HOUSTON, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team scored 37 unanswered points on the way to a 37-7 Southland Conference road win at HCU Saturday afternoon in Husky Stadium.  
 
Southeastern (3-4, 2-0 SLC) opened its SLC road slate with its most complete performance of the season. The Lions excelled in all three phases in the win over the host Huskies (3-4, 1-1 SLC), who were coming off two straight wins, including last week's 43-22 victory over then-No. 22 McNeese, which was the first win over a ranked opponent in program history.
 
Offensively, SLU used a by committee approach to fuel its rushing attack. Rodeo Graham Jr. led the Lions with 109 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while Antonio Martin Jr. (93 yards, 1 TD) and Harlan Dixon (49 yards) were key contributors.
 
Southeastern quarterback Eli Sawyer was efficient in the passing game, completing 18-for-26 passes for 144 and connecting with Cade Collier and Brandon Hayes on touchdown passes.
 
After allowing HCU to score on the first drive of the game, the SLU defense bottled up the Huskies for the rest of the way. Southeastern finished with a season-high seven sacks. Kadan Lewis and Jordan Okoye finished with two sacks apiece, while Shemar Pearl, Josh Randall and Warren Peeples each had one.
 
Khamron Ford recorded his first interception of the season for the Lions. SLU linebackers KK Reno and Donte' Daniels shared team-high honors with 12 tackles apiece.
 
Darius Lewis set a single-game school-record with 39.3 yards per punt return, highlighted by returns of 62 and 55 yards to lead the SLU special team efforts. Brant Monistere and Corey Lorio each partially blocked HCU punts. Back in a starting role for Southeastern after a week's absence, placekicker Riley Callaghan connected on all three of his field goals and all four of his PAT's.  
 
Both teams scored on the opening possession of the game. HCU need just over a minute to get on the board. Clint Dozier raced untouched from 40 yards out to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead with 13:56 remaining in the opening period.
 
SLU answered with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring march. Sawyer found Collier from a yard out to tie the score at 7-7.
 
After a stop by the Southeastern defense, Lewis returned a punt 55 yards to the Husky 27-yard line. However, SLU turned over the ball on downs to keep the score tied.
 
HCU moved quickly into Lion territory on a 50-yard run by Darryle Evans. However, a sack by Pearl helped the SLU defense hold strong and force another Husky punt.
 
The Lions drove 70 yards on 11 plays heading into the second quarter. Callaghan's 27-yard field goal put Southeastern up, 10-7, with 12:05 left in the opening half.
 
The SLU special teams again came up with a play to give Southeastern a short field. Monistere partially blocked the punt and the Lions took over at the HCU 46-yard line. SLU could not take advantage of the short field and were forced to punt.
 
On the ensuing HCU possession, Ford picked off Eli Brickhandler at the HCU 45-yard line and returned the pick all the way down to the Husky three-yard line. On the next play, Hayes took a short screen from Sawyer and scampered in for his first touchdowns as a Lion to give Southeastern a 17-7 lead with 6:01 left in the second quarter.
 
SLU padded its lead on its final possession of the second quarter. Callaghan connected on a 27-yard field goal with 39 seconds left in the half to extend the Lion advantage to 20-7 heading into the break.
 
Southeastern took seven minutes off the clock on the opening drive and then Jack Hunter punted and downed the ball at the HCU one-yard line. HCU had to punt on its ensuing drive, then a few explosive runs by Martin Jr. set up a Callaghan 43-yard field goal to stretch the Lion lead to 23-7 with 3:03 left in the third quarter.
 
After SLU forced a three-and-out on the ensuing HCU possession, Lewis broke loose for a 62-yard punt return down to the Huskies' nine-yard line. Three plays later, Martin Jr. bulled in from a yard out to give the Lions a 30-7 advantage with 10 seconds left in the third quarter.
 
HCU drove into the SLU red zone on the opening drive of the fourth quarter. However, the Lions turned over the Huskies on downs at the Southeastern 10-yard line and kept the lead at 30-7, taking back over with 11:09 left in the contest.
 
Three plays later, Graham Jr. broke loose down the left sideline for an 87-yard touchdown run – tied for the fifth-longest run in program history – to give SLU a 37-7 lead with 10:05 remaining.
 
Graham Jr.'s run capped the scoring in a dominant victory for the Lions. Southeastern is 2-0 in SLC play for the seventh time in school history and advanced to the FCS playoffs each of the last four times it won its first two league games.  
 
Southeastern will return home for the next two games, starting with a 4 p.m. Homecoming contest versus Stephen. F. Austin next Saturday in Strawberry Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 103.7 FM/1400 AM).
 
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. 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.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics observes a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.