Southeastern Louisiana-Southern Utah Game Day Central
Sept. 6, 2014, 7 p.m., Hammond, La.
Records: No. 3 Southeastern (1-0) vs. Southern Utah (0-1)
Television: Southeastern Channel (Charter Channel 18 - Tape Delay)
Radio: KSLU-FM (90.9), WHMD-FM (Kajun 107.1), WJSH-FM (The Highway 104.7)
Football Fan InformationLive VideoLive AudioLive StatsSoutheastern Game NotesSouthern Utah Game NotesHAMMOND – The No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana football team will host its second straight non-conference game to open the 2014 season on Saturday, welcoming Southern Utah at 7 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium.
Both the Lions (1-0) and the visiting Thunderbirds (0-1), members of the Big Sky Conference, were among the 24-team NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff field a season ago. Southeastern opened the season with a 44-3 win over Jacksonville, while Southern Utah's rally fell short in a 28-19 loss to Football Bowl Subdivision member Nevada in its season opener.
"This will be a great test for us this week," Southeastern head coach
Ron Roberts said. "Southern Utah is a very good, well-coached team and we're going to have to continue to raise our game to a higher level to be successful. We're looking forward to playing again in front of our home crowd on Saturday."
The game will 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). LionVision subscribers will also access a live video stream at LionSports.net.
The Southeastern Channel will also air the game on tape delay. The first 200 students will receive free t-shirts and fans are encouraged to wear white. Former American Idol contestant and Ponchatoula native Lindsay Cardinale, who had her scheduled performance rained out last Saturday, will provide pre-game entertainment from 4-6 p.m. in Friendship Circle. Single-game tickets for the contest are available by contacting the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visiting LionSports.net and LionUp.com.
The Southeastern offense, led by senior quarterback and Walter Payton Award candidate
Bryan Bennett, racked up 564 total yards in the season-opening victory over Jacksonville. In just a little over a half of play, Bennett threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns on 11-of-16 passing. Bennett connected with nine different receivers, including long touchdown passes to juniors
Dylan Bossier (89 yards) and
Rasheed Harrell (73 yards).
Eleven players combined for 233 rushing yards for Southeastern versus Jacksonville. Bennett led the Lions with 93 yards on seven carries – including a career-long 83-yard touchdown run. Juniors
Darrius Guy and
Xavier Roberson also each rushed for scores for SLU.
The high-powered Lion offense will face a SUU defense that allowed 547 total yards in the opener versus Nevada. Sophomore Chinedu Ahanonu led the way with a remarkable 28 tackles, while junior Miles Killebrew had 15 stops along with an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Southeastern's defense had a great opening game versus Jacksonville, holding a Dolphin offense that ranked among the national leaders in several categories in 2013 to 222 total yards. SLU senior
Isiah Corbett was named Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Lions with seven tackles and two tackles for loss. Corbett, senior
Drew Misita and senior
Jacob Newman each had sacks for the Lions.
Three newcomers made impacts in the secondary for Southeastern. Junior
Jordan Batiste, in his first game after transferring from Tulane, forced a fumble that junior
Micah Eugene, who most recently played at LSU, scooped up and returned for a touchdown. Another former LSU player – sophomore
Derrick Raymond – led the Lions with two pass breakups.
The Lion defense will be facing a Thunderbird offense that amassed 380 yards in the opener. Senior quarterback Aaron Cantu completed 20-of-31 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown, as senior Chris Robinson was his top target, finishing with seven catches for 95 yards and a score. Sophomore Raysean Pringle led SUU with 95 rushing yards – including a 71-yard touchdown run.
Following this week's game, Southeastern will hit the road for the first time, traveling to Tulane for a 7 p.m. game in New Orleans next Saturday. The contest will air live on ESPN3. The game 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).
