COMMERCE, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team scored the first 38 points of the game and never looked back on the way to a convincing 52-14 victory over Texas A&M-Commerce in Southland Conference action Saturday evening at Memorial Stadium.
Southeastern (3-7, 3-3 SLC) rolled to its most impressive victory of the season, extending its winning streak to three games. SLU outgained the host Lions (1-9, 2-5 SLC), 416-209, to avenge its lone SLC loss of 2022.
Zachary Clement (16-for-25, 160 yards, 1 TD) and
Eli Sawyer (2-for-6, 30 yards) split time under center for the Southeastern offense.
Harlan Dixon finished with 166 total yards and three rushing touchdowns, while
Bauer Sharp found the end zone twice on the ground. Clement rushed for a touchdown as well, while also connecting with
Jacob Logan on a scoring toss.
The Southeastern defense forced five turnovers on the evening, as
Coryell Pierce,
Donte' Daniels,
Victor Tademy and
Blayne Delahoussaye each intercepted TAMU-C quarterbacks. Josh Randall had two of SLU's six sacks and a forced fumble that
Shemar Pearl recovered. SLU limited the host Lions to -23 rushing yards.
Southeastern took the opening drive 75 yards on 15 plays to take the early lead. Logan caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Clement on fourth-and-short to put SLU up, 7-0, with 7:36 left in the opening period.
On the first Texas A&M-Commerce possession,
Arlen Williams pressured Mirko Martos into an interception, as Pierce recorded his first pick of the season to give Southeastern the ball at the 32-yard line. Seven plays later, Dixon scooted around left end from six yards out to put SLU up, 14-0, with just over three minutes remaining the opening quarter.
After a Commerce three-and-out, SLU extended its lead early in the second quarter.
Riley Callaghan drilled a 23-yard field goal to push the Southeastern advantage to 17-0 with 13:55 remaining in the first half.
Daniels intercepted Martos on the ensuing possession, but the Lions couldn't cash in, as Callaghan missed a field goal. After another Commerce three-and-out, a four-play, 56-yard drive concluded with Dixon racing in from 60 yards out to increase the SLU advantage to 24-0 with 9:10 remaining in the second quarter.
After another punt by the host Lions, Dixon found the end zone for the third time. The junior from Slidell, Louisiana raced in from 16 yards out to provide SLU with a 31-0 advantage with 6:20 left in the first half.
On the next drive, Randall stripped Josh Magana and Pearl fell on the loose ball at the Commerce 19-yard line. Four plays later, Clement scored from a yard out to put the visiting Lions on top, 38-0, with 4:17 left in the second quarter.
Texas A&M-Commerce found the end zone on the final drive of the second quarter, as Jerome Buckner ran under a 46-yard touchdown pass from Magana to cut the Southeastern lead to 38-7 heading into the break.
SLU forced the host Lions to punt on the first drive of the third quarter. Seven plays later, Sharp powered in from four yards out to extend the Southeastern lead to 45-7 with 10:51 left in the third quarter.
A Tademy interception ended the next Texas A&M-Commerce drive. Sharp capped another scoring march with a two-yard scoring run to extend the Lion advantage to 52-7 with 7:02 left in the third period.
Texas A&M-Commerce drove into Southeastern territory on the next drive, but Delahoussaye intercepted a pass in the end zone to end the threat. Texas A&M-Commerce scored in the game's final minute to lessen the final margin.
Southeastern will close out the season by hosting Nicholls for the River Bell Classic Thursday at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. The contest between the Lions and the visiting Colonels will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard live on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 103.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM).
Burns Estate Planning and Wealth Advisors is Thursday's game sponsor. Thursday will be Heroes Night, as all first responders and military personnel receive free admission by presenting a valid ID.
The 2023 senior class of
Herman Christophe IV,
Tyrone Legette,
Arlen Williams,
Zachary Clement,
Jacob Logan,
Victor Tademy,
Austin Dunlap, Robert Buqoui,
Anthony Britton Jr.,
Mateo Rengifo,
Taylor Martin,
Garrett Crawford,
John Allen,
Rodney Sopsher,
Slade Ziegler,
William Granville,
Jalen Bell,
Marcellus Johnson,
Tanner Olsen and
Tyrik Mitchell will be recognized in a special Senior Day ceremony approximately 30 minutes before Thursday's kickoff.
Single-game tickets for the 2023 home football season 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.
