CONWAY, Ark. - The Southeastern Louisiana University football team opens a crucial stretch in its schedule beginning tonight when it travels to face No. 12-ranked Central Arkansas in a Southland Conference contest.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. from First Security Field at Estes Stadium. The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at
www.LionSports.net. The game marks the second meeting between the schools with UCA rallying for a 37-33 win in Hammond last season.
After facing SLC co-leader UCA (6-1, 2-0), the Lions return home on Nov. 1 to battle nationally-ranked and defending SLC champion McNeese State at Strawberry Stadium.
Southeastern, playing without head coach Mike Lucas for the first time since leaving the team Oct. 15 to undergo a heart valve procedure, held off a late rally by Northwestern State and defeated the Demons, 26-21, for homecoming.
Jay Lucas rushed for a season-high 120 yards to lead the Lions with Brian Babin completing 20 of 29 passes for 291 yards and two scores. Mark Newbill and Ryan Godare combined for 23 tackles on the night with Tommy Connors adding nine tackles, a blocked field goal and an interception that sealed the win.
Babin, ranked No. 22 nationally in total offense (261.33) and 25th in passing efficiency (144.97), has been steady in running the Southeastern offense with 14 touchdowns and one interception. The junior has completed 63 percent of his passes with Jay Lucas and Chris Wilson leading the team with 33 receptions each.
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time - Saturday, October 25, 2008, 6 p.m.
Location - Conway, Ark. (First Security Field at Estes Stadium; 8,500; Natural Grass)
Radio - KSLU-FM 90.9; www.LionSports.net
Talent - Mark Willoughby (PBP),
Damon Sunde (color), Robbie Rhodes (sideline)
Television - None
Livestats - www.LionSports.net; www.UCASports.com
The Series - UCA leads, 1-0 (First meeting in Conway)
Last Meeting - UCA, 37-33 (Oct. 20, 2007 in Hammond)
Storylines - The game marks Southeastern's first trip to the state of Arkansas since the 2003 season (at Henderson State) ... quarterbacks Brian Babin and UCA's Nathan Brown have combined for 33 touchdown passes and two interceptions in 426 attempts ... running backs Jay Lucas and Brent Grimes were high school teammates at Baton Rouge's Redemptorist High School.
LUCAS TO BE SIDELINED FOR REMAINDER OF SEASON
Southeastern Louisiana University football coach Mike Lucas will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2008 season.
Lucas, in his second year as head coach at Southeastern, will soon undergo a heart valve procedure and will miss the final six games for the Lions. Offensive coordinator Tommy Condell has been named acting head coach for the remainder of the 2008 campaign.
“I have total faith in Tommy Condell, my coaching staff and our student-athletes in continuing to build on the foundation of a championship football team,” Lucas said.
“We know that Coach Lucas is disappointed that this comes in the middle of the season,” said Interim President John L. Crain. “Our main concern right now is that he gets the care that he needs. We're looking forward to him returning to work as soon as he gets well. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.”
“Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with Mike and his family and we look forward to his return to the sidelines at Strawberry Stadium,” Southeastern Director of Athletics Dr. Joel Erdmann said. “This is a great opportunity for all Southeastern fans to rally around and embrace these student-athletes and the entire team.”
TEAM NOTES
OFFENSIVE LINE
C Brad Bardy (Covington, La.) is the lone returning starter from the 2007 season ... LT David Ward (Sugar Hill, Ga.), who started 11 games at LG in 2006, has started every game since missing the entire 2007 season with an injury ... RT Kevin Hughes (New Orleans, La.) earned two starts last season as a redshirt freshman ... junior college transfer Willie Pritchett (Moss Point, Miss.) is the younger brother of former Lion Charles Hall (2004-05) ... LG Josh Bridges (Springfield, La.) converted to the offensive line after playing at defensive tackle in 2007 ... RG Brent Blazevich (Hammond, La.), a three-year letterwinner, missed the Louisiana Tech game after suffering ankle injury against South Dakota ... true freshman Josh Penton (Splendora, Texas) earned the start at right guard at Louisiana Tech ... LG Kenny Stalling (Macon, Miss.) has missed the last three games with an injury ... LG Jordan Powell (Hammond, La.) made his first career start against North Dakota
RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Chris Wilson (Amory, Miss.) caught a season-high 11 passes for 101 yards against South Dakota ... Wilson is tied for the team lead in receptions (33) and leads the team in yards (562) ... Wilson's 562 yards this season ranks eighth-best in schools history ... junior Krishna Muhammad (Metairie, La.) caught a career-high seven passes against South Dakota and recorded his first touchdown since the 2006 finale against Sam Houston State ... his 55-yard reception against North Dakota was a career-long ... Simmie Yarborough (Brookhaven, Miss.) leads all Southland Conference freshmen with 29 receptions ... his first career reception was a 14-yard TD catch in the first quarter against Alcorn State ... Andre Cryer (Kentwood, La.) set career-highs at Louisiana Tech for catches (7), yards (138) and recorded a 55-yard catch in the second quarter cut the Tech led to 21-17 ... Cryer was named the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week after his performance at Louisiana Tech ... redshirt freshman DeMario Simmons (Marrero, La.) recorded his first career reception against Mississippi State - a 70-yard pass from Tyler Beatty that led to Jay Lucas' 1-yard TD ... redshirt freshman Brady Miles (Darrow, La.) and true freshman Broderick Albert (Lutcher, La.) each recorded their first receptions at MSU ... Miles scored his first touchdown on a double reverse against North Dakota ... redshirt freshman Kory Theodore (New Orleans, La.) caught three passes for 77 yards, including a 53-yard grab, against Northwestern State.
