Box Score

HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana football team closed out non-conference play on a high note with a 35-3 victory over Incarnate Word Saturday night in Strawberry Stadium.

The Lions (3-2) closed out non-conference play with a winning record for the first time since 2008, racking up 463 total yards on the way to their second straight victory. UIW, who will officially join the Southland Conference next season, fell to 3-3 overall.

"We were a little rusty early on, but we cleaned it up as the game progressed," Southeastern head coach Ron Roberts said. "We were very pleased with how our defense performed and we did some nice things in the running game. We continue to play with great effort and if we can continue that effort, we will have a chance to be successful."

The Lion defense limited Incarnate Word to 284 total yards and were able to accumulate four sacks on the night. Junior Isiah Corbett led the Lions with nine tackles, 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss. Junior Justin Church also was credited with 1.5 sacks for the Lions, while senior Cqulin Hubert also made a sack. Junior Marice Sutton made the play of the game defensively for the Lions, returning an interception 67 yards for a touchdown.

Junior quarterback Bryan Bennett led the Lion offense, completing 19 of 30 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Jeff Smiley caught seven passes for 91 yards and a touchdown, while junior Marquis Hayes also hauled in his first touchdown catch as a Lion. Sophomore Rasheed Harrell paced the rushing attack, finishing with nine carries for 87 yards and a score.

Southeastern jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the opening drive of the contest. Hayes was able to run in a deep pass from Bennett, scoring from 41 yards out to give the Lions a lead they would never relinquish.

The Lions would double the lead on their final drive of the first quarter, as Harrell accounted for 56 rushing yards on a six-play, 60-yard that he would finish off with a five-yard score to make it 14-0 with 2:35 left in the first quarter.

UIW got on the board with 8:30 left in the second quarter after Jake Wilcox connected on a 42-yard field goal set up by a 40-yard fumble return by Devin Haywood.

It appeared the score would remain the same heading into the break until Marice Sutton made the play that permanently swung the momentum in the Lions' favor. Sutton picked off a throw by UIW quarterback Trent Brittain and then raced into the end zone to give Southeastern a 21-3 record at the break.

UIW took the opening drive of the second half into Lion territory, but the drive stalled out at the Lion 13-yard line. Senior Kevin Harmon kept the Cardinals off the board, however, breaking through to block a 30-yard field goal attempt by Wilcox.

Southeastern would put the game out of reach midway through the third quarter. Bennett found Smiley three times for 63 yards on a nine-play, 93-yard drive. Bennett powered in from a yard out to cap the drive and give the Lions a commanding 28-3 lead with 5:10 left in the third quarter.

Southeastern would close out the scoring midway through the fourth quarter, as Smiley brought in a short throw from Bennett and raced in from 17 yards out to provide the final margin.

Southeastern will open Southland Conference play next Saturday, hosting Stephen F. Austin at 7 p.m. The game 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.