HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team scored 21 unanswered points over the game's final 16 minutes to rally for a 21-17 Senior Night victory over McNeese Saturday night in Strawberry Stadium.
On a night that Southeastern (5-6, 3-5 SLC) honored the senior class of
Zay Franks,
Kyle Lowe,
Jake Dalmado,
Zack Vicknair,
Zane Hooper,
Max Elkman,
Khalid Moore,
Ilias Rida,
Logan Potter and
Landon Ibieta in a pregame ceremony, the Lions overcame a 17-0 deficit, snapping a three-game losing skid. SLU defeated McNeese (5-6, 4-4 SLC) for the seventh straight time to take a 27-25 lead in the all-time series.
Many of Southeastern's seniors played huge roles in SLU's comeback.
"I'm just happy for this group that provided such great leadership for us this season," Southeastern head coach
Frank Scelfo commented. "We've had some rough waters throughout the course of the season and our seniors held us together."
A 39-yard field goal by Deaglan Camron gave the visiting Cowboys a 17-0 lead late in the third quarter. On the next play from scrimmage, Lowe found a wide-open
Dkhai Joseph for a 54-yard touchdown reception. The extra-point was missed, pulling SLU within, 17-6, heading into the fourth quarter.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Moore stripped McNeese quarterback Brady Barrier at the 28-yard line. Dalmado scooped up the loose ball and returned it for a score. Lowe connected with Joseph on the two-point try to cut the Cowboy lead to 17-14 with 14:28 left in the contest.
After forcing a McNeese three-and-out, Southeastern looked as if would be punting back to the Cowboys. However, the Lions called a fake punt and punter
Jack Hunter raced up the middle 16 yards for a first down. Four plays later,
Calvin Smith Jr. bulled in from three yards out to give Southeastern a 21-17 lead with 8:39 left in the contest.
"Our guys keep playing and don't give up," Scelfo commented. "We made some huge plays down the stretch, but we got those results because we didn't look at the scoreboard and kept giving maximum effort."
Southeastern turned the game over to its defense for the final half of the fourth quarter. After SLU took the lead, the Lion defense limited McNeese to -10 yards on its final three drives of the game to put the game away.
"Our energy level on defense was outstanding tonight," Scelfo said. "Our pass rushing lanes were good on those final few drives and we didn't give them anything."
Jake Strong (5-for-9, 35 yards, 1 INT) and Barrier (3-for-7, 15 yards) split time under center for a McNeese offense that Southeastern limited to 167 yards and 10 first downs. Dalmado and Moore led SLU with 12 and 10 tackles, respectively, while both also recorded two sacks apiece.
Evan Aubrey also recorded a sack, while
Carter Byrd recorded his team-high third interception of the season.
Lowe completed 13-of-21 passes for 131 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions Saturday with Joseph (seven catches, 97 yards) once again serving as his top receiver. Smith Jr. led the SLU ground attack with 65 yards and the game-winning score on 15 carries.
McNeese drove into Southeastern territory on the opening possession of the game. However, Byrd intercepted a deep pass from Strong to end the Cowboy threat.
SLU moved into McNeese territory on its opening possession, but it too came up empty.
Drew Talley's 51-yard field goal attempt missed wide left to keep the game scoreless with 3:13 left in the first quarter.
After the teams traded three-and-outs, Kandyn Cordova blocked Hunter's punt. Sandy Lewis scooped up the loose ball and returned it two yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 McNeese lead heading into the second quarter.
The two teams traded punts until an errant snap went off Hooper and was recovered by McNeese's Royce Maloles at the Lion 29-yard line. However, SLU came up with a defensive stand in the red zone to keep the deficit at 7-0.
On the next SLU possession, Lowe's pass went off the hands of
Blake Smith and into the hands of Safir Stills-Bey, who returned the pick 17 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 9:15 left in the opening half.
Southeastern seemed poised to get on the board in the final minute of the second quarter, but Jermaine Hargraves picked off another tipped Lowe pass at the one-yard line to send the Cowboys into the break with a 14-0 cushion.
The teams traded punts until McNeese extended its lead to 17-0 with a Camron's field goal. From that point forward, SLU dominated in every facet of the game on the way to the comeback victory.
SLU closes out the 2026 campaign with the annual River Bell Classic at Nicholls Thursday at 6 p.m. 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.