QUARTERBACKS
Brian Babin (St. Amant, La.) ranks second in school history behind Martin Hankins in career passing yards (3,613), completions (332) and touchdowns (26) ... Babin ranks third in career attempts (537) behind Hankins (1,132) and Charles Hebert (595) ... Babin has posted 300-yard passing games in contests against South Dakota and Louisiana Tech ... Babin passed for 322 yards and set career-highs in completions (32) and attempts (59) at Louisiana Tech ... Babin threw for a career-high 330 yards and two touchdowns against South Dakota ... the junior went 30-for-42 for 272 yards and four first-half touchdowns at Stephen F. Austin ... Babin opened the season with 182 passes without an interception before SFA's Jerrel Barnett picked off a fourth-quarter pass ... Babin completed 27-of-44 passes with no interceptions against USD ... Babin missed the Mississippi State game after suffering a concussion on the final play of the first half at Alcorn State ... Babin finished the half at ASU 12-for-20 for 143 yards and three touchdowns ... Mike Neville (Vallejo, Calif.) earned his first start at Mississippi State after finishing 13-for-17 for 108 yards and a touchdown in the second half at ASU ... the 26-year-old Neville, a junior college transfer who spent two years on a Mormon mission in Brazil, finished 3-for-10 against Mississippi State ... sophomore Tyler Beatty (Pflugerville, Texas), a transfer from Baylor, made his first appearance in the MSU game, completing 4 of 10 passes for 97 yards.
RUNNING BACKS
All-America candidate Jay Lucas (Baton Rouge, La.) recorded his first 100-yard game of the season - and ninth of his career - with 120 yards against Northwestern State ... his 53-yard run in the fourth quarter was the longest this season by a Lion ... Lucas ran for 93 yards at Stephen F. Austin ... Lucas added 88 yards and scored two touchdowns against South Dakota ... the senior needs 838 yards to become the school's all-time leading rusher ... against USD, Lucas became the fourth player in school history to rush for over 2,000 yards and became the fifth player - and first running back - to record 100 career catches ... Lucas, who ranks fifth in school history with 121 career receptions, has caught a pass in 23 consecutive games - the longest streak among any current player ... junior college transfer Jasper Ducksworth (Mt. Olive, Miss.) carried five times for 34 yards in his Southeastern debut at Alcorn State ... Ducksworth led the Lions with 55 yards, including a 36-yard scamper, against North Dakota.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Walter Vaughn (Spalding, Ga.) has started every game this season for the Lions after missing the final nine games of the 2007 campaign with an injury ... Vaughn tallied a career-high seven tackles at Stephen F. Austin ... DE Steven Honore (New Roads, La.) missed the North Dakota game due a death in the family ... Honore was credited with four tackles and a sack at Alcorn State after playing at linebacker in 2007 ... his sack early in the third quarter against South Dakota forced a Noah Shepard fumble and led to a Southeastern field goal ... Honore added four tackles, including two for loss, against Northwestern State ... DT Devin Boutwell (Buras, La.) missed the North Dakota game with a back injury ... redshirt freshman Jordan August (Edgard, La.) earned his first career start against UND ... forced and recovered a fumble while being credited with one stop in his collegiate debut against Alcorn State ... DE Nathan Clophus (Sulphur, La.) tallied three tackles and a sack against ASU ... Clophus was credited with a sack one play before Drew Branch tossed an interception on Northwestern State's final drive ... DE Ryan Anderson (Independence, La.) recorded five tackles, including one for a loss, against South Dakota ... true freshman Brian Rodgers (Baton Rouge, La.) made his debut against North Dakota after missing six weeks with a thumb injury ... Rodgers posted one tackle for loss and forced a fumble against the Fighting Sioux.
