HAMMOND, La. – The No. 8 Southeastern Louisiana football team claimed sole possession of the Southland Conference lead, pulling away for a 41-24 victory over league foe Central Arkansas on Homecoming Saturday night at Strawberry Stadium.
 
The win for the Lions (6-2, 4-0 Southland), coupled with Northwestern State's 31-27 win over Sam Houston State, left SLU as the lone Southland team undefeated in Southland Conference play. The win over the visiting Bears (4-4, 3-1 Southland) was the 14^th straight for SLU over Southland competition.
 
With just over six minutes left in the game, Central Arkansas turned the momentum after senior Willie Matthews returned a blocked punt from 15 yards out to cut the Lion lead to 27-24.
 
Southeastern senior quarterback and Walter Payton Award candidate Bryan Bennett made sure the Bears' comeback plans would last just 12 seconds. On the first play of the ensuing drive, the Granada Hills, California native rushed for a 75-yard touchdown to put the Lions up, 34-24, with 5:59 left.
 
After the Lions forced UCA to turn the ball over on downs, junior Xavier Roberson put the game out of reach. The Atlanta, Georgia native evaded several tackles behind the line and raced in from 30 yards out with just over 30 minutes to play to provide the final margin.
 
Bennett and Roberson were the top performers on a Lion offense that racked up 459 total yards in front of a season-high 8,766 fans. Bennett finished with 131 rushing yards and tied a career-high with three rushing touchdowns for the second straight week. Roberson chipped in with two scores of his own, while junior Kody Sutton finished with 80 rushing yards on 12 carries.
 
The Lion defense tied last week's season-high with five sacks, while also forcing forcing turnovers. Junior Denzel Thompson posted his second multi-interception game in the last three weeks, finishing with two interceptions. Junior Harlan Miller also posted his first interception of the season. Junior Micah Eugene forced a fumble that junior Anthony Murphy recovered.
 
Senior Isiah Corbett led SLU with two sacks, while senior Marice Sutton, junior Ashton Henderson, senior Kaleb Muse and senior Justin Church added at least a partial sack each. Senior Tyler Stoddard led the Lions with 11 tackles, while Eugene, Corbett and Muse had nine apiece.
 
Senior Ryan Howard finished 16-of-25 passing for 171 yards and an interception, while junior Taylor Reed threw for 86 yards and two interceptions on 7-of-13 passing. Matthews led the Bears with 58 yards rushing, as both he and Reed rushed for a score.
 
Matthews gave the Bears the early lead on the opening drive. UCA marched 96 yards on eight plays, capped by an 18-yard scoring gallop by Matthews, and took a 7-0 lead with 12:25 left in the first quarter.
 
The Lions took two plays and 40 seconds to answer the Bear score. On the first play from scrimmage, Bennett found Devante Scott for a 48-yard strike. On the next play, Bennett weaved his way through traffic and into the end zone from 28 yards out to tie the score at 7-7 with 11:52 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
UCA retook the lead on its ensuing drive. The Bears grinded out a 16-play, 71-yard march that took over seven minutes off the clock. The Lion defense stiffened and the Bears had to settle for a 23-yard field goal from senior Eddie Camara and a 10-7 lead with 4:35 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
UCA had a golden scoring opportunity on its next drive, as the Bears recovered a fumble by senior Marquis Hayes deep in Southeastern territory. On the first play of the Central Arkansas drive, Eugene drilled sophomore Desmond Smith and Murphy was there to pounce on the loose ball to end the UCA scoring threat.
 
With the momentum back in the Lions favor, Bennett and company raced down the field. Bennett connected with Smiley for 32 yards and Kody Sutton for 26 yards on an eight-play, 89-yard scoring march that gave SLU the lead for good. Roberson sprinted around left end from a yard out to give the Lions a 14-10 lead with 24 seconds remaining in a wild opening quarter.
 
UCA marched into SLU territory heading into the second quarter, but Thompson made a leaping interception at the Lion 15-yard line to keep the Bears off the board. After stopping Southeastern, UCA moved the ball once again into the SLU red zone. However, senior Dereck Robinson knocked down a fourth-and-three pass to get the Lions the ball back.
 
The Lion offense again sputtered and UCA blocked a punt by senior Tim Callian to set up another short field. The Lion defense again answered the call, as a huge Henderson sack forced a fourth-and-long that the Bears could not convert.
 
SLU finally answered offensively on the final drive of the second quarter. The Lions marched 13 plays for 62 yards to set up a 19-yard field goal by senior Ryan Adams to go into the break with a 17-10 lead.
 
On the first drive of the second half, UCA was faced with a fourth-and-one near midfield. Reed tried to bull ahead to continue the drive, but Eugene and Corbett combined to stand him up and give the Lions the ball back. A 24-yard run by Kody Sutton set up a 43-yard Adams field goal that gave SLU a 20-10 advantage with 9:42 left in the third quarter.
 
After the two teams exchanged punts, UCA cut into the lead. Reed found sophomore Courtney Whitehead on a 42-yard pass to set up a one-yard quarterback sneak by Reed for a score. Reed's touchdown pulled Central Arkansas within 20-17 with 2:55 left in the third quarter.
 
Southeastern answered with a 10-play, 62-yard scoring drive that took the game into the fourth quarter. Bennett dove in from two yards out to put the lead back at double digits with 13:22 left in the contest.
 
UCA worked their way into Lion territory on the ensuing drive, but Thompson again came up big. The Clearwater, Florida native tight-roped the sideline and picked off a Reed pass at the SLU 10-yard line.
 
The offenses stagnated over the last couple of possessions, before UCA made the game interesting briefly with Matthews' touchdown return of the blocked punt. However, the big scorings runs by Bennett and Roberson put the game away.   
 
Southeastern will hit the road for a 3 p.m. game at Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. The contest will televised on the Southland Television Network (Charter Channel 14 in the Hammond area), as well as online at www.Southland.org and ESPN3.  The contest will also be broadcast live in the Hammond area on the flagship station of Southeastern Football, KSLU-FM (90.9), as well as affiliates and Northshore Broadcasting stations Kajun 107.1 FM (WHMD) and The Highway 104.7 FM (WJSH).