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Southeastern Game Notes
Central Arkansas Game Notes

HAMMOND, La. – The Southland Conference Football Game of the Week comes to Strawberry Stadium on Saturday, as Southeastern Louisiana welcomes No. 18/19 Central Arkansas for a huge 2:30 p.m. league contest.
 
The Lions (4-3, 4-1 Southland) have won three games in a row to move into sole possession of third place in the conference standings. One of two teams SLU is looking up at in the league race is nationally-ranked UCA (6-1, 5-0 Southland), which has kept pace atop the standings with No. 1 Sam Houston State with the five-game win streak it carries into Hammond.
 
"This is the biggest game we've had at home in a while and we'll need all the support from Lion Nation we can get," Southeastern head coach Ron Roberts said. "We've put ourselves in the position for this to be a big game by continuing to grow as a unit, especially over the past three weeks. Central Arkansas is a very good football team. We've been playing our best football over the past few weeks, but there's no doubt we have to play our best game of the season to be successful this week."
 
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app, while also being heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU 90.9 FM, Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and WFPR 1400 AM), as well as online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app.
 
Saturday's game with the Bears will also be the Hall of Fame Game. The 2016 Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame class of Kenny Lehrmann (baseball), Jacques Chevallier (golf) and Calvin Favron (football) will be inducted in a private pregame ceremony and will be honored at halftime of the SLU-UCA game.
 
Saturday will also be Solid Gold Saturday, as fans are encouraged to wear their gold to cheer on the Lions. The first 300 students will receive a SLU noisemaker. Fans can also hold on to their game tickets and present them to receive free admission to either the Nov. 2 men's basketball exhibition game or the Nov. 3 women's basketball exhibition game.

In conjunction with the game, the Southeastern Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will host the 10^th Annual Gumbo Cook-Off. There is no cost to enter and all proceeds will benefit the SLU SAAC. A registration flyer is available online at http://www.lionsports.net/sports/2008/7/7/SAAC.aspx. The deadline to register is Friday, Oct. 28 and participants can fax their entry form to (985) 549-3495 or e-mail it to sherry.kennemer@selu.edu.

Prizes for both fan's choice (most money in the voting jar) and judges' choice will be awarded with the winners announced at halftime. Voting jars will be provided at 9 a.m. with pickup at 1 p.m. Serving cups will be provided. Participants are asked to bring spoons and as much gumbo as they're willing to share. For more information, call (985) 549-2256.

The Lions rolled up 563 total yards, including a season-high 334 on the ground, in last Saturday's 37-3 Homecoming victory over Houston Baptist. For the season, SLU is averaging 29.1 points and 416.3 yards per game.
 
Senior Justin Alo, who has thrown for 1,288 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, missed last week's game and will be a game-time decision on Saturday. If Alo does not return, senior D'Shaie Landor, who threw for 229 yards and hooked up on touchdowns with senior Brandon Acker and sophomore Jake Ingraffia in the win over HBU, will make his second straight start.
 
Whichever Lion signal-caller is under center will make use of the dynamic pass catching duo of Acker (24 catches, 556 yards, 6 TD) and junior Juwan Dickey (23-464-4 TD). SLU uses a variety of running backs, as senior Rasheed Harrell (341 yards, 3 TD), senior Kaelyn Henderson (259 yards, 2 TD) and sophomore Julius Maracalin (255 yards, 3 TD) have been the top rushers for Southeastern.
 
The Southeastern offense will face a tough test against a Bear defense that has limited opponents to 293.4 yards and 17.1 points per game. George Odum leads UCA with 49 tackles, while Jaylon Lofton has two of the team's eight interceptions. Jordan Tolliver paces a fierce Central Arkansas pass rush with four sacks.
 
The Lion defense has allowed 30.3 points and 391.6 yards per game this season, but has steadily improved as the season has progressed. Southeastern held Houston Baptist out of the end zone last week, forcing three turnovers and recording four sacks. Juniors Max Lyons and Javon Tillman shared the team lead with eight tackles each, while junior Sione Teuhema recorded 1.5 sacks.
 
Lyons recovered a fumble forced by Tillman, while senior Anthony Murphy Jr. forced and recovered a fumble on a sack in the win over the Huskies. Junior Demarayeh Lane also recorded his first interception of the season.
 
Tillman leads the team with 56 tackles, followed by Lyons (53), junior Torrance Mosley (47), junior Ryan Sigers (41) and junior Lee Spight (40). Teuhema, who missed three games with an early-season injury, has bolstered the Lion pass rush and has a team-high 3.5 sacks. Six different Lions have intercepted passes this season, while Lyons leads the Southland with three fumble recoveries.
 
Southeastern will be facing a balanced UCA offense that is averaging 455.9 yards and 36.0 points per outing. Quarterback Hayden Hildebrand (1,623 yards, 10 TD) runs the show for the Bears, who featured one of the nation's best receiving tandems in Jatavious Wilson (37 catches, 573 yards, 3 TD) and Desmond Smith (34-494-3 TD). The Bears are also effective on the ground with Antwon Wells (356 yards, 6 TD) and Carlos Blackman (350-1 TD) serving as the most productive runners.
 
SLU is 3-6 all-time versus Central Arkansas and 2-2 under Roberts. Last season, the Lions' rally fell just short in a 21-16 loss in Conway, Arkansas.
 
Following Saturday's showdown, Southeastern will next head to San Antonio, Texas for a 2:30 p.m. game on Nov. 5 at league foe Incarnate Word. The game will be broadcast on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU 90.9 FM, Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and WFPR 1400 AM), as well as online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app.