LAKE CHARLES – No. 13/22 McNeese State took an early 14-0 lead that it would never relinquish on the way to a 21-7 victory over No. 17/20 Southeastern Louisiana in Southland Conference football action Saturday night at Cowboy Stadium.
The loss for the Lions (3-2, 2-1 Southland) snapped an 11-game winning streak for SLU against in-state Southland Conference rivals. Unbeaten MSU (5-0, 4-0 SLC) is the first league foe from Louisiana to beat Southeastern since Northwestern State defeated SLU on Oct. 15, 2011.
McNeese State won the game with its defense, which held Southeastern to 239 yards and eight first downs. It was the first time the Lions had been held to a single-digit point total since 2012.
Junior quarterback
D'Shaie Landor made some plays for the Lions, throwing for 166 yards on 11-of-29 passing. Junior wide receiver
William French was Landor's top target with three catches for 71 yards. Senior running back
Xavier Roberson led SLU with 43 yards rushing and the 17
th rushing touchdown of his career.
After a bad start to the first quarter, the Lion defense was able to hold McNeese State scoreless in the second half. Senior defensive back
Jordan Batiste led SLU with 11 tackles and a sack, while sophomore
Ryan Sigers had a sack of his own. Senior defensive back
JQ Sandolph also recorded a sack for the Lions.
Senior quarterback Daniel Sams engineered the McNeese offensive attack, throwing for 137 yards on 13-of-30 passing and rushing for 75 yards. Sophomore running back Ryan Ross led MSU with 149 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries
McNeese took the early lead on the opening drive of the game. A 57-yard strike from Sams to sophomore Kent Shelby highlighted a 10-play, 86-yard scoring march. Sams scampered in from three yards out to give the Cowboys a 7-0 lead with 9:57 left in the opening quarter.
After a Lion three-and-out, McNeese State doubled its lead. Ross shook off a tackle by senior
JQ Sandolph and raced down the right sideline for a 58-yard touchdown run to give the Cowboys a 14-0 lead with 5:00 left in the first quarter.
The Lions dodged a bullet after a turnover in its ensuing drive. Senior Gabe Hammer stripped SLU senior running back
Kody Sutton to give MSU the ball at the Lion 42-yard line. However, the Lion defense stiffened and a breakup by Sigers forced the Cowboys to punt.
After the teams traded empty possessions, Southeastern finally struck on its opening drive of the second quarter. Landor found French on a 54-yard catch and run down the left sideline to set up a one-yard score by run by Roberson that cut the MSU lead to 14-7 with 13:08 left in the opening half.
After the defenses took over for the majority of the second quarter, McNeese State added to its lead in the final minutes of the half. Ross scooted in from four yards out to cap an eight-play, 69-yard drive and give MSU a 21-7 halftime lead.
Both offenses were dominant in the third quarter, as neither offense could get anything going. The only notable play was a fumble recovery by Sandolph late in the quarter.
After SLU muffed a punt, McNeese State looked to put the game away. However, freshman kicker Trent Manuel hooked a 32-yard field goal to keep Southeastern within two scores with just under 10 minutes left. However, SLU could not take advantage of the miss and could only manage one first down before having to punt.
Southeastern made one last charge, as Landor connected with senior
Dylan Bossier on a couple of big gains to move the Lions into the Cowboy red zone. However, MSU senior linebacker Wallace Scott stripped Landor on a sack to end the Southeastern threat with just over four minutes left.
Southeastern will return home to host Stephen F. Austin for Homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 17, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. The game will be televised on Fox College Sports and the Fox Sports Go app. In the Hammond area, fans can also access the game on WUPL (Charter Channel 16, DirecTV Channel 54).
The contest can also be heard on KSLU-FM (90.9) and LionSports.net, as well as affiliates and Northshore Broadcasting stations Kajun 107.1 FM (WHMD) and The Highway 104.7 FM (WJSH).
The first 300 students in attendance to the Homecoming game will receive free t-shirts courtesy of Southeastern Athletics Marketing and Promotions. At halftime, the 2015 Southeastern Homecoming King and Queen will be announced.
