HAMMOND –The Southeastern Louisiana football team will close out the 2015 season on Thursday, hosting Nicholls in the annual River Bell Classic at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium.
 
The game between the Lions (4-6, 3-5 Southland) and the visiting Colonels (2-8, 2-6 Southland) will be televised by the American Sports Network with WUPL (Charter Channel 16 in Hammond) serving as the local affiliate in the Hammond area. A full list of affiliates nationwide will be accessible at www.southland.org/asn.
 
The game can also be heard live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), as well as affiliates and Northshore Broadcasting stations Kajun 107.1 FM (WHMD) and The Highway 104.7 FM (WJSH) and on the Internet at LionSports.net. For those fans attending, with classes in session on Thursday, parking lots will open at 2:30 p.m. with tailgating beginning at 4 p.m.
 
SLU will also honor 28 student-athletes as part of Senior Day festivities, which are schedule for approximately 30 minutes before kickoff. Offensive players to be honored include running back Xavier Roberson, running back Kody Sutton, wide receiver Jeff Smiley, wide receiver Isaiah Kepley, offensive lineman Aaron Reed, offensive lineman Joe Graves, offensive lineman Josue Miranda, tight end Chris Briggs and wide receiver Byron Johnson.
 
Defensive and special teams players closing out their Southeastern careers include defensive back Harlan Miller, defensive back Micah Eugene, defensive back Jordan Batiste, defensive back Denzel Thompson, defensive back Marquis Hatcher, linebacker Dereck Robinson, defensive back JQ Sandolph, defensive back Josh Dakin, defensive back Reggie Lesueur, punter/kicker Harris Beall, linebacker Herbert Harris, linebacker T.J. West, defensive lineman A.J. Bowen, defensive lineman Aaron Price, defensive lineman Ashton Henderson and defensive lineman Tupou Aleamotua.
 
In addition, three Lions who will be graduating before next football season – junior linebacker Jalal Yousofzai, junior offensive lineman Brent Wagner and junior long snapper Brice Bishop – will take part in Senior Day ceremonies.
 
Both Southeastern and Nicholls are coming off narrow losses last week. The Lions saw Abilene Christian rally and score the game-winning touchdown with 22 seconds left in a 21-17 loss. Nicholls fell behind 34-17 early in the fourth quarter and saw its later rally fall just short in a 34-31 defeat versus Central Arkansas.
 
In each of the last two seasons, the Lions were able to loft the Southland Conference championship trophy after defeating the Colonels in the River Bell Classic. While the 2015 season will not yield another ring, SLU head coach Ron Roberts still considers Thursday an important game for his team.
 
"We want to send our seniors out the right way," Roberts said. "These young men have helped us build our program up and we owe it to them to have their final game be a win."
 
The Lion offense enters the season finale averaging 19.7 points and 342.5 yards per game. The running back duo of Sutton (485 yards, 3 TD) and freshman Julius Maracalin (469 yards, 3 TD) has fueled the SLU rushing attack. With Sutton suffering a season-ending injury on the first play from scrimmage at ACU, the rushing duties will be left to Maracalin and sophomore running back Eugene Bethea.
 
Junior quarterback D'Shaie Landor (1,042 passing yards, 5 TD, 3 INT; Team-high four rushing touchdowns) will handle the duties under center. Junior wide receivers Brandon Acker (18 catches, 255 yards) and William French (18 catches, 222 yards) are Landor's top targets.
 
Looking to slow down the Lions will be a Colonel defense that is allowing 33.3 points and 427.7 yards per game. Sophomore linebacker Hezekiah White paces the team with 85 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss, while sophomore linebacker Geoffrey Wright has a team-high 3.5 sacks.
 
Senior quarterback Landry Klann has taken over the quarterbacking duties for the Colonels late in the season and has thrown for 610 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Junior C.J. Bates (26 catches, 357 yards, 3 TD) and senior Terry Lucas Jr. (22-285-1 TD) are the top targets for the Colonels. Senior running back Michael Henry (687 rushing yards, 6 TD) paces the NSU rushing attack.
 
"(Nicholls first-year head coach) Tim Rebowe has done a great job with their team," Roberts said. "They are playing with purpose and passion. We have a lot of respect for them."
 
The Colonels will be looking to make its way against an impressive Southeastern defense. Opponents are averaging 21.3 points and 348.3 yards per contest against the Lions. Batiste leads the Lions with 66 tackles, followed by Harris (62), Eugene (55), junior linebacker Tre' Bennett (42) and Miller (42). Price leads the team with five sacks, while Harris has a team-high 9.5 tackles for loss. Miller, a candidate for STATS FCS Defensive Player of the Year and CFPA FCS Defensive Back of the Year, leads the team with three interceptions and eight pass breakups.
 
The all-time series between the two teams is tied at 12-12. Southeastern has won the last four meetings between the two schools, including a 62-3 victory last season in Thibodaux.