SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The reigning Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana University football team's rally fell just short in a 33-26 loss at No. 6/8 UIW Saturday evening at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium.
 
SLU (0-6, 0-2 SLC) roared all the way back from an 18-point halftime deficit, but UIW (4-1, 1-0 SLC) was able to intercept the Lions in the red zone in the final minute to hold off a furious Lion comeback.
 
Southeastern outgained the host Cardinals, 416-371, and possessed the ball for just over 34 minutes. Eli Sawyer threw for 271 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 27-for-40 passing, while Zachary Clement rushed for a touchdown. Jaylon Domingeaux and Bauer Sharp each caught touchdown passes from Sawyer.
 
Ian Conerly-Goodly finished with a game-high 16 tackles for SLU, while also forcing a fumble. Garrett Crawford also forced a fumble, as he, Arlen Williams and Donte' Daniels each had a sack. Shemar Pearl and Victor Tademy each recovered a fumble, while Kunta Hester recorded an interception.
 
UIW quarterback Zach Calzada completed 23-for-32 passes for 304 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, while also fumbling twice and rushing for a score. Brandon Porter was his top target, finishing with 10 catches for a game-high 182 yards.
 
Tylan Foster and Tre Richardson made 12 and 11 tackles, respectively, for the Cardinal defense. Mason Chambers returned a fumble for a touchdown and Brandon Richard made the game-clinching interception.
 
Southeastern turned UIW over on downs on the opening drive of the quarter, but the Cardinal defense came up with an answer. Chambers scooped up a Lion fumble and returned it 60 yards for a 7-0 lead less than four minutes in.
 
SLU settled down on the next drive, marching 70 yards on 14 plays to cut into the UIW lead. Riley Callaghan knocked in a 23-yard field goal to cap the six-minute drive to pull the Lions within, 7-3, with 5:32 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
UIW moved into Lion territory on its next possession, but the Lion defense came up with a big play. KK Reno pressured Calzada and flushed him out of the pocket and Hester stepped in front of Calzada's pass for his first interception of 2023.
 
Sharp made a juggling 33-yard interception to highlight the next SLU possession that moved into UIW territory, before the Lions stalled and had to punt.
 
Two plays later, Calzada found Porter for a 73-yard catch-and-run down inside the Lion 10-yard line. On third-and-goal, Calzada found Caleb Chapman from eight yards out for a score and a 14-3 lead with 12:50 left in the first half.  
 
Southeastern again moved its way deep into UIW territory on the ensuing possession and Callaghan connected on a 31-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-6 with 7:54 remaining in the second quarter.
 
The Cardinals controlled the rest of the first half, marching 80 yards on nine plays to extend the lead. Calzada found Porter wide open in the back of the end zone from 18 yards out to extend the lead to 21-6 with just under four minutes left in the second quarter.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, UIW executed a perfect onside kick to retain possession. A 25-yard field goal from Mason Lawler send the Cardinals into the half with a 24-6 lead.
 
Southeastern marched the opening drive of the second half into UIW territory, but eventually stalled. Callaghan attempted a 44-yard field goal, but Steven Parker blocked it to keep the deficit at 18.
 
On the next play from scrimmage, Crawford stripped Calzada and Pearl fell on the loose ball at the Cardinal eight-yard line. Clement made UIW pay for the turnover immediately, racing in from eight yards out to pull the Lions closer at 24-13 with 11:08 left in the third quarter.
 
UIW moved into SLU territory on its next possession, but the Lion defense again answered the call. The Lions stuffed Timothy Carter on two consecutive short-yardage plays to turn the ball over on downs.
 
Southeastern rode the momentum of the defensive stand to an eight-play, 66-yard scoring drive to cut further into the lead. Sawyer found Domingeaux in the back corner of the end zone from 17 yards out to chop the Cardinal advantage to 24-19 with 5:55 left in the third period.
 
SLU went for two to try to pull within three, but fumbled and Richard picked up the loose ball and ran it back for two to increase the Cardinal advantage to 26-19.
 
UIW took its final drive of the third quarter 89 yards on 12 plays, as Calzada took a quarterback draw in from four yards out to give the Cardinals a 33-19 advantage heading into the final period.
 
Southeastern methodically drove the ball deep into UIW territory on the first drive of the fourth quarter, taking over seven minutes off the clock on a 15-play march. However, SLU failed to convert on fourth-and-short and were turned over on downs with 8:21 left in the contest.
 
Just as the Lions' hopes dimmed, the Southeastern defense again came up big. Conerly-Goodly belted Calzada on a quarterback keeper and forced a fumble that Tademy pounced on at the UIW 15-yard line. Four plays later on a fourth-and-three, Sawyer hit Sharp on a quick slant and the Lion sophomore bulled in to bring SLU back within, 33-26, with 6:18 left.
 
The Lion defense forced UIW's first punt of the game on the next possession and quickly moved into Cardinal territory. Facing a fourth-and-13, Sawyer rifled a 17-yard pass to Corey Lorio to keep SLU's hopes alive. However, three plays later, Sawyer's pass was tipped at the line and popped right into the waiting arms of Richard for the game-clinching interception.  
 
Southeastern will celebrate Homecoming next Saturday, hosting SLC foe Lamar at 3 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard on Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM.
 
The annual Homecoming parade will roll through campus at 11:30 a.m. and the 2023 SLU Homecoming King and Queen will be crowned at halftime. First Guaranty Bank will be the game sponsor for the clash between Southeastern and visiting LU.
 
Season and single-game tickets for the 2023 home football season, which continues with visits from Lamar, McNeese (Nov. 4) and Nicholls (Nov. 18) are available online at https://vivenu.com/event/2023-football-2klkar.
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 2023-24 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 X, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and follow lionupfootball on Instagram.
 
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.
 
INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN FOOTBALL WITH FRANK SCELFO
The 2023 season of Inside Southeastern Football with Frank Scelfo is airing from its new home – Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux (305 CM Fagan Dr) in Hammond. Hosted by Scelfo and Allen Waddell, the hour-long radio show will air Mondays throughout the football season on Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM.
 
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.