BEAUMONT, Texas– Southeastern Louisiana outscored Lamar, 20-7, in the second half on the way to a 30-24 Southland Conference road victory over the Cardinals Saturday night at Provost Umphrey Stadium. 
 
Southeastern (1-3, 1-1 Southland) secured the victory by recovering a deflected squib kick to close out its first win of the season and its first victory under first-year head coach Frank Scelfo. The Lions were able to fell the host Cardinals (1-3, 0-2 Southland) despite committing five turnovers.
 
"We're not supposed to win a game when we commit that many turnovers," Scelfo commented. "One thing I can say after all four games this season about our team is that we've competed to the final whistle each week. If we do that, we can live with the results win or lose, but it was good for us to come out with a victory.
 
"When we were down (17-10) at halftime, I challenged the team and told them we were going to take the opening kickoff and score, tie it up and see who the toughest guy in the fight was going to be from there," Scelfo added. "We were tonight. Our execution has got to be better, but I can't say enough about our guys' effort."
 
Despite the five turnovers, the Lions racked up 494 total yards of offense. Junior quarterback Chason Virgil threw for 285 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 27-of-44 passing. Junior Juwan-Petit Frere (seven catches, 83 yards), junior Bransen Schwebel (6-98-1 TD), sophomore Austin Mitchell (5-53-1 TD) and senior Nih-Jer Jackson (4-44) were the top targets for the Lions.
 
Junior running back Devonte Williams led the Lion rushing attack. The Columbia, Maryland native carried 18 times for 62 yards and his first touchdown in the green and gold.
 
The Lion defense forced three turnovers of its own on the night. Freshman Ferlando Jordan and junior Tre' Spann each had interceptions, while senior Zeke Walker recovered a fumble forced by freshman Josh Carr.
 
Seniors Brayleon Thorns and Tamarcus Russell led SLU with 12 tackles each. Russell, Walker and sophomore Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund were each credited with three tackles for loss.
 
Lamar senior quarterback Darrell Colbert Jr. was the leader of the Cardinal offense, completing 15-of-27 passes for 171 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, while also rushing for 67 yards and a score on 21 carries.
 
The Southeastern kicking game had another impressive night. Senior Jonathan Tatum tied a career-high with three field goals, while Ivy Wall averaged 49.5 yards on his punts, including a season-long 56-yard punt.
 
Southeastern forced Lamar to punt on the opening drive and a 10-yard punt by junior Tyler Slaydon allowed the Lions to take over in Cardinal territory. A 22-yard run by Petit-Frere highlighted a quick three-play, 45-yard drive that culminated with a six-yard scoring run by Williams and an early 7-0 lead.
 
Lamar drove into SLU territory on its next possession, but Carr stripped Colbert Jr. and Walker fell on the loose ball. However, Lamar senior linebacker Davon Jernigan intercepted a screen pass by Virgil and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown. A bad snap forced a missed Lamar extra point and kept SLU on top, 7-6, with 6:47 left in the first quarter.
 
Playing in a torrential downpour for the remainder of the first quarter, neither team could get anything going offensively over the next several trips. Southeastern looked to finally have something going after Jordan intercepted Colbert at the Cardinal 43-yard line.
 
But, on the ensuing drive Petit-Frere was stripped by LU freshman defensive back Marcellus Johnson to end Southeastern's threat. A 48-yard run by A.J. Walker highlighted a six-play, 73-yard scoring drive to give the Cardinals the lead. Colbert bulled in from two yards out and the two-point conversion was good to give LU a 14-7 advantage with 6:41 left in the opening half.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, Petit-Frere returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yards to the Lamar 16-yard line. Four plays later, Tatum knocked in a 36-yard field goal to cut the Cardinals' lead to 14-10 with 4:59 left in the second quarter.
 
Lamar answered on its next drive, marching 62 on 13 plays. Sophomore Elvin Martinez connected on a 32-yard field goal to send the Cardinals into halftime with a 17-10 advantage.
 
Southeastern evened the game on the first drive of the second half. A 30-yard pass from junior Lorenzo Nunez to Schwebel highlighted the nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Mitchell caught a short pass from Virgil and scampered in from 26 yards out to tie the score at 17-17 with 11:42 remaining in the third quarter.
 
After the teams traded empty possessions, the Lions retook the lead with a methodical 16-play, 90-yard scoring drive. Tatum capped the march with a 22-yard field goal to put the Lions ahead, 20-17, with 13:58 remaining in the contest.
 
On the next play from scrimmage, Spann picked off a Colbert pass and returned it 25 yards to the Cardinal 28-yard line. Six plays later, Virgil found Schwebel from nine yards out for a touchdown and a 27-17 lead with 10:48 left in the game.
 
Lamar answered with a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive to cut into the Lion advantage. LU senior wide receiver Dewan Thompson Jr. caught a 22-yard pass from Colbert to pull the Cardinals within, 27-24, with 5:44 remaining.
 
The Lions took nearly the entire remainder of the time of the clock on their final drive. Tatum drilled a 23-yard field goal to give SLU a 30-24 lead with 35 seconds left.
 
Tatum then rifled the kickoff off the leg of senior Dorian Gaston and senior linebacker Sean Clavelle was right there to collect the loose ball. One Virgil kneel down later and the Lions had their first notch in the win column in 2018.
 
Southeastern will return home to host Northwestern State for a 7 p.m. league game next Saturday in Strawberry Stadium. The Sept. 29 contest will be televised on Cox Sports Television and will be available on ESPN3 outside of the CST viewing area.
 
Fans will also be able to hear the Lions-Demons 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 and TuneIn Radio apps.
 
Next Saturday is a White Out, as all Lion fans are encouraged to wear white to the contest. Saturday is also Youth Day versus the Demons. All children ages 12 and under will receive a free ticket to the game. Lastly, a discounted ticket will be available for any middle, junior and high school students for an $11 bench seat ticket when you show your local school ID.
 
The SLU-NSU contest will be a family affair. Scelfo's son, Anthony, coaches quarterbacks for Northwestern State.
 
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 will welcome 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 Lions Gameday Experience, Radio FX and TuneIn Radio apps. A live video stream of the show will be available via Facebook Watch at www.facebook.com/sluathletics.