HAMMOND - With a chance to post its best record in four years, the Southeastern Louisiana University football team wraps up its 2008 season Saturday against arch-rival Nicholls State in the annual River Bell Classic at John L. Guidry Stadium in Thibodaux.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net. The game is also being televised on a tape-delayed basis on WHNO-TV (Charter Cable Channel 14 in Tangipahoa/St. Tammany Parish).

After earning a thrilling 30-27 overtime victory at Sam Houston State last week, snapping a nine-game Southland Conference road losing streak in the process, Southeastern (6-6, 2-4 SLC) looks to record its second non-losing season since restoring football in 2003. The 2004 Lions posted a 7-4 record under former coach Hal Mumme after finishing 5-7 in its inaugural season.

Saturday's game marks the final appearance for 11 seniors for Southeastern, including Jay Lucas - one of the top all-purpose players in school history. The Baton Rouge native caught six passes last week at SHSU and became the first player in school history to record two 50-catch seasons.

Also playing in their final game for the Lions are starting offensive linemen Brad Bardy and Brent Blazevich - both four-year letterwinners along with defensive back Tony Johnson. The remaining seven seniors came to Southeastern last season after two years in junior college.

Quarterback Brian Babin looks to close a career season on a positive note as he ranks 22nd among FCS players in total offense and 36th in passing efficiency. Freshman Simmie Yarborough leads Southeastern with 51 receptions while Lucas has 50 catches for the Lions. Junior Chris Wilson needs five catches to mark the first time that three players have caught 50 or passes in a season.

Southeastern claimed last year's contest over Nicholls State (2-6, 2-4 SLC), 17-13, behind 174 yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns from Lucas. The win by the Lions was their first over their arch-rival since 1980 and their first in three tries since restoring football.

GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time - Saturday, November 22, 2008, 1 p.m.
Location - Thibodaux, La. (John L. Guidry Stadium; 12,000)
Radio - KSLU-FM (90.9); www.LionSports.net
Talent - Mark Willoughby (PBP), Damon Sunde (color), Matt Sullivan (sideline)
Television - WHNO-TV (Tape delay, TBA)
Livestats - www.GeauxColonels.com; www.LionSports.net
The Series - Nicholls State leads, 9-8 (NSU leads, 5-2 in Thibodaux)
Last Meeting - SLU, 17-13 (Nov. 17, 2007 in Hammond)
Storylines - The schools, located 94 miles apart, will play for the River Bell Trophy ... a win would give Southeastern its most victories since 2004 (7) and would be its second non-losing record since returning football in 2003 ... a win by Southeastern would also give the Lions their first two-game road winning streak since defeating Troy State and Texas Southern in 1983.

LUCAS RETURNS HOME; MAKES APPEARANCES
Southeastern Louisiana head football coach Mike Lucas' procedure to repair a heart valve was successful and the second-year coach was released Nov. 5.

Lucas, who left the team on Oct. 15, underwent the procedure Oct. 30 at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic.
He made a surprise appearance at the end of practice on Nov. 6 and took part in Senior Day ceremonies prior to the Texas State game on Nov. 8.

TEAM NOTES
OFFENSIVE LINE
C Brad Bardy (Covington, La.) has started 21 of the last 22 games at center since the beginning of 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, including the Nicholls State game, 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) ... RG Brent Blazevich (Hammond, La.), a three-year letterwinner, played his final game at Strawberry Stadium last week against Texas State after a 13-year career that included middle school (Holy Ghost School) and high school (St. Thomas Aquinas) ... Blazevich missed the Louisiana Tech game after suffering ankle injury against South Dakota ... true freshman Josh Penton (Splendora, Texas) earned the start at right guard against Texas State.

RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Chris Wilson (Amory, Miss.) caught a season-high 11 passes for 101 yards against South Dakota ... Wilson is third on the team in receptions (45) and leads the team in yards (685) ... Wilson's 685 yards this season ranks fourth-best in school 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 the team and all Southland Conference freshmen with 51 receptions ... his 51 catches are the most catches by a Southeastern freshman ... Yarborough caught a season-high nine passes with a touchdown at Central Arkansas ... 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 Kory Theodore (New Orleans, La.) caught three passes for 77 yards, including a 53-yard grab, against Northwestern State ... Theodore added three catches for 71 yards, including a 62-yard TD reception at Sam Houston State.

