HAMMOND, La. – The No. 15/17 Southeastern Louisiana University football team dropped a 21-3 decision to No. 17 Illinois State in the first round of the NCAA FCS playoffs Saturday afternoon in Strawberry Stadium.
 
Four turnovers were too much for Southeastern (9-4) to overcome in the playoff loss, despite finishing with a 321-292 total yardage advantage. Illinois State (9-4) moves on to face No. 1 seed and reigning national champion North Dakota State (12-0) in the second round next Saturday at noon in Fargo, N.D.
 
"Congratulations to Illinois State for a great performance today," SLU head coach Frank Scelfo commented. "We won't judge our 2025 season based on today's results, because had a hell of a run this year. I'm so proud of the work ethic of our team and how our players have carried themselves throughout the season."
 
Jakyri Jones led the way for the SLU defense, finishing with 12 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble that was recovered by Zach Johnson. Khamron Ford and Shakespeare Louis added eight tackles each.
 
Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year KK Reno finished with seven tackles, giving him 126 for the season – the sixth-highest single season total in school history. SLC Player of the Year and Buck Buchanan Award finalist Kaleb Proctor and Evan Aubrey each had sacks for SLU. Proctor finished his senior campaign with nine sacks, which is tied for the second most in a season by a Lion.
 
Carson Camp (14-for-21, 120 yards, 3 INT) and Kyle Lowe (10-for-18, 94 yards, 1 INT) split time under center for the Lions. All-SLC performers Jaylon Domingeaux (six catches, 78 yards) and Deantre Jackson (six catches, 27 yards) were the top targets in the passing game for SLU, while Jaedon Henry led Southeastern with 45 yards rushing on eight carries.
 
ISU quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse finished 14-for-22 for 146 yards, while also recording a rushing and receiving touchdown. Daniel Sobowicz caught a team-high eight balls for 89 yards, while Victor Dawson (72 yards) paced the Illinois State rushing attack.
 
The Redbird defense was led by Buck Buchanan Award finalist Tye Niekamp, who finished with 13 tackles. Mason Kaplan intercepted two passes for ISU, while Niekamp and Shadwel Nkuba II also had interceptions.
 
Illinois State took the opening possession 80 yards on six plays to take the early lead. Rittenhouse scored on a six-yard scoring run to cap the march and give the Redbirds a 7-0 lead with 12:46 remaining in the opening period.
 
After the teams traded punts, SLU embarked on a 16-play, 69-yard scoring drive. Gulliermo Garcia Rodriguez got the Lions on the board with a 40-yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter.
 
The defenses held serve for the rest of the opening half. An interception by Kaplan set up ISU deep in Lion territory, but Matt Maldonado's 25-yard field goal hit off the right upright to keep the score at 7-3 heading into the break.
 
Illinois State intercepted Camp on the first drive of the third quarter and was able to take advantage of the turnover on its second try. After the Lion defense had stopped ISU on three straight goal-to-go tries, the Redbirds broke out the Philly Special, as Sobkowicz found Rittenhouse on fourth-and-goal to give Illinois State a 14-3 lead with 8:48 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Another interception set up ISU in Southeastern territory on the next possession, but Jones stripped Wenkers Wright and Johnson fell on the loose ball to end the Redbird threat.
 
After another interception midway through the fourth quarter, Illinois State cemented the victory with a nine-play, 49-yard scoring drive. Seth Glatz bulled in from a yard out to provide the final margin with 2:30 left on the clock.
 
ISU – 7 0 7 8 – 21 (9-4)
SLU – 0 3 0 0 – 3 (9-4)
 
1^st Quarter
ISU – Rittenhouse 6 run (Maldonado kick), 12:46
2^nd Quarter
SLU – Garcia Rodriguez 40 FG, 14:55
3^rd Quarter
ISU – Rittenhouse 1 pass from Sobkowicz (Maldonado kick), 8:48
4^th Quarter
ISU – Glatz 1 run (Maldonado kick), 2:30
 
                                                                             ISU         SLU
FIRST DOWNS                                                 17           18
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)                                  41-145    30-107                                                                                                       
PASSING YDS (NET)                                        147         214
Passes Comp-Att-Int                                          15-23-0   24-39-4                                       
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS                64-292    69-321                                                                     
Fumble Returns-Yards                                        0-0          0-0                                                                                          
Kickoff Returns-Yards                                        1-15        0-0                                                                            
Punt Returns-Yards                                             0-0          3-0
Interception Returns-Yards                                4-48        0-0            
Punts (Number-Avg)                                          5-45.8     4-35.5                                                                                       
Fumbles-Lost                                                       1-1          0-0                                                                                       
Penalties-Yards                                                   2-12        6-40       
Possession Time.                                                28:21      31:39                       
Third-Down Conversions                                   4-for-13  6-for-15                                                                                                                 
Fourth-Down Conversions                                  2-for-2    1-for-3                                                                                                  
Red Zone Scores-Chances                                  3-4          1-1                                                                                        
 
RUSHING: ISU – Dawson 11-72, Wright 16-62, Glatz 4-12, Rittenhouse 7-2, Team 3-(-3). Totals – 41-145. SLU – Henry 8-45, B. Hayes 4-29, Lowe 7-23, Jackson 7-20, Camp 4-(-10). Totals – 30-107.
 
PASSING: ISU – Rittenhouse 14-22-0-146-0, Sobkowicz 1-1-0-1-1. Totals – 15-23-0-147-1. SLU – Camp 14-21-3-120-0, Lowe 10-18-1-94-0. Totals – 24-39-4-214-0.
 
RECEIVING: ISU – Sobkowicz 8-89, Wright 2-11, Kasper 2-11, Lord 1-26, Mailander 1-9, Rittenhouse 1-1. Totals – 15-147. SLU – Domingeaux 6-78, Jackson 6-27, Collier 3-23, Shinn 2-44, Wilkinson 2-4, Prejean 1-16, B. Hayes 1-7, Williams 1-6, Paul 1-6, Henry 1-3. Totals – 24-214.
 
A – 3,321.
 
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.