HOUSTON, Texas – With its most complete effort of the 2019 campaign, Southeastern Louisiana opened the second half of the season with a 52-13 road victory over Houston Baptist in Southland Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Husky Stadium.
 
Southeastern (4-3, 3-2 Southland) scored the game's final 31 points and controlled the game in every phase, posting a season-high 634 total yards, while limiting Houston Baptist (4-5, 1-4 Southland), which came in to the game ranked among the nation's top offenses, to 259 total yards and 15 first downs.
 
Chason Virgil had perhaps his best day as a Lion on the way to helping Southeastern to its sixth win over HBU in as many meetings. The Mesquite, Texas native threw for a career-high 388 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions on 22-of-31 passing. He and Cole Kelley (6-for-8, 101 yards, 1 TD) combined to complete passes to 10 different receivers.
 
CJ Turner (seven catches, 83 yards), Austin Mitchell (2-89), Lorenzo Nunez (1-80) and Matt DeBlaiso (1-21) each caught touchdowns for SLU, while Javon Conner (5-64), Marcus Cooper (4-68) and Devonte Williams (4-43) all contributed to a 489-yard passing day. On the ground, Williams (11 carries, 51 yards, 1 TD), Taron Jones (9-47-1 TD) and Kendall Collins Jr. (11-42) combined to serve as an effective triumvirate.
 
The Lion defense played its best game since the opener, holding HBU quarterback Bailey Zappe, who came into the game leading the nation in passing yards (2,971), passing touchdowns (29) and completions per game (33.25), to 156 yards and an interception on 22-of-42 passing.
 
Donnell Ward-Magee, Tre' Spann and Dontrell Smith shared the team lead with six tackles each for SLU. Spann, Ronald Cherry III and Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund each had sacks, while Trae Drake, Dwaine Thomas, Shawntrez Spates, Gladar Huszar and Alexis Ramos all contributed tackles for loss.
 
Lion cornerback Ferlando Jordan had the fifth-longest interception return in school history, while Spann forced a fumble that was recovered by Josh Carr Jr. On special teams, Nunez forced a fumble of his own that Dominic Lamm recovered.  
 
First Quarter
Southeastern jumped out to an early lead on the game's first play from scrimmage. The Lions ran a flea flicker and Nunez got behind the defense for an 80-yard touchdown pass from Virgil and a 7-0 SLU advantage just 17 seconds into the game.
 
The Southeastern defense forced a three-and-out on the first Huskies possession, but on the first play of the ensuing drive, Coi Miller forced a Mitchell fumble and Colton Manning recovered at the Lion 42-yard line. The turnover led to a 43-yard Gino Garcia field goal that cut the Lion lead to 7-3 with 11:32 left in the opening quarter.
 
The Lions were forced to punt on their next drive, but a bad snap led to punter Austin Dunlap being dropped behind the line, giving the Huskies another short field, as Houston Baptist took over at the SLU 31-yard line. Southeastern's defense again answered the call, as Cherry III and Adeyemi-Berglund combined for a sack to force a 31-yard field goal by Garcia that cut the lead to 7-6 with 7:08 left in the first quarter.
 
SLU answered with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Kelley found Williams on a 29-yard catch-and-run, then converted a fourth-and-four with a 24-yard completion to Conner. Jones capped the march with a four-yard touchdown run to give SLU a 14-6 lead with 2:32 left in the first quarter.
 
On the Huskies' final drive of the period, the Lions forced a three-and-out and punt. SLU moved into HBU territory as the quarter expired, as Southeastern out-gained the hosts, 196-24, through the game's first 15 minutes.
 
Second Quarter
The Lion drive stalled out inside the HBU 10-yard line and Bryce Broussard missed a 26-yard field goal to keep the Southeastern lead to 14-6.
 
After the two teams traded punts, Houston Baptist gave SLU a short field to defend, as Andre Walker stripped Kelley and John Goree pounced on the loose ball at the Lion 10-yard line.
 
However, on second-and-goal, Jordan intercepted Zappe and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown. The Atlanta, Georgia native's second pick six of the season was the longest interception return by a Lion since Kervin Fortenette took back an interception 100 yards versus Nicholls on Nov. 23, 1985. More importantly, it was a 14-point swing, giving SLU a 21-6 lead with 4:18 left in the half.
 
Houston Baptist answered with an eight-play, 59-yard scoring drive to cut into the SLU lead. Jerreth Sterns took an end around in from six yards out to pull the Huskies within 21-13 with 2:05 remaining in the second quarter.
 
Southeastern answered to close the half, as Virgil was 8-for-9 on a 10-play, 63-yard scoring drive. The final 15 yards came from Turner, as he hauled in a short Virgil throw and tip-toed the sideline to put SLU up, 28-13, heading into the break.
 
Third Quarter
On the opening kickoff of the second half, Nunez stripped kick returner Gamar Girdy Brito and Lamm pounced on the fumble at the HBU 38-yard line. Two plays later, Williams raced around left end from 25 yards out for a touchdown and a 35-13 SLU lead with 14:29 left in the third quarter.
 
After the Lion defense forced another three-and-out, Southeastern embarked on a methodical 15-play, 75-yard scoring drive that took nearly six minutes off the clock. While SLU finished short of the end zone, Broussard connected a 24-yard field goal that put the Lions up, 38-13, with 7:34 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Southeastern again forced the Huskies to punt on the ensuing drive. Three plays later, Virgil found Mitchell on a quick slant and the speedster from Plaquemine, Louisiana left the defense behind on a 70-yard catch-and-run. Mitchell's touchdown gave SLU a 45-13 lead with 4:41 remaining in the third period.
 
That lead would stand heading into the final period, as SLU finished the quarter with a 540-182 advantage in total yards.
 
Fourth Quarter
Southeastern closed out the scoring with an 11-play, 67-yard drive. Collins Jr. and Jones pounded their way down the field, then Kelley found DeBlaiso from 21 yards out to provide the final margin.
 
HBU drove into SLU territory in the final minutes, but Spann stripped Zappe on fourth down and Carr Jr. recovered the fumble to put the exclamation point on the dominant performance.
 
Up Next
Southeastern will return home to host Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. The contest will be streamed free on the Southeastern Sports Network at youtube.com/sluathletics and on LionSports.net. The game can be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU-FM (90.9), Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM WFPR), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Radio FX and TuneIn Radio apps.
 
Fans are encouraged to wear green to the SLU-SFA contest, as next Saturday is a Green Out in Strawberry Stadium. Children 12 and under will receive a complimentary ticket (one free children's admission per each adult ticket purchased). Younger Lion fans with a local school ID will receive a general admission ticket for the low price of $8.
 
The 13^th Annual Gumbo Cook-Off is also set for Saturday. Visit www.LionSports.net/gumbo for more information.
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. The Lions' remaining home schedule will see SLU welcome Southland Conference foes UIW (Oct. 12), Stephen F. Austin (Nov. 2) and Nicholls (Nov. 21).
 
2019 PROMOTIONS
For full details on promotions surrounding the Southeastern Louisiana football team's 2019 home schedule visit www.LionSports.net/FootballPromos.
 
INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN FOOTBALL WITH FRANK SCELFO
Inside Southeastern Football With Frank Scelfo will air every Monday through Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. at Tope La Catering (113 East Thomas Street) in downtown Hammond. Hosted by Scelfo, the Lions' second-year head coach, and Allen Waddell, the hour-long show will air on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU-FM (90.9), Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM WFPR). Fans can also listen live at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Radio FX and TuneIn Radio apps. A live video stream of the show will be available at www.youtube.com/sluathletics.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @LionUpFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
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.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of the 2018 football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.