LINEBACKERS
Mark Newbill (Monroe, La.) tied a season-high with 13 tackles, including 10 solos, against South Dakota ... his forced fumble on an attempted two-point conversion preserved Southeastern's 31-30 victory ... Newbill posted 13 stops in the season-opener at Alcorn State ... Newbill is second on the team with 60 tackles on the season ... Ryan Godare (Sulphur, La.) tied a season-high with 11 tackles against Northwestern State ... the sophomore recorded 11 stops against North Dakota ... he posted 10 tackles - all solos - at Alcorn State ... Godare opened SLC play with seven tackles, including 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss and three pass breakups against Stephen F. Austin ... junior college transfer Quinten Pierre (New Iberia, La.) posted eight tackles with a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery against South Dakota ... freshman Devin Jones (Independence, La.) recorded seven stops against South Dakota ... Keithshone Dantzler (New Orleans, La.) earned the start at middle linebacker against South Dakota ... freshman Kendrick Jackson (Haughton, La.) was credited with four tackles and a sack at SFA.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
SS Tommy Connors (Marrero, La.) leads Southeastern with 62 tackles and three interceptions ... Connors tied a season-high with 12 tackles while adding a blocked field goal and interception against Northwestern State ... he scored his second career touchdown at Alcorn State with a 12-yard fumble return that gave Southeastern a 34-21 lead ... Connors added a 26-yard interception return against the Braves - his third career and second dating back to the Lions' 2007 finale against Nicholls State ... Connors posted 12 stops at Stephen F. Austin ... Connors added 11 tackles against North Dakota and added 10 stops against South Dakota ... Connors was named the Southland Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week after his game against UND ... FS Trey Douglas (Hammond, La.) made a career-high 11 tackles, including eight solos against Mississippi State ... Douglas added an interception late against North Dakota ... FS Travis Williams (Ocean Springs, Miss.) posted seven tackles, one off his career high, while forcing and recovering a fumble at MSU ... CB Tony Johnson (Baton Rouge, La.) had a season-high six tackles against South Dakota ... against UND, Johnson recorded his second career sack, and first since the Texas Tech game in 2006 ... DB Marquis Powell (Madison, Fla.) returned his second interception for a touchdown this season with a 38-yard score at Stephen F. Austin ... his first return - a 51-yard touchdown at Louisiana Tech - was the longest by a Lion since Duriel Adam's 64-yard return at Mississippi Valley on Nov. 19, 2005 ... the TD return was the first by a Lion since Chris DiCarlo scored on a 36-yard return on Sept. 15, 2007 against Kentucky Wesleyan.
SPECIALISTS
Jeff Turner (Houston, Texas), a Preseason Third-Team All-America by the Sports Network, made his first field goal of the season with a 46-yard effort - one yard off his career-high - against Mississippi State ... Turner set a school-record in 2007 for most field goals in a season (17) and finished second among FCS kickers in field goals made ... he set a SLC-record of 13 consecutive field goals made and is 25 for his last 29 ... Turner has scored 171 points in his career ... P Cody Samples (Ripley, Miss.) averaged 43.8 yards per punt on six attempts at Alcorn State ... his 58-yard punt in the second quarter was his career-best ... KR Andre Cryer (Kentwood, La.) had a 100-yard kickoff return called back by a penalty against South Dakota.
LANAUX TO REDSHIRT 2008 SEASON
Head coach Mike Lucas announced after the Lions' 38-35 win over North Dakota that senior receiver Merrick Lanaux (Hammond, La.) will redshirt the 2008 season ... Lanaux, who will have one season remaining, has not played since injuring a hamstring during pre-game warm-ups against Alcorn State ... Lanaux needs 11 catches to tie former Lions Ray Mahfouz and Ray Perkins for 10th place in school history ... with one touchdown reception, Lanaux will tie Tommy Arbour for eighth-place with 10 and with 57 yards, Lanaux will tie Jeffery Howard for eighth-place in receiving yards ...
