HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team will open Southland Conference play Saturday, hosting Texas A&M-Commerce at 6 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium.
The game between SLU (1-4) and the visiting Lions (0-4) 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/1400 AM).
The Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office will be collecting nonperishable food items for the Southeastern Food Pantry. Fans can dedicate 2-3 food items at the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office prior to Saturday’s game versus visiting A&M-Commerce in exchange for a general admission ticket to the contest. No exchanges will be made on game day. The SLU Ticket Office is located on the west side of Strawberry Stadium and is open Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. – noon.
Southeastern closed nonconference play with a tight 36-33 road loss to Tarleton State last Saturday.
In the loss to the Texans, Antonio Martin Jr. rushed for 206 yards – the fifth-highest single-game total in school history – and three touchdowns on 32 carries on the way to being named Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week. The Lion newcomer has rushed for 552 yards and four scores in his first five games in a Southeastern uniform, which is good for second in the SLC.
Eli Sawyer leads the team with 490 yards and two touchdowns on 65-for-109 passing. Darius Lewis is the top target in the passing game with 232 yards on a team-high 30 catches.
KK Reno leads the Southeastern defense with 37 tackles, followed by Donte’ Daniels (31), Coryell Pierce (30) and Kaleb Proctor (23). Pierce and Daniels each have one interception, while Reno leads the team with two forced fumbles.
Texas A&M-Commerce enters Saturday’s game looking for its first win of the season. The visiting Lions suffered losses to San Diego State (45-14), UC Davis (36-22), Grambling (30-27, OT) and Sacramento State (34-0).
Ron Pierce (52-for-97, 680 yards, 3 TD, 7 INT) and Eric Rodriguez (22-for-36, 192 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT) have split time under center for TAMU-C. BK Jackson leads the team with 207 yards rushing and two scores, while Christian Jourdain (92 yards), Dayan Bilbo (121) and Tyler Daniels (193) share team-high honors with 10 catches apiece.
Brandon Tucker Jr. leads the Lion defense with 46 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. Four different A&M-Commerce players have interceptions to their credit, while Kyree Anderson has the team’s lone fumble recovery.
Saturday’s contest will be the 12th meeting between the schools with the all-time series tied, 5-5-1. Since the schools became Southland Conference rivals prior to the 2022 season, the road team has won in both meetings.
Southeastern is 11-8 all-time in Southland Conference openers since joining the league prior to the 2005 season.
Following Saturday’s Battle of the Lions, SLU will open the road portion of its league schedule. Southeastern will be at HCU next Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest that will be seen on ESPN+ and can be heard on Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/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.
Game 6 | SLC Game 1 | Southeastern (1-4) vs. Texas A&M-Commerce (0-4)
Oct. 5, 2024 | 6 p.m. | Strawberry Stadium (7,408) | Hammond, La.
Series History: Series tied, 5-5-1
Last Meeting: Southeastern 52, Texas A&M-Commerce 14 (Nov. 11, 2023 | Commerce, Texas)
Television: ESPN+
Announcers: Lucas Hill and Logan Loving
Radio: Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 103.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM
Announcers: Mark Willoughby, Robbie Mahfouz, Allen Waddell and Robbie Rhodes
