MOBILE, Ala. – A 19-point first-quarter deficit was too much for the Southeastern Louisiana University football team to overcome in a 39-14 nonconference loss to South Alabama Saturday evening at Hancock Whitney Stadium.
Southeastern fell to 0-2 overall with the loss in its first road game of the season. The host Jaguars (1-0) were victorious in their season opener, thanks to putting the Lions in the early 19-0 hole.
Kyle Lowe completed 12-of-20 passes for 186 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions to lead the Southeastern offense. Both scoring catches were hauled in by
Lonnie Shinn, who finished with four catches for 54 yards. Chad Elzy led the Lions with two catches for 70 yards.
Jordan Okoye and
Carter Hanberry led the Lions with nine tackles apiece, while
Amiree Alexander had a sack and a team-high 1.5 tackles for loss.
Bishop Davenport completed 18-for-27 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown to lead a Jaguar offense that finished with 395 total yards and controlled possession for over 41 minutes. Davenport, Trae'von Dunbar and PJ Martin all rushed for touchdowns, as the Jaguars finished with 241 yards on the ground.
South Alabama forced Southeastern into a pair of turnovers, as Colby Williams and Damyrion Darby each intercepted passes for the Jaguars.
South Alabama struck quickly to take the early lead. A 26-yard scoring toss from Davenport to Brendan Jenkins gave the Jaguars a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game.
After Southeastern was intercepted to end its first drive, South Alabama tacked on a 35-yard field goal by Davis Little to give the Jaguars a 10-0 lead with 6:07 left in the opening quarter. The Lions went three-and-out on their next possession and an errant snap went out of the back of the endzone, allowing USA to extend the lead to 12-0 with a safety.
South Alabama took over at midfield after a free kick following the safety. Eight plays later, Dunbar powered in from two yards out to give South Alabama a 19-0 cushion in the latter part of the first quarter.
On the next drive, Lowe found Elzy on a screen pass and the Lion sophomore got free for a 54-yard gain deep into South Alabama territory. Two plays later, Lowe connected with a wide-open Shinn for a 12-yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead to 19-7 heading into the second quarter.
The Jaguars moved into Southeastern territory on the ensuing drive, but a fourth-down sack by Alexander turned over USA on downs and gave SLU the ball at the South Alabama 49-yard line with 12:39 left in the opening half. Southeastern moved within field-goal range, but
Drew Talley's 47-yard attempt hit off the left upright to keep the deficit at 19-7.
Alexander again came up big on a fourth-and-short on South Alabama's next drive, as the Lions took over at the South Alabama 49-yard line with 6:18 left in the first half. The two teams traded empty possessions until Little connected on a 30-yard field goal to send the Jaguars into the break with a 22-7 cushion.
Lowe connected on all four of his passes on Southeastern's first drive of the second half, finding Shinn for a seven-yard scoring toss to cap a 65-yard drive and pull the Lions within, 22-14, with 12:38 left in the third quarter.
South Alabama responded with a methodical 11-play, 55-yard drive that Little capped with a 26-yard field goal to put the Jaguars up, 25-14, with 7:04 remaining in the third quarter.
On the next drive, an interception deep in Southeastern territory set up the Jaguars at the SLU nine-yard line. Four plays later, Davenport powered in from two yards out to extend the South Alabama advantage to 32-14 with 4:06 left in the third quarter.
After a Lion three-and-out, South Alabama ended any SLU comeback hopes with a 14-play, 57-yard drive that took over eight minutes off the clock. Martin capped the drive with a three-yard scoring run to extend the Jaguar advantage to 39-14 with 9:02 left in the contest to close out the scoring.
Southeastern will return home next Saturday to host North Alabama at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium. The game, sponsored by Burns Estate Planning and Wealth Advisors, 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 103.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM).
Next Saturday is Solid Gold Saturday, as Southeastern fans are encouraged to wear gold. At Friday's North Oaks Health Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet, the 2026 Hall of Fame class of Lacey Bockhaus (soccer), Don Griffin (football), Kevin Hughes (football), Gus Malespin (baseball), Cedric Patton (football) and Chris Province (baseball) will officially be inducted, while the 1976 football team, which finished 9-1-1 overall, will also be recognized. The Hall of Fame class will also be honored at halftime of Saturday's game.
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.
