HAMMOND, La. – A 21-3 halftime deficit was too much for the Southeastern Louisiana University football team to overcome in a 35-16 loss to Southland Conference loss Saturday night in Strawberry Stadium.
SLU (4-6, 2-5 SLC) cut the lead to 21-16 heading into the fourth quarter, but UIW (6-4, 5-2 SLC) outscored the Lions, 14-0, in the final period on the way to its fourth straight victory.
The Cardinals outgained SLU, 546-255, in the victory,
Jake Dalmado led SLU with 13 tackles, while
Kenneth Ford Jr. added 11 stops and an interception.
Kyle Lowe threw for 143 yards, while rushing for a team-high 58 yards. Lowe's top target in the passing game was
Dkhai Joseph, who hauled in five passes for 82 yards.
For the second straight game, the Lions scored a special teams touchdown, as
Blake Smith returned the opening kickoff for a score.
Drew Talley also had his best day of his young Lion career, connecting on pair of field goals, including a season-long 51-yard effort.
UIW quarterback Emmett Brown completed 18-of-25 passes for 294 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Roy Alexander (six catches, 172 yards, 1 TD) and Jayden Hibbler (18 carries, 134 yards, 1 TD) were UIW's top weapons in their offensive attack.
UIW took the early lead, marching 65 yards on 10 plays. Brown scored on a five-yard draw to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead with 11:37 left in the opening quarter.
Southeastern answered on its ensuing drive with a 12-play, 63-yard scoring march. Talley got the Lions on the board with a 24-yard field goal to cut the UIW lead to 7-3 with 6:17 left in the first period.
UIW extended its lead on its next drive, as Lontrell Turner capped a nine-play, 83-yard drive with a one-yard plunge to put the Cardinals up, 14-3, with 2:16 left in the first quarter.
After a SLU punt, UIW added to its tally. Brown found Alexander from 23 yards out to extend the Cardinal advantage to 21-3 with 10:39 remaining in the first half.
UIW was poised to add to its advantage, but kicker Nick Rigas doinked a 25-yard field goal off the right upright. Southeastern squandered a scoring chance of its own at the end of the first half, as a 46-yard interception return by Ford set SLU up at the UIW 16-yard line in the final minute of the first half. However, the Lions were turned over on downs to go into the break down, 21-3.
Smith took back the opening kickoff of the second half 97 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 21-10 just 14 seconds into the third period.
After forcing the first UIW punt of the game, Southeastern cut further into the advantage. A 50-yard Joseph reception set up a 51-yard field goal by Talley – the third-longest in program history – trimmed the Cardinal advantage to 21-13 with 9:16 left in the third quarter.
UIW moved into Lion territory on the next drive, but a
Zay Franks pass break up on fourth down ended the threat and gave SLU the ball back. Southeastern drove deep into UIW territory and Talley connected on a 29-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter to pull the Lions within, 21-16.
The Cardinals answered quickly in the fourth quarter. Turner bulled in from nine yards out to cap a six-play, 75-yard scoring march and put UIW up, 28-16, with 13:17 left in the contest.
Southeastern moved deep into UIW territory on the next drive, but turned the ball over on downs. The Cardinals then put the game out of reach with a four-yard scoring run by Hibbler that put the visitors up, 35-16, with just over seven minutes left.
The Lions turned the ball over on downs on its next drive, then Walt Gray intercepted SLU backup
Issac Mooring III in the final minute to prevent the Lions from lessening the final margin.
Saturday's game was the first of two straight home games for Southeastern, as the Lions will welcome McNeese next Saturday for a 6 p.m. contest. The game, sponsored by Tangi Tourism, 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).
The 2026 SLU Football senior class of
Zay Franks,
Kyle Lowe,
Jake Dalmado,
Zack Vicknair,
Zane Hooper,
Max Elkman,
Khalid Moore,
Ilias Rida,
Logan Potter and
Landon Ibieta will be honored in a pregame Senior Night ceremony prior to the Southeastern-McNeese contest.
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.
