SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Career-high performances by sophomore running back Julius Maracalin and senior quarterback D'Shaie Landor keyed the Southeastern Louisiana football team's 30-10 Southland Conference road victory over Incarnate Word Saturday afternoon at Benson Stadium.
 
The win was the fourth in the past five games for the Lions (5-4, 5-2 Southland), who bounced back from last week's loss to Central Arkansas to clinch its fourth winning record in league play in Southeastern head coach Ron Roberts' five-year tenure. UIW fell to 1-8 overall and 1-6 in league play.
 
Maracalin was the key performer in a 446-yard offensive output by SLU. The Plaquemine, Louisiana native racked up 191 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries. The 191-yard output was the sixth-highest single-game performance in school history, the most by a Southeastern rusher under Roberts and the highest single-game performance since former Lion Jay Lucas rushed for 215 yards versus Central Arkansas on Oct. 20, 2007.
 
Landor, making his third start of the season under center in place of injured starter Justin Alo, completed 14-of-16 passes for 153 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. Junior Juwan Dickey was Landor's top target, as the Marietta, Georgia native hauled in nine passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Juwaan Rogers also caught a touchdown from Landor.
 
The game was evenly played in the first half, as the Lions took a 7-3 UIW lead into the break. Southeastern took over in the second half, scoring the first 16 points after halftime on the way to a decisive victory.
 
"We might've had a bit of a letdown early and got off to a slow start," Roberts said. "You could see at halftime that we were really energized and ready to play. Last week was a tough loss for us in a big game and it was encouraging to see how our team was able to bounce back."
 
On the defensive side, the Lions held UIW to 286 total yards and collected a season-high six sacks. Senior Anthony Murphy Jr., junior Ryan Sigers, senior Jon Taylor, junior Lee Spight, senior Miki Fangatua, junior Sione Teuhema and senior Javari Nichols were each credited with at least a partial sack. Junior Javon Tillman led the Lions with 10 tackles in the victory.
 
After the two teams traded empty possessions, UIW got on the board first late in the opening period. A 44-yard scramble by Trent Brittain highlighted an 11-play, 76-yard scoring march that Cody Seidel capped with a 32-yard field goal that gave the Cardinals a 3-0 lead with 3:56 left in the opening quarter.
 
Southeastern finally got going offensively on the first drive of the second quarter. Maracalin opened the drive with a 56-yard run and two plays later powered in from 10 yards out to give the Lions a 7-3 lead with 13:04 left in the opening half.
 
UIW was set to cut into the lead on the ensuing dive as Seidel lined up for a 30-yard field goal but senior Tre' Bennett blocked the attempt to allow Southeastern to maintain its four-point lead.
 
Southeastern moved into UIW territory to close out the first half. However, sophomore Jonathan Tatum's 44-yard field goal on the second quarter's final play sailed wide right to keep the Lions' advantage to 7-3.
 
After forcing the Cardinal into a three-and-out to start the third quarter, the Lions opened the second half with a methodical 12-play, 52-yard drive that took nearly five minutes off the clock. Tatum capped the drive with a 24-yard field goal to push the Lion lead to 10-3 with 9:08 left in the third quarter.
 
UIW moved into Southeastern territory on its next drive. The Cardinals went for a fourth-and-one at the SLU 36-yard line. Taylor and freshman Jacorey Fuller combined to throw Cardinal running back Junior Sessions for a one-yard loss to give the Lions the ball back on downs.
 
Southeastern padded its lead after the defensive stop. Landor fired a 14-yard bullet to Dickey in the back of the end zone to cap a seven-play, 63-yard drive and give SLU a 17-3 lead with 3:20 left in the third quarter.
 
UIW once again moved into Southeastern territory on the ensuing drive and the Lions again answered the bell on fourth down. This time, Murphy Jr. sacked Brittain to give the Lions the ball back at the Cardinal 30-yard line.
 
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Maracalin broke loose for a 50-yard run deep into Cardinal territory on the final play of the third quarter. Three plays later, Dickey made a juggling 16-yard touchdown catch on a Landor pass to give SLU a 23-3 lead with 14:19 left in the contest.
 
The Cardinals answered with a nine-play, 90-yard scoring drive. Brittain found Edwards in the back corner of the end zone from nine yards out to cut the Lion lead to 23-10 with 11:50 left in the game.
 
After a three-and-out by the Lion offense, Southeastern ended any hope of a UIW comeback on the following drive. Consecutive sacks by Fangatua and Taylor forced a UIW punt.
 
A 32-yard punt return by junior Torrance Mosley gave the Lions the ball in Cardinal territory. Six plays later, Rogers hauled in a pass from Landor and scored from eight yards out with 4:25 to play to provide the final 30-10 margin.
 
Southeastern will return home to close out its home schedule with a 7 p.m. contest next Saturday versus Abilene Christian. Saturday will be Senior Day, as seniors Landor, Rogers, Bennett, Murphy Jr., Taylor, Fangatua, Nichols, Rasheed Harrell, Kaelyn Henderson, Brandon Acker, Da'Quan Smith, Justin Alo, Will Hines, Caleb Young, , Solomon Parker, Justin Barksdale, Taylor Gadbois and Trent Williams will be honored in a pregame ceremony 30 minutes prior to kickoff.
 
The game will be broadcast live on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU 90.9 FM, Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and WFPR 1400 AM), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app. The Southeastern Channel will air the game on a tape delay and provide a live video stream, which will be accessible at LionSports.net. The first 300 students at the game will receive free t-shirts courtesy of Southeastern Athletics Marketing and Promotions.