HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team closed out its regular season home schedule with a 41-0 Southland Conference victory over Northwestern State on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Strawberry Stadium.
 
Southeastern (6-5, 5-1 SLC) held the visiting Demons (0-10, 0-5 SLC) to 140 total yards and five first downs on the way to its first shutout victory since a 34-0 win at No. 6 Central Arkansas in 2019 and 14^th straight win in the all-time series over NSU.
 
Prior to the game, the Lions honored the senior class of Donte' Daniels, Khamron Ford, Coryell Pierce, Keydrain Calligan, Darius Lewis, Xavier Hill, Errol Rogers Jr., Ivan Drobocky, Shemar Pearl, Warren Peeples, Brockhim Wicks, Javin Turner, Jhy Orgeron and Austin Kent. The seniors led an effort that saw the Lions win for the fifth time in their last six games.
 
"This was a great tribute to those seniors to be able to go out with a big win," Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo commented. "I'm just so happy for that group. We've been improving as the season has progressed and we were really able to do some good things in all three phases tonight."
 
Daniels and Jordan Okoye led the dominant defensive effort with six tackles apiece. Joshua Randall paced SLU with two tackles for loss, as he and Shemar Pearl each had sacks. Calligan forced a Demon fumble that Carter Hanberry recovered.
 
SLU finished with 424 yards in a balanced effort. Eli Sawyer passed for 206 yards on 18-for-26 passing, connecting on touchdown throws to Lewis and Brandon Hayes. Lewis led Southeastern with four catches for 79 yards, while also averaging 27.3 yards per punt return.
 
Antonio Martin Jr. led SLU on the ground with 110 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. The Atlanta native heads into the regular season finale needing 76 yards to set a new school single-season rushing record. Rodeo Graham Jr. added two rushing touchdowns on the day.
 
After forcing the Demons into a three-and-out to start the game, SLU took the opening drive 90 yards on 12 plays. Hayes took a short pass from Sawyer and slid inside the far pylon to cap the march and put Southeastern up, 7-0, with 8:09 left in the first period.
 
Northwestern State drove deep into Lion territory on the ensuing drive. Calligan stripped Zay Davis at the SLU two-yard line and Hanberry fell on the loose ball in the end zone to end the Demon threat.
 
Southeastern added to its lead quickly. Sawyer connected with Lewis for a 40-yard touchdown pass to give the Lions a 14-0 lead with just over a minute left in the opening quarter.
 
The teams traded punts for the majority of the second quarter. Later in the period, NSU went for it on a fourth-and-short near midfield. Daniels and Charles Hill combined to throw Davis for a big loss, giving Southeastern the ball at the NSU 44-yard line.
 
SLU looked poised to take advantage of the short field, however Jeremiah Keppard stepped in front of a Sawyer pass for an interception at the Demon five-yard line.
 
After the Lions managed to force NSU into a three-and-out and Lewis broke free for a 30-yard punt return down to the Demon five-yard line, setting up a 19-yard Riley Callaghan field goal to give SLU a 17-0 advantage heading into halftime.
 
Southeastern took the opening kickoff of the third quarter 78 yards on 11 plays. Graham Jr. bulled in from six yards out to extend the Lion lead to 24-0 with 10:52 left in the third quarter.
 
After forcing a Demon three-and-out, SLU tacked on to its advantage. Graham Jr.'s second scoring run of the contest, a one-yard plunge, extended the Southeastern lead to 31-0 with 4:03 left in the third period.
 
Southeastern added to its lead early in the final period. Martin Jr. slipped in from five yards out to cap an eight-play, 51-yard scoring drive and pad the Lion cushion to 38-0 with 12:06 left.
 
After another Demon three-and-out, Lewis nearly housed a punt return, as the speedster from New Orleans returned a NSU punt 65 yards down to the NSU 26-yard line. Three plays later, Callaghan connected on a 42-yard field to extend the Lions' advantage to 41-0 with 7:41 left.  Both teams took the air out of the ball for the remainder of the contest to maintain the final 41-0 margin.
 
Following Saturday's contest, SLU will finally have its bye week, before closing the regular season with a 6 p.m. league contest at Nicholls Nov. 21. The River Bell Classic 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/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.