QUARTERBACKS
Brian Babin (St. Amant, La.) ranks second in school history behind Martin Hankins in career passing yards (4,550), completions (421), attempts (692) and touchdowns (36) ... Babin is the fourth player in school history to throw 20 touchdown passes behind Hankins (35 in 2004; 30 in 2003) and Trey Willie (22 in 2005) ... Babin 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 ... Beatty went 2-for-3 in the air while rushing for 41 yards on four carries against Texas State.

RUNNING BACKS
Jay Lucas (Baton Rouge, La.) recorded his second 100-yard game of the season - and 10th of his career - with 100 yards against Texas State ... Lucas rushed for a season-high 120 yards against Northwestern State ... his 58-yard run in the fourth quarter was the longest this season by a Lion ... Lucas ran for 93 yards at Stephen F. Austin ... Lucas rushed for 98 yards with a touchdown and caught six passes with a 60-yard TD catch at Sam Houston State ... Lucas added 88 yards and scored two touchdowns against South Dakota ... the senior has rushed for 2,691 yards and needs 86 yards to pass Mack Boatner for third place on the school's all-time list ... 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 passed former Lion Hutch Gonzales for fourth in school history with 138 career receptions, has caught a pass in 27 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 ... Ducksworth scored his first touchdown of the season with a 6-yard run against Texas State.

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 ... Vaughn has recorded sacks in games against McNeese State and Texas State ... 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 ... Honore recorded sacks in consecutive games against Northwestern State and Central Arkansas ... Honore recorded two sacks at Sam Houston State ... DT Devin Boutwell (Buras, La.) missed two games with a back injury ... Boutwell was credited with a career-high seven tackles at Central Arkansas ... 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 ... 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 added 12 tackles at Central Arkansas ... Newbill is second on the team - and third in the Southland Conference - with 100 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 ... Pierre recovered a UCA fumble in the end zone and returned it 17 yards to stop a Bear drive.

DEFENSIVE BACKS
SS Tommy Connors (Marrero, La.) leads Southeastern with 102 tackles and three interceptions ... Connors set a season-high with 15 tackles, including a sack, at Central Arkansas ... Connors added 12 tackles with 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 ... Connors was named SLC Defensive Player of the Week after recording eight tackles with an interception and blocked field goal at Sam Houston State ... 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 ... CB Tony Johnson (Baton Rouge, La.) notched a career-high eight tackles at Central Arkansas ... he added six tackles against South Dakota ... against UND, Johnson recorded his second career sack, and first since the Texas Tech game in 2006 ... Johnson added his first interception of the season with a second-quarter pick against McNeese State ... 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 184 points in his career, ranking second in school history ... 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 ... Samples was named SLC Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 41.7 yards on 10 punts at Sam Houston State ... KR Marquis Powell (Madison, Fla.) established a new single-season school record for kick return yards (580) after returning two for 51 yards at Sam Houston State.

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 26-for-30 (87%) in 11 games this season with 21 scores coming on touchdowns ... defensively, the Lions have had some success holding opponents in the red zone, ranking third in the Southland Conference at 35-for-47 (75%) ... the Lions had two stops against Alcorn State, including a hold on fourth-down 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 10
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 20-12 in the friendly confines with a 3-2 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 6-27 when playing outside of Strawberry Stadium, including an 0-6 record in the past two seasons ... Southeastern, which is 2-4 this season, snapped a 12-game road losing skid in the season-opener on Aug. 30 with a 34-28 win at Alcorn State and a nine-game SLC slide with its 30-27 win at Sam Houston 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 2-9 against FCS (formally I-AA) ranked opponents since 2003 ... its latest decision was a 24-14 loss to No. 16/20 McNeese State on Nov. 1 after a 28-21 setback at No. 12/13 Central Arkansas the previous week ... the biggest win against a ranked opponent 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 ... Southeastern fell to fifth-ranked McNeese State (45-17) on Oct. 27,2007 in Lake Charles.