Southeastern Louisiana (2-4, 2-2 SLC) vs. Houston Baptist (1-4, 0-3 SLC)
Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018 | 4 p.m. | Hammond, La. | Strawberry Stadium (7,408)
Series History: SLU leads 4-0
Last Meeting: Southeastern Louisiana 56, Houston Baptist 10 (Oct. 14, 2018 – Houston, Texas)
Television: Southeastern Channel/Southland Digital Network (www.southland.org/live) and Southland apps
            Game will air on Cox Sports Television on Sunday, Oct. 14, at 7:30 p.m.
Radio: Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU 90.9, Kajun 107.1, The Highway 104.7, WFPR 1400)
            Announcers: Mark Willoughby, Robbie Rhodes and Allen Waddell
Live Video
Live Audio
Live Stats
Southeastern Game Notes
HBU Game Notes

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana football team will celebrate Homecoming on Saturday, welcoming Southland Conference foe Houston Baptist to Strawberry Stadium for a 4 p.m. league contest.
 
Both the Lions (2-4, 2-2 Southland) and the visiting Huskies (1-4, 0-3 SLC) will be looking to bounce back from tough losses last week. SLU is 29-24-1 since 1946 in Homecoming games, including an 8-7 mark since the program returned in 2003.
 
The first 200 Southeastern students in attendance to Saturday's SLU-HBU Homecoming tilt will receive a free t-shirt courtesy of Southeastern Athletics Marketing and Student Promotions. With the Homecoming parade set for noon, fans are asked to keep in mind that no vehicles will be allowed in Friendship Circle after 9 a.m. on Saturday. The 2018 Homecoming King and Queen will be announced at halftime.
  
Southeastern jumped out to a 14-3 lead last Saturday at Incarnate Word, but UIW bounced back by outscoring SLU, 28-7, in the second quarter and never looked back on the way to a 52-34 victory. The Cardinals finished with 621 total yards - the most the Lions have allowed since the program returned prior to the 2003 season.
 
Junior Juwan Petit-Frere led SLU with 195 total offensive yards and two touchdowns - one receiving and one rushing. Senior Darren Johnson also had two scores of his own - one on the ground and one through the air.   
 
On defense, SLU tied a season-high with five sacks. Senior Sean Clavelle led the way with two sacks for the Lions. Sophomore Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund (12 tackles) and senior Tamarcus Russell (11 tackles) were the top tacklers for the Lions.
 
Houston Baptist took a 66-35 loss - its fourth straight defeat - at Central Arkansas last Saturday. Sophomore Bailey Zappe threw for 346 yards and four touchdowns for the Huskies, but HBU couldn't overcome 558 yards of total offense by the Bears. 
 
SLU is managing 24.0 points and 420.3 yards per game heading into Saturday' s game. The Lion attack has been slowed by a conference-leading 18 turnovers.
 
Junior quarterback Chason Virgil is second in the nation with a Southland-high 1,841 passing yards to go with 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 149-for-236 passing (63.1 percent). Petit-Frere leads the Southland with 553 receiving yards on 29 catches - three for touchdowns. Junior Bransen Schwebel (20 catches, 269, 2 TD), sophomore Austin Mitchell (18-303-3 TD), senior Nih-Jer Jackson (17-176) and freshman CJ Turner (15-165-1 TD) have been Virgil's other top targets. 
 
While the Lion running game has gotten fully on track this season, Johnson (179 yards, 2 touchdowns) and junior Devonte Williams (176-2 TD) have been effective when called upon.
 
The Lions will be facing a Houston Baptist defense that is yielding 45.0 points and 499.2 yards to opponents this season. Sophomore Langston Tunson leads the Huskies with 71 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss, while Patrick Wolfe has a team-high two interceptions.
 
Southeastern defensive averages went up after Saturday's loss, as the Lions are now allowing 31.8 points and 465.7 yards per game. Russell paces Southeastern with 60 tackles, followed by Adeyemi-Berglund (43), junior Xavier Lewis (41), junior defensive back Dejion Lynch (33) and senior defensive back Zeke Walker (31) rounding out the top five.
 
Lynch also leads SLU with five pass breakups, while freshman Ferlando Jordan has two interceptions. Russell and Adeyemi-Berglund also pace the team with six tackles for loss apiece, while Spann has recovered a team-high two fumbles. 
 
Zappe has thrown for 1,361 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions on 116-for-196 passing (59.2 percent) for a Husky offense that is averaging 410.2 yards and 31.6 points per game. Freshman Jarreth Sterns (24 catches, 229 yards, 1 TD) is Zappe's top target, while sophomore Dreshawn Minnieweather (367 yards, 4 TD) is the top weapon on the ground for the Huskies.
 
Petit-Frere averages 31.1 yards per kickoff return - seventh-best in the nation - for the Lions heading into Saturday's game.
 
Junior Ivy Wall has averaged 42.6 yards per punt - third in the Southland - to highlight the SLU kicking game in the opening half of the season. Senior Jonathan Tatum has connected on four consecutive field goals.
 
HBU sophomore Ladarius Dickens leads the Southland with 31.2 yards per kickoff return to highlight the Huskies' special teams units.
 
Southeastern is 4-0 all-time versus Houston Baptist, which started its program prior to the 2014 season. Last season in Houston, SLU rolled to a 56-10 victory over the Huskies.
 
Saturday's game is the first of two straight games at home for the Lions, who welcome Abilene Christian to town for a 7 p.m. contest next Saturday, Oct. 20 in Strawberry Stadium. A live video stream, produced by the Southeastern Channel, will be available on the Southland Digital Network at www.Southland.org/live and Southland apps.
 
Fans will also be able to hear the Lions-ACU tilt on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU-FM (90.9), Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and WFPR 1400 AM). Fans can also listen live at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Radio FX, TuneIn Radio and Lions Gameday Experience apps.
 
Saturday will also be the annual Hall of Fame Game, as former football All-American and current Atlanta Falcon Robert Alford and five-time Southland Conference champion women's tennis standout Iva Velkovska make up the 2018 Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame class. Both will be recognized at halftime of Saturday's game.
 
Next Saturday will also be Solid Gold Saturday, as all Lion fans are encouraged to wear their Gold and help "Gold Out" Strawberry Stadium. The first 200 SLU students in the gates will receive a megaphone.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
For season ticket information and individual game tickets, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. The Lions' 2018 home schedule includes conference foes Central Arkansas (Sept. 15), Northwestern State (Sept. 29), Houston Baptist (Oct. 13 – Homecoming), Abilene Christian (Oct. 20 – Hall of Fame Game) and McNeese (Nov. 3) to Strawberry Stadium in 2018.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.
 
TOUCHDOWN CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the football program are encouraged to join the Touchdown Club. Lion football alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Touchdown Club and S Club (football) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern football program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @SLUFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN FOOTBALL WITH FRANK SCELFO
Inside Southeastern Football with Frank Scelfo, the Lion first-year head coach's radio show, is held every Monday through Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at Tope La Catering (113 East Thomas Street) in downtown Hammond.
 
Hosted by Scelfo and Allen Waddell, the show will air on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU-FM (90.9), Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and WFPR 1400 AM). Fans can also listen live at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Radio FX, TuneIn Radio and Lions Gameday Experience apps. A live video stream of the show will be available via Facebook Watch at www.facebook.com/sluathletics.