first play of scrimmage was a 51-yard strike from Babin to junior wide receiver Merrick Lanaux. On the next play, a pass interference call on NSU gave Southeastern first and goal on the NSU six-yard line. The Demon defense stiffened, however, and the Lions had to settle for a 21-yard field goal attempt. NSU safety Gary Riggs blocked the kick, however, to hold the Lions scoreless despite the solid opening march.
Northwestern State came right back on its first offensive possession of the game. Branch hit a 42-yard pass to Ben Bailey to move deep into Lion territory. On the next play, Branch threw across his body, finding fullback Quintene Goodie for a 13-yard touchdown. The play capped a six-play, 80-yard drive and gave the Demons a 7-0 lead with 10:36 left in the opening quarter.
After the Demons held the Southeastern on the next possession, NSU embarked on a methodical 10-play, 60-yard march, which took five minutes off the clock and was aided by two Southeastern facemask penalties. Branch snuck it in from a yard out to put the Demons up, 14-0, with 2:53 remaining in the opening period.
Southeastern got back into the game early in the second quarter. After forcing NSU to punt, Babin hit senior running back Mario Gilbert on a 21-yard screen pass on the first play of the drive, moving into Demon territory after a NSU facemask was tacked on. On the next play, Lucas broke several tackles on a 44-yard scoring run around left end to pull Southeastern within seven, 14-7, with 10:29 left in the second quarter.
After Southeastern forced a NSU punt, senior Eric Jackson ripped off a 28-yard punt return to set the Lions up at the NSU 17 to start the drive. NSU's defense stiffened, however, sacking Babin on third down. Turner came in to convert a 39-yard field goal try to pull the Lions closer at 14-10 with 4:36 remaining in the half.
The Lions took the lead with 1:06 left in the half. Babin capped a five-play, 49-yard drive with a screen pass to Lucas. With three blockers in front, Lucas cruised into the end zone from 39 yards out to put the Lions up, 17-14, heading into halftime. The touchdown was the eighth of the season for Lucas, surpassing his season total for 2006, when he was named Louisiana Newcomer of the Year.
The Lions will return home next Saturday, hosting Central Arkansas (3-3, 2-1 SLC) at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. Saturday will be the Hall of Fame Game, as Southeastern will induct Mac Faul (football), Martin duToit (men's golf), Anne Bauer-Peytavin (women's volleyball) and Robert "Doc" Goodwin (athletic training).
Scoring Summary
SLU - 0 17 0 7 - 24 (2-4, 1-1 SLC)
NSU - 14 0 3 10 - 27 (3-3, 2-1 SLC)
1st Quarter
10:36 - NSU - Goodie 13 pass from Branch (Scott kick)
2:53 - NSU - Branch 1 run (Scott kick)
2nd Quarter
10:29 - SLU - Lucas 44 run (Turner kick)
4:36 - SLU - Turner 39 FG
1:06 - SLU - Lucas 39 pass from Babin (Turner kick)
3rd Quarter
3:46 - NSU - Scott 35 FG
4th Quarter
14:55 - NSU - Scott 30 FG
10:41 - SLU - Ross 72 pass from Babin (Turner kick)
8:00 - NSU - Endsley 18 run (Scott kick)
A - 8,029
SLU NSU
FIRST DOWNS 14 23
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 23-43 51-245
PASSING YDS (NET) 262 119
Passes Att-Comp-Int 25-11-0 21-11-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 48-305 72-364
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards 2-28 4-32
Kickoff Returns-Yards 6-110 5-68
Interception Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg) 7-40.1 6-35.2
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 9-98 9-62
Possession Time 23:13 36:47
Third-Down Conversions 3 of 12 4 of 14
Fourth-Down Conversions 0 of 0 1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances 1-2 5-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards 3-32 5-45
RUSHING - SLU: Lucas 9-73-1, Gilbert 7-18, Neville 2-(-3), Babin 5-(-45). NSU - Lawrence 33-194, Guice 2-30, Endsley 5-23-1, Earl 2-22, Edwards 1-8, Jefferson 3-(-4), Branch 5-(-28)-1.
PASSING - SLU: Babin 10-23-231-2-0, Neville 1-2-31-0-0. NSU - Branch 12-21-119-0-0.
RECEIVING - SLU: Lucas 5-68-1, Ross 2-86-1, Gilbert 2-52, Lanaux 1-51, Wardell 1-5. NSU: Bailey 4-80, Goodie 2-16-1, Guice 1-10, Lawrence 1-6, Varnado 1-4, Broyles 1-3, Freeman 1-1, Earl 1-(-1).
