BEAUMONT, Texas – The No. 14/19 Southeastern Louisiana University football team dropped a 14-12 decision to No. 18/20 Lamar Saturday afternoon at Provost Umphrey Stadium.
 
Jirrea Johnson Jr. forced a Lamar fumble that Khalid Moore covered to give SLU (7-3, 5-1 SLC) one last chance in the fourth quarter. However, the Cardinal defense forced Southeastern to turn it over on downs to close out the victory for Lamar (8-2, 5-1 SLC).
 
The SLU defense limited Lamar to 255 total yards. KK Reno paced Southeastern with 16 tackles, while Johnson Jr. contributed 12 tackles. Shakespeare Louis forced a fumble that was recovered by Joshua Randall.
 
Deantre Jackson highlighted the Southeastern offensive effort, rushing for a career-high 146 yards on 14 carries.
 
The Lion special teams created the team's touchdown, as holder Jack Hunter ran in on a fake field goal. SLU's Guillermo Garcia Rodriguez was 2-for-2 on field goals, including a season-long 50-yard field goal.  
After the teams traded three-and-outs to start the game, Southeastern took its second drive of the game deep into Cardinal territory, but Jaedon Henry was stopped on a fourth-and-one at the Lamar nine-yard line to end the SLU scoring threat.
 
The teams traded punts until Lamar broke the tie in the final minute of the first half. JaCorey Hyder grabbed a nine-yard scoring toss from Robert Coleman to cap a 12-play, 80-yard scoring march to give Lamar a 7-0 lead heading into the break.
 
Southeastern got on the board on the opening drive of the third quarter. Runs of 12 and 20 yards by Jackson set up a 50-yard field goal by Garcia Rodriguez to cut the Lamar lead to 7-3 with 11:46 left in the third quarter.
 
On the next Lamar drive, Louis forced a Lamar fumble that Randall pounced on at the Cardinal 24-yard line. The turnover set up a 29-yard field goal by Garcia Rodriguez to cut the deficit to 7-6 with 8:15 left in the third quarter.
 
The two teams traded empty possessions until Lamar extended its lead on the first drive of the fourth quarter. Major Bowden bulled in from one yard out to cap a 14-play, 77-yard scoring drive that was extended by a penalty after SLU had stopped the Cardinals on third down to force a Lamar field goal try. Bowden's score put LU up, 14-6, with 12:37 left in the contest.
 
Kyle Lowe through an interception on the next play from scrimmage, but the Lion defense stiffened, holding Lamar to a 48-yard field goal try that Ben Woodard pushed wide right, keeping SLU within one score.
 
On the ensuing drive, Lamar cut off a Southeastern march inside the 25-yard line and forced a 39-yard field goal attempt. However, Hunter raced untouched from 22 yards out on the fake field goal to cut the Lamar advantage to 14-12 with 7:23 remaining. However, the two-point try saw Carson Camp get stuffed on a quarterback keeper to keep Lamar ahead by two points.
 
The Cardinals looked poised to run out the clock on the ensuing possession, earning several first downs to drain Southeastern of timeouts. However, Johnson Jr. forced a Bowden fumble and Moore pounced on the loose ball to give SLU one more chance with 1:10 remaining.
 
Saturday's game is the first of two straight on the road for the Lions, as SLU travels to UIW for a 2 p.m. game Nov. 15 in San Antonio. 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 97.7 FM/WFPR 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.