HAMMOND - A goal line stand by the Sam Houston State defense midway through the fourth quarter caused the Southeastern Louisiana football team to drop a tough 20-16 decision to the Bearkats on Homecoming Saturday night at Strawberry Stadium.
The Lions (2-8) fell for the fifth consecutive week and dropped to 1-5 in league play. Sam Houston State extended its winning streak to four games and improved to 6-4 and 4-2 in Southland Conference action.
Southeastern junior running back Jay Lucas carried 16 times for 147 yards and a touchdown. Lucas moved to fourth all-time in school history with 1,065 rushing yards this season. The touchdown was his 13th of the season, tying him for second-most in school history.
Southeastern sophomore quarterback Brian Babin threw for 153 yards. Lucas caught three passes for a team-high 63 yards. Sam Houston State out-gained Southeastern, 428-319.
Sam Houston State was led by junior running back Chris Poullard, who finished with 36 rushes for 142 yards. Brett Hicks threw for 296 yards - his third-most in his career - while Justin Wells caught a game-high seven passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Southeastern trailed 17-6 at halftime, but came back to have a chance for the winning score on their final drive. With 13:26 left in the final quarter, Sam Houston State tried to push the lead to 23-16, but junior defensive back Tony Johnson blocked Taylor Wilkins' 31-yard field goal to give Southeastern an opportunity.
On the ensuing Southeastern drive, Lucas ripped off 31 yards on the first two plays to put the Lions at midfield. Babin completed three consecutive passes - the last being a 14-yard strike to freshman tight end Cole Wardell - to set Southeastern up with first-and-goal at the Bearkat 2.
From there, the Bearkats stepped up their defensive intensity. On first down, senior running back Mario Gilbert was stuffed for no gain by Byran Richmond. On second down, Gilbert was thrown for a three-yard loss on an option pitch by Frank Simon. Babin found Gilbert on a screen on third down, but Richmond stopped Gilbert inches short of the goal line.
On fourth down, Gilbert was stuffed by the Bearkat defense, as Kevin Smith kept him out of the endzone and gave the ball back to Sam Houston State with 8:01 remaining. On the ensuing drive, Poullard carried the ball 11 times for 53 yards and the Bearkats were able to run out the clock.
Sam Houston State dominated the first 30 minutes, out-gaining the Lions, 267-143, and Southeastern trailed 17-6 at halftime, but cut the lead with the first drive of the second half. A 22-yard strike from Babin to Wardell keyed an eight-play, 44-yard drive that resulted in a 39-yard Jeff Turner field goal and cut the SHSU lead to 17-9.
After a SHSU three-and-out, junior cornerback Eric Jackson ripped off a 31-yard punt return to set Southeastern up at the Bearkat 46. Four plays later, Lucas bulled his way into the endzone with a nine-yard scoring run to cut the lead to 17-16.
Sam Houston State answered with an 11-play, 53-yard drive that ate up 4:05 on the clock. Southeastern's defense stopped the Bearkats, however, and held them to a 41-yard Wilkins field goal to keep the score at 20-16.
Southeastern will close out the 2007 season next Saturday versus Nicholls State at 2:30 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. The game will be televised regionally live on 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. The Southeastern senior class will be honored prior to Saturday's game.
Box Score (Final)
Sam Houston State vs Southeastern La. (Nov 10, 2007 at Hammond, La.)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
Sam Houston State... 10 7 3 0 - 20 (6-4,4-2)
Southeastern La..... 6 0 10 0 - 16 (2-8,1-5)
Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter
12:14 SLU - Turner 39 FG 5-46 1:41
6:39 SHSU - Wilkins 18 FG, 13-60 5:19
5:20 SHSU - Houston 35 pass from Hicks (Wilkins kick) 2-66 0:15
2:11 SLU - Turner 33 FG, 5-13 1:22
2nd Quarter
2:21 SHSU - Wells 2 pass from Hicks (Wilkins kick), 9-78 3:44
3rd Quarter
10:54 SLU - Turner 39 FG, 8-44 3:56
8:07 SLU - Lucas 9 run (Turner kick)
3:56 SHSU - Wilkins 41 FG, 11-53 4:05
Attendance - 6,404
SHSU SLU
FIRST DOWNS................... 18 17
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 44-132 29-166
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 296 153
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 31-20-0 28-13-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 75-428 57-319
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 4-0 1-31
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 3-66 4-98
Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-0 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 4-39.8 4-43.5
Fumbles-Lost.................. 2-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards............... 4-48 6-40
Possession Time............... 34:33 25:27
Third-Down Conversions........ 10 of 20 3 of 11
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 2 of 2 0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 2-3 2-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 1-9 2-16
RUSHING: SHSU-Poullard 36-142; Houston 1-1; TEAM 3-(-5); Hicks 4-(-6). SLU-Lucas 16-147; Gilbert 9-18; Ross 2-11; Neville 1-(-1); Babin 1-(-9).
PASSING: SHSU-Hicks 20-30-0-296; Wells 0-1-0-0. SLU-Babin 13-28-1-153.
RECEIVING: SHSU-Wells 7-85; Poullard 4-91; Jones 4-26; Martin 3-51; Houston 2-43. SLU-Lucas 3-63; Gilbert 3-20; Wardell 2-36; Lanaux 2-1; Ross 1-18; DeLong 1-10; Cryer 1-5.
