HAMMOND, La. – The No. 17 Southeastern Louisiana University football team scored touchdowns on its first three possessions and never looked back on the way to a dominant 38-14 win over No. 22 Florida A&M in the first round of the NCAA FCS Playoffs Saturday night in Strawberry Stadium.
Southeastern (9-3) held a 38-0 lead after the opening drive of the fourth quarter. Florida A&M (9-3) scored a pair of touchdowns in the waning minutes to lessen the final margin.
The third playoff victory in school history allows the Lions to advance to the second round, where they will face No. 3 seed James Madison at 1 p.m. next Saturday in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Facing a FAMU defense that came into the game ranked atop FCS in total defense, Southeastern finished with 503 total yards and 29 first downs, controlling the clock for nearly 39 minutes.
Southland Conference Player of the Year, reigning Walter Payton Award winner and SLU quarterback
Cole Kelley finished 31-for-45 for 345 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Kelley's top targets were
Nolan Givan (six catches, 74 yards, 1 TD) and
Taron Jones (5-85-2 TD).
Nick Kovacs caught a Kelley scoring throw and also rushed for a score.
The Lion defense was dominant through the majority of the contest, holding FAMU to 295 total yards – 164 of which came in the final period after the game was long decided.
Sterrling Fisher led SLU with seven tackles, while
Jack Henderson contributed six tackles and an interception.
Blayne Delahoussaye paced the Lions with three pass breakups.
The Southeastern defense harassed FAMU quarterback Rasean McKay into 238 yards on 18-for-40 passing. Xavier Smith was McKay's top target, finishing with a game-high nine catches for 87 yards. Markquese Bell led the Rattler defense with 16 tackles and a forced fumble.
After forcing a FAMU punt on its opening possession, the Lions took the lead for good on the first drive of the game. It appeared SLU was going to have to settle for a field goal, but Kovacs faked it from his holder position and scampered in from 21 yards out to put the Lions up, 7-0, with 6:09 remaining.
Florida A&M managed a couple of first downs before being forced to punt on its next drive. Jose Romo-Martinez downed his 56-yard punt at the SLU two-yard line.
The Lions were undeterred by the unfavorable field position. Southeastern marched 98 yards on 11 plays to double its lead. Kelley found
Nolan Givan from six yards out to cap the drive and put SLU up, 14-0, a little over a minute into the second quarter.
On the next Rattler possession, Henderson stepped in front of a McKay pass and picked it off, setting SLU up at the FAMU 41-yard line. A 30-yard pass from Kelley to
Terrell Carter set Southeastern up with a goal-to-go chance, then Kelley eluded pressure and shoveled a nine-yard scoring toss to Jones to give Southeastern a commanding 21-0 lead.
Mateo Rengifo connected on a 21-yard field goal on the final play of the second quarter to send SLU into the break with a 24-0 advantage after a second period that saw the Lions limit the visitors to two first downs and 45 total yards.
Southeastern added to its lead on the opening drive of the third quarter. Kelley fired a dart to Kovacs from 20 yards out to put the Lions up, 31-0, with 9:29 left in the period.
The SLU defense forced FAMU to a pair of punts and turned over the Rattlers on downs in a dominant third quarter. Kelley closed out his night on the third play of the fourth quarter, as Jones took a screen pass and followed excellent Lion blocking on the way to a 39-yard touchdown and a 38-0 lead.
Florida A&M managed a pair of touchdowns in the final minutes to ensure the final 38-14 margin.
The SLU-JMU game next Saturday will be televised on ESPN+. The contest can also be heard live in the Hammond area on Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM, as well as
www.kajun107.net.
TICKETS
For ticket information, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit
www.LionSports.net. Southeastern will continue offering mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2021-22 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail or text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @LionUpFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on Twitter, like /lionupathletics 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.