AGAINST FBS (FORMALLY I-A) INSTITUTIONS
Southeastern has kept up its tradition of taking on the Big Boys as it faced Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A) opponents Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech this season ... Southeastern faced three FBS?schools in 2007, falling at New Mexico State (35-14), Orange Bowl champion Kansas (62-0) and Tulane (35-27) ... Since the program's resurrection, Southeastern has played 10 games (going 0-10) against the top level of college football beginning with a 28-0 loss at Troy in 2003 ... Two years later, Southeastern tangled with Tulane (playing its 11 games in 11 different stadiums after the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina)?in LSU's Tiger Stadium and lost a narrow decision, 28-21, before dropping games to NMSU (30-15), Southern Miss (45-0) and Texas Tech (62-0) in 2006.
TURNER EARNS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA NOTICE
After recording a record-breaking year in 2007, placekicker Jeff Turner (Houston, Texas) was selected as a Preseason Third-Team All-America among Football Championship Subdivision schools by the Sports Network ... Turner, a 5-foor-10, 190-pound junior, was one of three players selected from Southland Conference schools joining Nicholls State's Lardarius Webb, who was a first-team selection at free safety, and quarterback Nathan Brown of Central Arkansas, a third-team pick ... As a sophomore, Turner converted on 17 of 20 field goals and was 28-for-29 in extra point attempts. He led the Southland Conference in points per game and was fourth scoring while finishing second among FCS kickers in field goals per game ... Turner, who was a Preseason First-Team All-Southland Conference selection, tied a SLC record with 13 consecutive field goals made, which included a league single-game record with six field goals at Texas State. Turner's extra point against Mississippi State passed Ray Perkins for eighth-place in school history with 121 points.
LIONS "IN THE ZONE"
Southeastern were very successful in the red zone in 2007, and have had repeated success in 2008 ... after converting on 27 of 30 attempts (90%) in the zone in 2007, Southeastern is 16-for-17 (94%) in six games this season with 13 scores coming on touchdowns ... defensively, the Lions have had some success holding opponents to 19-for-22 (86%), including two stops against Alcorn State ... the Lions' held on fourth-down against Alcorn State in the season-opener after the Braves drove to the Southeastern 8.
OWEN "WALKING ON DEAD FISH"
Sophomore Johnny Owen (LaPlace, La.) plays one of the feature roles in the soon-to-be-released "Walking on Dead Fish," a documentary narrated by Terry Bradshaw (who was also an Executive Producer). Owen was a prep standout at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina forced Owen and family (and nearly 20,000 New Orleanians) to move to nearby LaPlace. Owen finished his senior year at East St. John High School, where he was the Wildcats' starting running back ... the movie opened last weekend in New Orleans with a pair of showings.
LUCAS AND THE CENTURY MARK
After finishing second in the Southland Conference in rushing last season, Jay Lucas took his game to the level most thought of after a blue-chip career at Baton Rouge's Redemptorist High School. In 2007, Lucas rushed for a school-record 1,239 yards with 12 TDs. Lucas averaged 7.2 yards per carry and posted six 100-yard games.
Top 10 Leaders in 100-yard rushing games
1. Jerry Butler 13
2. Mack Boatner 11
3. Horace Belton 11
4. Jay Lucas 9
5. Ray Perkins 8
6. Ted Glaser 6
7. C.J. Alexander 5
8. Charlie Thomas 4
Robert Hicks 4
10. Gino Marino 3
ON OPENERS
Southeastern has a 36-21-3 record in season-opening games dating back to 1930 ... The Lions dropped their last two openers (both against New Mexico State and former coach Hal Mumme) before defeating Alcorn State, 34-28, last week in Lorman ... the Lions won their first three after reviving the program in 2003 ... in road openers dating back to 1946, Southeastern has posted an 12-9-1 record ... prior to its win in Lorman, the Lions' last victory to open the season on the road came at McNeese State (17-7) in 1982.
LIONS PERFECT IN HOME OPENERS SINCE RETURN
Since returning football to campus in the 2003 season, Southeastern has been perfect in season-opening games going 6-0 ... the Lions, who defeated South Dakota on Sept. 13, earned wins over Division II Arkansas-Monticello in 2003 (22-17) and 2004 (46-32) before picking up a win over Alcorn State (48-21) in the 2005 debut ... in 2006, Southeastern defeated Jacksonville (Fla.), 41-13, and blasted Division II Kentucky Wesleyan, 79-7, in last season's home opener ... since its 2003 win over UAM, Southeastern has averaged 49.0 points per game as it has outscored its opponents, 245-103.
