HAMMOND - Southeastern Louisiana junior running back Jay Lucas rushed 13 for a career-high 158 yards and two touchdowns, while the Lion defense bottled up Stephen F. Austin, as Southeastern rolled past the Lumberjacks, 21-3, in the Southland Conference opener for both teams Saturday night at Strawberry Stadium.
The Lions won a conference opener for the first time since joining the Southland Conference prior to the 2005 season. Southeastern jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back, forcing three turnovers and holding SFA (0-5, 0-1 SLC) to 289 total yards.
Southeastern sophomore quarterback Brian Babin completed 18-of-30 pass attempts for 179 yards and was not intercepted for the fourth consecutive game. Babin managed the game, allowing Lucas and senior running back Mario Gilbert to pace a Southeastern rushing attack that racked up 203 yards.
In last season's game, SFA rushed 308 yards against the Lions, but this year Southeastern held the Lumberjacks in check for the most part, allowing 146 yards on 36 carries (3.7 yards per carry). Louie Runnels, who torched Southeastern for 205 yards last season was held in check with 35 yards on eight carries.
SFA quarterback Danny Southall could never find a rhythm, being pulled early in the fourth quarter. Southall finished 5-for-12 for 51 yards, while backup Jeremy Moses was 6-for-13 for 57 yards with two interceptions. Southeastern sacked Southall three times.
Lion sophomore strong safety Tommy Connors led the Southeastern defensive attack with eight tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble return for a touchdown. Junior cornerback Demerious Johnson and junior safety Travis Williams each intercepted passes for the Lions.
After both teams traded punts to open the game, Southeastern embarked on their first scoring drive midway through the first quarter. Gilbert racked up 24 total yards on the drive, which ended with a strong Lucas run over the left side from 28 yards out to cap an eight-play, 71-yard drive and give Southeastern a 7-0 lead with 5:10 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing SFA drive, Southall was pulled in favor of backup quarterback Jeremy Claybon. Facing a third-and-three, Claybon attempted an option pitch. Connors deflected it and picked up the loose ball, running in from nine yards out to give Southeastern a 14-0 lead.
Southeastern was not able to sustain a drive offensively for the rest of the half. SFA mounted two scoring threats, but each resulted in missed field goals by Cory Long and Jaime Fernandez, allowing Southeastern to head into the break with a 14-0 lead.
SFA would not go away, quietly, however. On the first drive of the third quarter, SFA defensive lineman Andre Hicks stripped Gilbert with a big hit and Story Wingo pounced on it for the Lumberjacks at the Southeastern 40.
Runnels and Southall finally found a rhythm on the next drive, eating up six-plus minutes on the clock with a 27-yard drive. However, a nice open-field tackle by Connors stopped SFA tight end Andy Anderson short on third-and-nine inside the Southeastern 20. Long came in and knocked home a 30-yard field goal to pull SFA to 14-3 with 7:43 left in the third quarter.
Southeastern was forced to punt on its next drive and SFA seemed to be back into the game. On third-and-five, Southeastern senior defensive end Dwight Womack and freshman linebacker Mark Newbill combined to sack Southall to force a punt and change the game's momentum.
On the first play of Southeastern's next drive, Lucas put the game out of reach and showed why he is considered one of the conference's elite runners. Lucas ran wide around the right side, broke a tackle along the sideline, cut back to the opposite side of the field and scored on a brilliant 78-yard run.
The second-longest run of Lucas' career gave Southeastern a 21-3 lead and broke the spirit of the Lumberjacks. From that moment on, SFA went three and out twice and threw two interceptions. Southeastern is now 2-1 versus Stephen F. Austin since the return of the program prior to the 2003 season.
Southeastern will look to continue its winning ways next Saturday when they face league rival Northwestern State at 2:30 p.m. in Natchitoches. The game will be televised regionally by Cox Sports Television and will be broadcast live in the Hammond area on KAJUN 107.1 FM and on the internet at www.LionSports.net.
Southeastern
Box Score (Final)
Stephen F. Austin vs Southeastern La. (Oct 06, 2007 at Hammond, La.)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
SFA - 0 0 3 0 - 3 (0-5,0-1)
SLU - 14 0 7 0 - 21 (2-3,1-0)
Scoring Summary:
1st
5:10 - SLU - Lucas 28 run (Turner kick)
4:12 - SLU - Connors 9 fumble return (Turner kick)
3rd
7:43 - SFA - Long 30 FG
3:41 - SLU - Lucas 78 run (Turner kick)
SFA SLU
FIRST DOWNS................... 13 14
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 39-146 30-203
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 108 179
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 26-11-2 31-18-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 65-254 61-382
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 1-9
Punt Returns-Yards............ 2-0 1-5
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 2-42 2-40
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 2-3
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 7-39.7 8-36.5
Fumbles-Lost.................. 3-1 2-1
Penalties-Yards............... 5-54 6-52
Possession Time............... 29:13 30:47
Third-Down Conversions........ 2 of 16 6 of 16
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 2 of 3 0 of 0
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 1-2 0-1
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 1-4 3-23
RUSHING: SFA-Thacker 12-77; Runnels 8-35; Moore 3-24; Southall 13-21; TEAM 1-0; Claybon 2-(- 11). SLU-Lucas 13-158; Ross 3-22; Gilbert 9-14; Neville 2-9; Cryer 1-3; Babin, Brian 2-(-3).
PASSING: SFA-Moses 6-13-2-57; Southall 5-12-0-51; Claybon 0-1-0-0. SLU-Babin 18-30-0-179; Neville 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: SFA-Rhea 6-48; Edison 2-42; Rhodes 1-12; Anderson 1-4; Taylor 1-2. SLU-Gilbert 5-55; Ross 4-52; Davis 2-21; DeLong 2-12; Lucas 2-5; Wardell 1-13; Lanaux 1-13; Cryer 1-8.
