Lions Host ACU for Senior Day

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana football team will close out its regular season home schedule on Saturday, hosting Southland Conference foe Abilene Christian at 7 p.m. For the 18 members of the Lion senior class, Saturday could mark the final time they play a game on the Strawberry Stadium turf.

 

Saturday will be Senior Day at Strawberry Stadium, as seniors Rasheed Harrell, Kaelyn Henderson, Brandon Acker, Da’Quan Smith, Justin Alo, D’Shaie Landor, Will Hines, Juwaan Rogers, Tre’ Bennett, Caleb Young, Anthony Murphy Jr., Solomon Parker, Justin Barksdale, Taylor Gadbois, Jon Taylor, Miki Fangatua, Trent Williams and Javari Nichols will be honored in a pregame ceremony 30 minutes prior to kickoff.

 

“This is a group that has been a large part of our success the last few years,” Southeastern head coach Ron Roberts said. “We want to get to 6-2 in Southland Conference play and we can do that by sending our seniors out with a win. We need our fans to come out Saturday night and continue to show their support.”

 

The game between the Lions (5-4, 5-2 Southland) and the visiting Wildcats (2-8, 2-6 Southland) will be broadcast live on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU 90.9 FM, Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and WFPR 1400 AM), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the TuneIn Radio app. The Southeastern Channel will air the game on a tape delay and provide a live video stream, which will be accessible at LionSports.net. The first 300 students at the game will receive free t-shirts courtesy of Southeastern Athletics Marketing and Promotions.

 

Our local heroes will also be welcomed to Saturday’s game. All military, police, fire service and unit members will receive one free ticket with their appropriate service I.D. Also, fans can receive one free youth ticket (ages 12 and under) with the purchase of an adult ticket. Finally, middle, junior high and high school students will be eligible for a $10 bench seat ticket by presenting their local school I.D.

 

Southeastern clinched a winning record in Southland Conference play for the fourth time in the past five years with a 30-10 victory at Incarnate Word last Saturday in San Antonio, Texas. With a win over ACU on Saturday, the Lions will secure their third overall winning season in the past four years.

 

“Getting to six wins is our next goal,” Roberts commented. “We’re not all the way where we want to be at this time of the season, but our team has grown and improved throughout the year. We’ll need that to continue against a talented Abilene Christian team this Saturday. ACU has won two of its last three games, so they’ll come here playing with confidence.”

 

In the win over Incarnate Word, sophomore Julius Maracalin led the way for the Lions with 191 yards rushing and a touchdown on 34 carries. The 191 yards represented the sixth-highest single-game total in school history, the most by a Southeastern player during Roberts’ tenure and the most by a Lion since Jay Lucas rushed for 215 yards versus Central Arkansas on Oct. 20, 2007.

 

Also in the victory, Landor completed 14-of-16 passes for 153 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. Junior Juwan Dickey was Landor’s top target, grabbing nine passes for 121 yards and two scores. Landor also connected with Rogers, who has established himself as one of FCS’s premier fullbacks during his senior campaign, on a touchdown pass.

 

Landor (542 yards, 6 TD, 4 INT) and Alo (1,362 yards, 12 TD, 6 INT) have split time under center for a Lion offense that is averaging 391.2 yards and 27.1 points per game this season. Dickey (34 catches, 612 yards, 6 TD) and Acker (25-563-6 TD) have combined to form one of the Southland’s best pass catching duos.

 

Maracalin’s big game at UIW vaulted him to the top of the team’s rushing leaderboard. The Plaquemine, Louisiana native leads the team with 494 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

 

The Lions will be facing an Abilene Christian team that is allowing 489.8 yards and 38.6 points per contest. Sam Denmark is the lynchpin of the Wildcat defense, as the junior linebacker leads the team with 103 tackles and three interceptions.

 

On offense, Dallas Sealey (2,473 yards, 18 TD, 4 INT) has engineered an ACU attack that is putting up 397.6 yards and 27.6 points per outing. D.J. Fuller (47 catches, 677 yards, 6 TD), Troy Grant (41-467-5 TD) and Josh Fink (33-380-2 TD) are Sealey’s top targets, while Adrian Duncan leads the team’s rushing game with 391 yards and a touchdown.

 

Sealey and company will be facing a Southeastern defense that held UIW to 286 yards and recorded a season-high six sacks. Nichols, Taylor, Murphy, Fangatua, junior Ryan Sigers, junior Lee Spight and junior Sione Teuhema each had at least a partial sack, while Tillman had a team-high 10 tackles. The Lions kept UIW pinned back in its own territory, thanks to freshman punter Ivy Wall, who was named LSWA Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 47.0 yards per punt and downing thee punts inside the Cardinal 10-yard line.

 

Tillman leads a SLU defense that is yielding 391.3 yards and 29.7 points per game with 71 tackles. Junior Max Lyons (70), junior Torrance Mosley (57), Spight (50) and Sigers (49) are the other top tacklers for the Lions. Teuhema leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. Lyons has recovered a team-high three fumbles, while Tillman, Mosley, Bennett, sophomore Sean Clavelle, freshman Jacorey Fuller and junior Demarayeh Lane each have interceptions to their credit in 2016.

 

Following Saturday’s game, the Lions will close out the regular season with the River Bell Classic at Nicholls on Thursday at 6 p.m. The contest will be televised on American Sports Network. Cox Sports Television and WHNO will be ASN local affiliates in the Hammond area and the game will also be streamed live at www.southland.org/live.

 

Thursday’s game at Nicholls will also be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU 90.9 FM, Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, WFPR 1400 AM), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Tune In Radio app.