Box Score

          
NATCHITOCHES – Ignited by a 92-yard kickoff return touchdown by sophomore Xavier Roberson, the Southeastern Louisiana football team outscored Northwestern State 30-6 in the second half on the way to a 37-22 victory over the Demons Saturday night in Turpin Stadium.
 
Southeastern improved to 2-0 in Southland Conference play for the second straight season. The Lions, now 5-2 overall, rolled to their fourth straight victory, marking their longest winning streak since 1983. Northwestern State fell to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in league action.
 
"It's always tough to get a Southland Conference road win, especially considering we didn't play our best," Southeastern head coach Ron Roberts said. "I'm proud that we were able to bounce back from a poor first half to right the ship in the second half. We showed some resiliency tonight and that was good to see."
 
Roberson, who came in as the Football Championship Subdivision national and Southeastern school career leader in kickoff return average, changed the momentum in a game that NSU had controlled up to that point with his school-record fourth kickoff return touchdown of his career.
 
From that point forward, Southeastern controlled the action, finding a running game that was missing in the first half. The Lions, who had just 11 yards on the ground in the opening half, finished the contest with 165 rushing yards.
 
Junior quarterback Bryan Bennett led the Lions with 46 rushing yards and two rushing scores. With nine rushing touchdowns on the season, Bennett has moved into a tie with former Lion Ray Perkins for sixth on the school's single-season list for rushing touchdowns. Sophomores Kody Sutton and Rasheed Harrell each also found the end zone for the Lions.
 
Bennett also threw for 222 yards on 15-of-21 passing. The Granada Hills, Calif. native's favorite targets were sophomore Jeff Smiley (seven catches, 87 yards) and senior Tony McCrea (4-84).
 
While it took the Lion offense a half to find its footing, the defense kept Southeastern within striking distance by consistently forcing field goal attempts when NSU drove into Southeastern territory. A halftime deficit that could've easily reached double digits was kept at 13-7 by the Lion defensive effort.
 
Sophomore Denzel Thompson keyed the Lion defensive effort in the second half with his first interception of the season. Senior Cqulin Hubert led the Lions with 11 tackles, while senior Kevin Harmon finished with seven tackles, including a tackle for loss for a safety.  
 
Northwestern State was able to amass 490 total yards, but Southeastern was able to keep the Demons from scoring a touchdown in the red zone. Junior quarterback Zach Adkins threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-32 passing for the Demons. Sophomores Ed Eagan (seven catches, 145 yards) and Bryant Mitchell (eight catches, 85 yards) each found the end zone for NSU.
 
After the two teams traded punts on the opening possession, Northwestern State mounted the first scoring threat, as a 33-yard Adkins to Eagan pass set the Demons up in Lion territory. However, Southeastern's defense stiffened and Chris Moore missed a 45-yard field goal wide left.
 
After Southeastern was stopped on its ensuing possession, Northwestern State moved into Lion territory on its final drive of the first quarter. Southeastern again held firm and Moore's 44-yard field goal attempt once again sailed wide left.
 
Northwestern State forced a Southeastern three-and-out to end the first quarter and finally were able to break the scoreless tie. Adkins connected with Eagan from 32 yards out to put the Demons up, 7-0, with 13:38 left in the second quarter.
 
A 40-yard Bennett to Chris Malott strike put the Lions into Demon territory on the ensuing drive, but the Demons stopped Southeastern on downs, bottling up Harrell on a fourth and one to give the ball back to NSU.
 
Northwestern State took the ball 44 yards on nine plays to give Moore another chance. This time, his 37-yard try was true to push the Demon lead to 10-0 with 7:28 left in the opening half.  
 
The Lions finally were able to engineer a scoring drive to cut into the double-digit lead. Bennett engineered a seven-play, 82-yard march. The Lion quarterback connected on passes to Smiley (27 yards) and McCrea (22 yards) to highlight the drive, which he capped with a 14-yard run around left end to cut the Demon lead to 10-7 with 4:24 left in the half.
 
Southeastern's defense came up big on the final drive of the first half. NSU drove all the way to the Lion one-yard line, but the Lions were able to keep the Demons out of the end zone. NSU had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by Moore to go into the break with a 13-7 lead.
 
Eagan put Northwestern State into Lion territory on the first drive of the third quarter. After Southeastern was forced to punt, Eagan returned senior Matt McCormick's punt for 23 yards to set up the Demons at the Southeastern 44-yard line. Northwestern State again marched into the Southeastern red zone, but the Lions again stonewalled the Demons from reaching the end zone. Moore knocked in a 30-yard field goal to advance the NSU lead to 16-7 with 8:55 left in the third quarter.
 
Roberson then provided Southeastern with a momentum changing play on the ensuing kickoff, racing down the left sideline and breaking several tackles on the way to the electrifying touchdown. The Atlanta, Ga. native cut the NSU lead to 16-14 with his second kickoff return for a touchdown this touchdown with 8:40 left in the third quarter.
 
The special teams came up big again on the next play, as Ryan Adams' kickoff knocked off NSU's returner and out of bounds at the Demon one-yard line. On the next play, Adkins dropped the snap in the end zone and Harmon dropped him for a safety and a tie score with 8:32 left in the third quarter.
 
The Lions took over after the free kick near midfield. Nine plays later, Kody Sutton bulled in from four yards out to give the Lions' their first lead, 23-16, with 5:33 left in the third quarter.
 
Northwestern State quickly answered, however, with a touchdown of its own. Adkins found a wide open Mitchell for a 43-yard scoring strike down the left side line. Moore missed the extra point attempt to the right to allow the Lions to maintain a 23-22 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter.
 
Bennett and the Lions once again answered, marching 62 yards on nine plays. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Roberson raced 21 yards up the middle to set up a first and goal from the two-yard line. Bennett lowered his head and scored to put the Lions up, 30-22, with 14:38 left in the contest.
 
Northwestern State was able to move into Southeastern territory on the next drive, but the Lions forced a punt from their 35-yard line. NSU tried a direct snap to Chris Deaver, but Thompson snuffed it out for a negligible gain and Southeastern took over on downs.
 
Southeastern were on the march to put the game away, but Roberson was stripped by Cordarius Golston and JeMarcus Johnson recovered at the NSU 18-yard line to give the Demons the ball back with 7:20 left. But, Thompson was able to set Southeastern back up in Demon territory, intercepting Adkins on a fourth-and two, giving the Lions the ball back at the NSU 36-yard line with 6:15 remaining.
 
Southeastern was able to cover the 36 yards on the ground with Harrell finishing the drive with a one-yard touchdown, pushing the Lion lead to 37-22 with 3:35 left.
 
Northwestern State moved to midfield, but Harmon and senior Greg Triay stopped junior Garrett Atzenweiler short to turn the ball over on downs. Sophomore Darius Guy was able to run for the clinching first down to allow the Lions to run out the clock and secure the victory.
 
Southeastern will now begin preparations for Homecoming, as Lamar comes to town on Oct. 26 for a 7 p.m. contest. The game between the Lions and the visiting Cardinals will air live on ESPN3. The game will also be broadcast on KSLU 90.9 FM, the flagship station of the Southeastern Sports Radio Network, as well as Northshore Broadcasting stations Kajun 107.1 FM and The Joint 104.7 FM. Fans can listen online at www.LionSports.net or on their smart phone using the TuneIn Radio app.