HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana football team held its final scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday night, running approximately 90 plays under the lights of Strawberry Stadium.
While the offense had the upper hand in last weekend’s scrimmage, the ledger swung back towards the defense on Saturday. The SLU defense held its offensive counterparts to 309 yards and two touchdowns in the scrimmage, compared to the eight touchdowns the Lions managed a week ago.
Southeastern head coach Ron Roberts saw what he wanted to see from his team two weeks out from the season officially opening.
“We played hard tonight which is the main thing I was looking for,” Roberts commented. “We made some mistakes that we have to clean up, but that effort has been consistent throughout fall camp and we saw it again here tonight.”
While Roberts is pleased with the progress his team has made since reporting to campus at the beginning of August, he’s eager for his team to take another step forward.
“We’ve been able to give all of our players up and down the depth chart plenty of reps, so we feel pretty good where we are as far as evaluating our talent,” Roberts said. “Now that everyone is pretty settled on where they are in the rotation, we’re starting to see better timing and continuity, which is something we have to continue to improve.
“We’ll have some decisions to make on whether or not to redshirt some of our guys,” Roberts added. “We also need to focus on solidifying our special team units. Special teams is always a big part of our success.”
On Saturday, the Lion defense racked up eight sacks. Senior linebacker Sione Teuhema and sophomore linebacker Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund led the way with two sacks apiece. Senior defensive back Jeff Williams II intercepted a pass by sophomore quarterback Lorenzo Nunez that was deflected by senior defensive back Ryan Sigers.
Freshman running back Travon Stokes and junior quarterback Donovan Isom both rushed for touchdowns to lead Southeastern’s offensive effort. Senior kicker Dillon Burkhard was perfect on field goal attempts for the second straight scrimmage, connecting on attempts of 21, 30 and 35 yards.
The Lions are set to open the 2017 season on Sept. 2 with a 6 p.m. game at FBS in-state foe UL Lafayette. The Southeastern Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office has a block of tickets available for the opener.
Tickets, located in section O of Cajun Field, for the Sept. 2 game are $35. Beginning Monday, Aug. 21, tickets for the contest will be available for purchase to all fans.
Fans looking to purchase tickets can contact the SLU Athletics ticket office at (985) 549-5466 or visit the office currently located in the Dugas Center for Southeastern Athletics. Hours of operation are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. All tickets for the SLU-UL Lafayette contest purchased from the ticket office must be picked up by the close of business on Thursday, Aug. 31.
Fans attending the contest with the Ragin’ Cajuns should be aware that UL Lafayette has instituted a clear bag policy for all athletic events. The policy is detailed at www.ragincajuns.com, where a seating chart of Cajun Field is also available.
