HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team suffered its first home loss of 2024, falling to No. 1 South Dakota State, 41-0, Saturday night at Strawberry Stadium.
 
Southeastern fell to 1-3 overall with the loss against the first No. 1 team to visit Hammond since the 2003 season. Two-time reigning FCS national champion South Dakota State improved to 3-1 on the season and extended its win streak versus FCS opponents to 31 games.
 
SLU controlled the ball for over 34 minutes, but could not find the end zone. Damon Stewart made his first start under center for the Lions, finishing nine-for-20 for 81 yards and a pair of interceptions. Darius Lewis led Southeastern with five catches for 56 yards.
 
The Southeastern defense was led by KK Reno, who finished with a game-high 10 tackles. Donte' Daniels added his first interceptions of the season for SLU.
 
The Lions limited reigning Walter Payton Award winner Mark Gronowski to 65 yards and an interception on 7-for-17 passing, but the Jackrabbits more than made up for a lack of a passing attack with 341 yards rushing. Kirby Vorhees led SDSU with 179 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
 
The South Dakota State defense finished with four sacks and a pair of interceptions in the victory. The shutout loss was the first for SLU at home since a 23-0 loss to McNeese on Sept. 10, 1983.
 
SLU moved into Jackrabbit territory on the opening drive of the game, but were forced to punt after the drive stalled. Dalys Beanum took in the punt and raced down the left sideline for an 88-yard touchdown to give the visitors a 7-0 lead with 8:57 left in the opening quarter.
 
The teams traded empty possessions until South Dakota State added to its lead midway through the second quarter. Vorhees busted through the middle for a 20-yard scoring run to put the Lions in a 14-0 hole with 9:05 remaining in the first half.
 
SLU moved into South Dakota State territory on the ensuing drive, but stalled and Riley Callaghan's 49-yard field goal try missed wide left.
 
The Lion defense created another scoring opportunity for the Lions, as Daniels intercepted Gronowski at the SDSU 41-yard line. However, on the ensuing drive, Stewart was intercepted to give the Jackrabbits the ball back at their 44-yard line.
 
Seven plays later, Vorhees broke through and shook several tackles on the way to a 22-yard scoring run to send the Jackrabbits into the break with a 20-0 cushion.
 
Southeastern opened the third quarter with its best drive of the contest, as Stewart led the Lions on a march into the SDSU red zone. Callaghan had a 34-yard field goal try to put SLU on the board, but it missed left.
 
On the next play, Vorhees broke loose for an 80-yard scoring run to give the Jackrabbits a 27-0 lead with 8:08 left in the third quarter. Amir Johnson tacked on a 14-yard scoring run of his own to send the Jackrabbits into the final quarter with a 34-0 advantage.  
 
South Dakota State closed out the scoring with just under five minutes remaining in the game, as Chase Mason scored on a one-yard keeper to put the Jackrabbits up, 41-0.
 
SLU will close nonconference play on the road next Saturday at No. 16 Tarleton State. The 6 p.m. contest in Stephenville, Texas will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (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.