NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Cory Long booted a 23-yard field goal with 6.1 seconds left and Stephen F. Austin rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit to stun Southeastern Louisiana, 48-45, in the Southland Conference opener for both teams Saturday at Homer Bryce Stadium.

Jeremy Moses completed 24 of 50 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns as SFA (2-3, 1-0 SLC) rebounded from a disappointing 50-48 loss to South Dakota State a week ago. Southeastern, which was looking to win its SLC opener for the second straight season and its first league win on the road since defeating SFA in 2005, fell to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in the SLC.

Cornell Tarrant scored on a 1-yard run with 3:46 in the third quarter for SFA before the Lumberjacks added a safety with 14:10 remaining on a blocked punt by Rainey Sternes that cut the lead to 45-30.

The Lumberjacks built on their momentum on the following drive as Jerrell Barnett intercepted Babin – the first pick thrown by the Lions' signal-caller in 182 attempts this season – at the SFA 33.

Moses drove SFA down the field, hitting Parks on a 38-yard gain to the SLU 36 before Roderick Warren caught a screen pass two plays later and worked his way through the Southeastern defense for a 31-yard scoring pass with 7:03 left.

The Lumberjacks took advantage of a low snap on a punt as Cody Samples was downed at the SLU 7. Two plays later, Tarrant scored on a nifty run off the left side, bouncing off a Lion defender and diving into the end zone for his second touchdown with 3:45 left. SFA tied the game Moses hit Edison on the two-point conversion

Brian Babin completed 30 of 42 passes for 272 yards and four touchdowns, all in a wild first half as Southeastern built a 42-21 lead at halftime. Jay Lucas gained a season-high 93 yards on 19 carries and added a game-high nine catches for the Lions, which gained 285 yards in the opening half before being held to 63 in the final 30 minutes.

Chris Wilson and Simmie Yarborough each caught a pair of touchdown passes as Southeastern scored on its first three offensive possessions and added a 38-yard interception return by Marquis Powell for a 28-7 first quarter lead.

The Lions scored after forcing SFA to punt on its opening possession when Babin found Wilson for a 61-yard touchdown to cap off a three-play, 79-yard drive. Three plays later, the Southeastern defense got involved as Powell intercepted a deflected pass and scored his second touchdown in three games to put the Lions ahead, 14-0, with 11:20 left in the first quarter.

After forcing an SFA punt, the Lions drove 50 yards in nine plays as Babin hit Wilson in the back of the end zone for a 21-0 lead.

Babin got into the scoring column for the second consecutive week as he capped a five-play, 50-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown sneak. The junior hit Wilson for a 23-yard gain to the SFA 1 before scoring his first career rushing touchdown one play later.

A roughing the kicker penalty by the Lions kept an SFA drive alive and the Lumberjacks took advantage as Jeremy Moses found Marcus Taylor in the left corner of the end zone for a 13-yard TD strike to cut the lead to 28-7 with 1:25 left in the first quarter.

SFA forced Southeastern to punt, but Quinten Pierre forced a Contrevious Parks' fumble and Brian Reynolds recovered at the SFA 31. The Lions were unable to capitalize on the turnover as Jeff Turner missed a 43-yard field goal, but the Southeastern defense held SFA to a three-and-out on the following possession.

Tim Knicky forced a fumble on the ensuing punt and Jabara Williams recovered as the SLU 29. Three plays later, Moses hit Dominique Edison on a 25-yard TD pass with 6:26 remaining to cut the Southeastern lead to 28-13. Edison finished with six catches for 173 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Lumberjacks, which improved to 2-1 at home after going 1-10 the past two seasons.

Jasper Ducksworth's 48-yard kickoff return and additional 15-yard penalty quickly put Southeastern in SFA territory and the Lions answered as Babin hit Yarborough on a 19-yard TD pass for a 35-13 lead.

But the Lumberjacks answered after getting a long return and penalty in the process. Moses threw his third touchdown of the half as he found Edison behind the Southeastern defense to complete a 45-yard scoring pass before connecting with Aaron Rhea for the two-point conversion to get SFA to within 35-21.

Babin calmly led the Lions down the field on the next possession, capping off a seven-play, 65-yard drive with a 5-yard scoring pass to Yarborough for a 42-21 lead with 20 seconds left in the half.

Southeastern returns to action on Oct. 18 when it battles in-state rival Northwestern State for Homecoming. Tickets are available by calling the Southeastern Athletic Ticket Office at (985) 549-LION.

Southeastern La. 28 14 3 0 - 45 (3-3, 0-1 SLC)
Stephen F. Austin 7 14 7 20 - 48 (2-3, 1-0 SLC)

Scoring Summary
First quarter
SLU – Wilson 61 pass from Babin (Turner kick), 12:50
SLU – Powell 38 interception return (Turner kick), 11:20
SLU – Wilson 8 pass from Babin (Turner kick), 6:33
SLU – Babin 1 run (Turner kick), 3:58
SFA – Taylor 13 pass from Moses (Long kick); 1:25

Second quarter
SFA – Edison 25 pass from Moses (run failed); 6:26
SLU – Yarborough 19 pass from Babin (Turner kick); 3:02
SFA – Edison 45 pass from Moses (Rhea pass from Moses); 2:12
SLU – Yarborough 5 pass from Babin (Turner kick); :21

Third quarter
SLU – FG Turner 28; 6:47
SFA – Tarrant 1 run (Long kick); 3:46

Fourth quarter
SFA – Safety, punt blocked out of end zone; 14:10
SFA – Warren 31 pass from Moses (Long kick); 7:03
SFA – Tarrant 2 run (Edison pass from Moses); 3:45
SFA – FG Long 23, :06

Team Stats
SLU SFA
First Downs 19 19
Rushes-Yards 35-76 25-59
Passing Yards 272 319
A-C-I 30-43-1 24-50-1
Total Plays-Yards 78-348 75-378
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards 8-180 9-184
Interception Returns-Yards 1-38 1-0
Punts-Avg. 7-34.3 8-41.0
Fumbles-Lost 4-2 1-1
Penalties-Yards 9-93 8-58
Possession Time 34:46 25:14

Rushing
SLU – Lucas 15-93, Ducksworth 8-26, Neville 1-(minus 2), Cryer 1-(minus 8), Babin 9-minus 14), TEAM 1-(minus 19). SFA – Pervis 7-28, Ross 4-23, Tarrant 6-12, Moses 8-(minus 4).

Passing
SLU – Babin 30-42-1 272, Beatty 0-1-0 0. SFA – Moses 24-50-1 319.

Receiving
SLU – Lucas 9-48, Yarborough 8-70, Wilson 5-121, Muhammad 3-12, Wardell 2-8, DeLong 1-13, Albert 1-0, Cryer 1-0. SFA – Edison 6-173, Parks 3-49, Warren 2-39, G. Williams 2-18, Taylor 2-17, T. Williams 2-10, Scott 2-6, Ross 2-(minus 5), Pervis 2-(minus 6), Rhea 1-18.