ON SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE OPENERS
Southeastern's 21-3 win over Stephen F. Austin in last year's SLC opener marked the first time the Lions opened conference play with a victory ... Southeastern opened its first SLC slate in 2005 dropping a 30-15 decision to 14th-ranked Texas State at Strawberry Stadium before falling at Nicholls State, 14-10, in last year's SLC opener in Thibodaux ... the win by the Lions also marked the first time since 1976 (a 28-12 win over Tennessee-Martin in the Gulf South Conference opener) that Southeastern won its opening conference game.
LIONS SPEND WEEK IN OXFORD
Hurricane Gustav forced Southeastern to move its operations north in preparation for the Lions' Sept. 6 game at Mississippi State ... the Lions bussed to Oxford, Miss., (normally a five-hour commute but took 10 hours) on Aug. 31 and set up at Camp Lake Stephens - a Methodist camp located minutes from the Ole Miss campus ... with classes cancelled in Hammond, Southeastern worked around the Ole Miss schedule, using the Rebels' football facilities, including the indoor facility and weight room.
WELCOME TO DIVISION I FOOTBALL
A total of 29 newcomers have seen action for Southeastern this season, including 21 in the Lions' Southland Conference opener at Stephen F. Austin ... two of the newcomers to the 2008 roster (Chris Wilson, Quinten Pierre) were in the starting lineup for the Lions at SFA.
AT HOME SINCE THE RETURN
The Lions have been solid at home in Strawberry Stadium since returning football in 2003 ... The Lions are 20-10 in the friendly confines with a 3-0 mark this season ... Southeastern posted a 5-1 mark in 2003 (its only loss was to top-ranked McNeese State) and went 5-2 in 2004 ... Southeastern was 3-2 last season with wins over Kentucky Wesleyan, Stephen F. Austin and Nicholls State ... The Lions were 2-2 in 2005 and went 2-3 in 2006.
THE ROAD HAS NOT BEEN KIND
Since returning football for the 2003 season, the Lions are 5-26 when playing outside of Strawberry Stadium, including an 0-6 record in the past two seasons ... Southeastern, which is 1-3 this season, snapped a 12-game road losing skid in the season-opener on Aug. 30 with a 34-28 win at Alcorn State ... two of the five road wins came in 2004 as the Lions knocked off nationally-ranked McNeese State in Lake Charles and Jacksonville ...?Southeastern picked up its first-ever road win as a member of the Southland Conference with a 45-23 win at Stephen F.?Austin in 2005 and closed the year with a 38-21 win at Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 19, 2005 - its last road win until the ASU contest.
BAYOU BOWL LIONS
Southeastern and "Defensive MVP" have been common when describing the Bayou Bowl - the high school football all-star game pitting teams from Louisiana and Texas. The last four defensive MVPs, dating back to the 2004 event with Keithshone Dantzler, have signed with Southeastern. Following Dantzler in earning Defensive MVP honors have been Tommy Connors (2005), Ryan Godare (2006) and Devin Jones (2007).
VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS
Southeastern is 2-7 against FCS (formally I-AA) ranked opponents since 2003 ... The biggest win to date for the Lions since returning football came in 2004 as they knocked off then sixth-ranked McNeese State, 51-17, in Lake Charles ... In 2003, top-ranked McNeese State defeated the Lions 52-21 at home while No. 24-ranked Sam Houston State handed the Lions a 45-17 defeat in 2004 ... Also in 2003, No. 20 Northwestern State slapped an 87-27 defeat on the Lions in Natchitoches ... In the 2005 season, the Lions dropped a decision at home to No. 14 Texas State followed by a loss at 23rd-ranked Northwestern?State and a 37-13 win over No. 20 McNeese?State ... The most recent was a loss to fifth-ranked McNeese State (45-17) on Oct. 27 in Lake Charles.
LIONS-COLONELS PUSHED BACK TO NOV. 22
Southeastern Louisiana's regular-season finale at Nicholls State, scheduled for Nov. 20, has been moved back to its original Nov. 22 date in an announcement from both schools on Tuesday ... The game, which was to be played Nov. 20 before a statewide audience on Cox Sports Television, was pushed back to its original date after damage at John L. Guidry Stadium last month by Hurricane Gustav forced the removal of the light pole structures ... Kickoff for the game will be at 1 p.m. ... The game, which is played for the River Bell Trophy, will mark the 18th time the schools have faced each other on the gridiron with the Colonels holding a 9-8 lead. Southeastern claimed last year's contest, 17-13, for its first win over the Colonels since 1981.
