CONWAY, Arkansas – The Southeastern Louisiana football team's rally fell just short in a 21-16 loss to Central Arkansas in Southland Conference action Saturday night at Estes Stadium.
 
Southeastern fell to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in Southland Conference play with the loss. UCA improved to 5-3 overall and 5-1 in league action. The Lions cut the lead to five midway through the fourth quarter, but the Bears were able to hold SLU off.
 
"We fought hard tonight and I can't fault the effort," Southeastern head coach Ron Roberts said. "We had some chances to make some big plays when the game was on the line, but we just came up a little short."
 
Southeastern had another impressive rushing performance, as freshman Julius Maracalin finished with 118 yards and a touchdown, while senior Kody Sutton chipped in with 84 yards on the ground. Junior D'Shaie Landor and freshman Donovan Isom split time under center, but were held to 96 yards passing. Freshman kicker Jonathan Tatum had the best game of his young Lion career, knocking in all three field goal attempts.
 
On the defensive side, the Lions were led by senior defensive backs Denzel Thompson and Jordan Batiste with 11 tackles each. Senior linebacker Herbert Harris added 10 tackles for SLU.
 
UCA used a bruising rushing attack to outlast SLU. Senior Blake Veasley finished with 191 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Sophomore Dominique Thomas rushed for 76 yards a score for the Bears, while UCA senior quarterback Taylor Reed was efficient passing, completing 19-of-26 passes for 114 yards with no interceptions.
 
UCA jumped out to an early lead with an eight-play, 81-yard scoring drive on the opening possession. A 45-yard run by Veasley highlighted the drive and the senior capped the drive with a one-yard scoring run with 11:28 left in the opening quarter.
 
After the teams traded empty possessions, SLU mounted its first threat. A 24-yard run by Maracalin and an 18-yard wide receiver pass from junior William French to senior Isaiah Kepley moved SLU into UCA territory before the drive eventually stalled.
 
SLU got on the board midway through the second quarter. A 74-yard Maracalin run moved the ball deep into Bear territory and freshman Jonathan Tatum knocked through a 25-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 with 8:03 left in the opening half.
 
A short field allowed the Bears to double their lead, as a 16-yard punt by freshman Harrison Heim allowed UCA to stat at the SLU 40-yard line. Four plays later, freshman quarterback Kirk Baugh scored from 10 yards out to give the Bears a 14-3 lead with 2:37 left in the half .
 
The Lions cut into the lead on the opening drive of the second half. A 25-yard pass from Landor to senior Byron Johnson highlighted a nine-play, 48-yard drive that Tatum capped with a 38-yard field goal to cut the UCA advantage to 14-6 with 12:06 left in the third quarter.
 
After a UCA punt, Sutton broke off a 68-yard run to move deep into Bear territory. Several plays later, Tatum banked in a 40-yard field goal off the left upright to move the Lions within 14-9 with 5:58 remaining in the third quarter.

UCA padded its lead early in the fourth quarter. With the Bears facing a third-and-short, the Lion defense crowded the line of scrimmage. Thomas found a crease and raced untouched 45 yards to put the Bears up, 21-9, with 14:06 left.
 
The Lions weren't ready to go away just yet, however, as a fumbled punt by UCA senior punter Matthew Spencer gave the Lions the ball near midfield. After Isom connected with senior Chris Briggs for a 47-yard catch and run to set up first and goal, Maracalin spun out of a tackle and cut the UCA lead to 21-16 with 9:12 left in the game.
 
UCA was able to milk some time off the clock, but the Lions forced a punt after Thompson stopped Reed on a third-and-seven to force a punt, giving SLU the ball back at its own 11-yard line with 2:48 left. On the second play of the drive, Isom overthrew French and was picked off by senior Bobby Watkins at the UCA 45-yard line with 2:08 left.
 
The Lions were drained of all of their timeouts and took over at their own 13-yard line with 36 seconds remaining, but could not get a first down as time expired.
 
Southeastern will return home next Saturday, hosting UIW in the 6 p.m. Hall of Fame game at Strawberry Stadium. The game will be televised on Cox Sports Television and on ESPN3 outside of CST's viewing area. 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).
 
At halftime of the game with UIW, Southeastern will recognize 2015 Athletics Hall of Fame inductees Rachel Ray Fitzgerald (softball) and Denise Kubena Wyninger (volleyball).