SAN ANTONIO, Texas – No. 16 Southeastern Louisiana could not overcome 28 unanswered UIW points in a 56-45 loss to the No. 22 Cardinals in Southland Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Benson Stadium.
 
The Lions (2-2, 2-2 Southland) scored the game's final 22 points and finished with 551 total yards, but it was not enough to avoid their third straight loss to the Cardinals. UIW (3-0, 3-0 Southland) turned a 16-14 second quarter deficit to a 35-16 halftime lead by scoring three touchdowns in the final 2:47 of the second quarter.
 
UIW would grow the lead to as much as 56-23 before the Lions lessened the final margin with a strong finish.
 
SLU quarterback Cole Kelley completed 38 of 60 passes for 431 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Kelley's top targets were Marcus Cooper (nine catches, 60 yards) and Javon Conner (8-107), while Nick Kovacs, Anthony Spurlock and Connor Briggs all caught touchdowns. Morgan Ellison, Cephus Johnson III and Kelley all had rushing scorers for the Lions.
 
Alexis Ramos led the Lion defense with 12 tackles and a sack. Darrius Harry also recorded a sack and a blocked field goal. Donniel Ward-Magee chipped in with eight tackles, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
 
Cameron Ward threw for 407 yards and six touchdowns for UIW on 26-of-47 passing, connecting with five different receivers for scorers. Kevin Brown paced the UIW rushing attack with 190 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
 
Southeastern marched 83 yards on the opening drive of the game to take the early lead. Kelley was 5-for-5 on the drive, which was capped by Kovacs hauling in a five-yard scoring toss for a 7-0 lead with 10:31 left in the opening period.
 
UIW took its opening possession into the Lion red zone, but the defense stiffened and forced a 30-yard field goal attempt by Carson Mohr. The snap wasn't smooth and the disruption in timing allowed Harry to get a hand up and block Mohr's attempt to keep the Cardinals off the board. The blocked field goal was the fourth in the past two weeks for Southeastern.
 
After a Lion punt, UIW knotted the score to end the quarter. Ward found Robert Ferrel for a seven-yard score to tie the score as the game moved into the second quarter.
 
Southeastern answered the Cardinal score with a methodical 16-play, 78-yard drive. A 27-yard Terrell Carter catch on third-and-15 highlighted the march which Johnson III closed out with a three-yard scoring run around left end. The Mobile, Alabama native's first score as a Lion gave SLU a 13-7 lead with 9:30 left in the opening half.
 
A 59-yard catch and run by Tre Wolf set up a one-yard Ward scoring run to put UIW up, 14-13. Kelley found Taron Jones for consecutive passes of 20 and 15 yards to move deep into Cardinal territory, but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Mateo Rengifo and a 16-14 advantage with 3:10 left in the first half.
 
The rest of the second quarter was all UIW. Two plays after Rengifo's field goal, Brown broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and got loose for a 75-yard touchdown run and a 21-16 lead with 2:47 left in the first half.
 
A deflected pass led to a Kelley interception on the next Southeastern possession. Six plays later, Ward found Ferrel from three yards out to give UIW a 28-16 cushion with 1:09 remaining in the second quarter.
 
SLU quickly moved into UIW territory on its ensuing drive, but were stopped on fourth-and-two near midfield. Two plays later, Wolf hauled in a 26-yard touchdown pass to send the Cardinals into the break with a 35-16 cushion.
 
UIW took the opening drive of the second half 81 yards on five plays, as Ameer King hauled in a 25-yard scoring toss from Ward to put the Cardinals up, 42-16, just over a minute into the second half.
 
SLU answered with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive the culminated with Spurlock catching a one-yard scoring pass from Kelley. However, UIW answered with back-to-back touchdown drives, as Ward found Jaelin Campbell and Darion Chafin on long scoring tosses to give UIW a 56-23 advantage.
 
Southeastern closed out the third quarter with a 75-yard drive that took eight plays. Kelley bulled in from a yard out to send the Lions into the final period facing a 56-30 deficit.
 
SLU scored the game's remaining points in the fourth quarter. Ellison powered in from a yard out and Briggs brought in a one-yard scoring pass from Kelley. Kelley's two-point conversion following Briggs' score pulled Southeastern within 11 with 1:14 remaining. However, Rengifo's onside kick attempt was unsuccessful and UIW kneeled it out to remain unbeaten.
 
Up Next
Southeastern will have a week off, before closing out its spring home schedule versus Lamar on Saturday, April 3 at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU 90.9 FM, Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM). Fans can also listen live at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Lions Game Day Experience and TuneIn Radio apps.
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2020-21 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. SLU is scheduled to host McNeese (March 6), Northwestern State (March 13) and Lamar (April 3) this coming spring. Current state and local health and safety regulations limit capacity at Strawberry Stadium to 3,050.
 
INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN FOOTBALL WITH FRANK SCELFO
Inside Southeastern Football With Frank Scelfo, presented by Louisiana's First Choice Auto Auction, will air every Monday through the end of the season at 7 p.m. on the patio at Pour House Pizza and Beer Garden (505 West Thomas Street) in downtown Hammond. Hosted by Scelfo, the reigning Southland Conference Coach of the Year, 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 Lions Game Day and TuneIn Radio apps.
 
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.