HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana football team will play its first of two straight games on the road on Saturday, when it travels to face Southland Conference foe Houston Baptist for a 2 p.m. game at Husky Stadium.
The contest between the Lions (3-3, 2-2 Southland) and the host Huskies (2-5, 0-4 Southland) can 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). A live video stream, provided by HBU, will be accessible at LionSports.net.
Southeastern will be looking to bounce back from its first back-to-back Southland Conference losses since 2012. The Lions' latest loss – a 28-27 defeat at the hands of Stephen F. Austin – knocked SLU out of the FCS Top 25 polls for the first time in two years.
SLU looked like it was on the way to a lopsided victory early on versus SFA. A 49-yard fumble return for a touchdown by junior linebacker
Tre' Bennett and a pair of passing touchdowns by junior quarterback
D'Shaie Landor to seniors
Byron Johnson and
Chris Briggs staked the Lions to a 20-0 first-half lead.
However, SFA bounced back by outscoring Southeastern, 28-7, from that point forward with a 63-yard touchdown run by freshman Julius Maracalin providing the only second half points for the Lions. SFA junior quarterback Zach Conque powered in from a yard out with 38 seconds left to give the Lumberjacks the win.
Southeastern will look to get things going offensively against HBU, which is allowing 39.0 points and 431.7 yards per game. Senior
Kody Sutton (236 yards, 3 TD), Maracalin (226 yards, 1 TD) and Landor (162 yards, 3 TD) fuel a Lion rushing attack that has averaged 206.5 yards per game. Landor has thrown for 670 yards and three touchdowns.
HBU is led of defense by sophomore linebacker Garrett Dolan. The Mont Belvieu, Texas native has a team-high 48 tackles on the year.
On the offensive side of the ball, sophomore quarterback Max Staver, who signed with Florida out of high school, has thrown for 843 yards and four touchdowns this season for the Huskies. Sophomores Terrance Peters (360 yards, 1 TD) and B.J. Kelly (212 yards, 5 TD) are the top rushers for HBU.
HBU will be matching up a Lion defense that is yielding 24.7 points and 373.0 yards per game, while also recording 18 sacks and forcing 16 turnovers. Senior defensive back
Jordan Batiste leads the team with 38 tackles, while sharing the team lead with senior defensive end
Aaron Price with four sacks each. Lion senior defensive back
Harlan Miller, a STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year candidate, leads the team with three interceptions and eight pass breakups.
Southeastern will be making its first-ever trip to HBU. In the first meeting between the two schools last season in Hammond, SLU finished with a school-record 806 total yards on the way to a 76-7 victory over the Huskies. The Lions' point total and margin of victory were its largest ever against a Southland opponent.
Saturday's game is the first of two away from home for the Lions, who will travel to Central Arkansas for a 7 p.m. Halloween night in Conway, Arkansas. The game will be televised by ESPN3 at WatchESPN.com and via the WatchESPN app. The contest with the Bears 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).
