Southeastern Heads to Lamar in Search of First Win

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana football team will open the road portion of its Southland Conference schedule on Saturday, when it travels to Lamar for a 6 p.m. contest at Provost Umphrey Stadium.

 

Both the Lions (0-3, 0-1 Southland) and the host Cardinals (1-2, 0-1 SLC) are searching for their first conference victories of 2018. Both teams lost narrow decisions at home last Saturday.

 

The Lions were unable to overcome three turnovers and 16 penalties in a 33-25 loss to No. 17/18 Central Arkansas. Junior quarterback Chason Virgil threw for 384 yards – the 10th-highest single-game total in program history – and a touchdown to lead a Lion offense that accumulated 496 yards of total offense. Junior wide receiver Juwan Petit-Frere was Virgil’s top target, hauling in four catches for 110 yards.

 

Lamar overcame a 28-point second quarter deficit and a 14-point fourth quarter hole, but Northwestern State blocked the game-tying extra point to hold on for a wild 49-48 victory in a game that featured 1,055 yards of total offense. LU senior quarterback Darrel Colbert Jr. threw for four touchdowns and ran for three scores to lead the Cardinal offense.

 

The Lion offense is averaging 444.0 yards per game through the first three weeks. Virgil is currently third in FCS with 931 passing yards, as the newcomer has completed 62.6 percent (77-for-123) of his passes and thrown for five touchdowns versus just three interceptions. Petit-Frere (14 catches, 318 yards, 2 touchdowns), freshman wide receiver CJ Turner (9- 120) and junior tight end Bransen Schwebel (9-118-1 TD) are Virgil’s top targets.

 

Lamar has yielded 485.3 yards and 44.3 points per contest through the first three weeks of the season. Senior defensive back Davon Jernigan leads the Cardinals with 26 tackles and four pass breakups so far in 2018

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Opponents are averaging 395.7 yards per game versus the Lions through the first three games. Senior linebacker Tamarcus Russell paces Southeastern with 32 tackles, followed by sophomore linebacker Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund and junior defensive back Dejion Lynch with 21 and 19 tackles, respectively.

 

Adeyemi-Berglund and Lynch also share the team lead with four pass breakups each. Junior linebacker Mike Mason paces the Lions with two tackles for loss.

 

Colbert is the engineer of a Cardinal offense that averages 425.7 yards per contest. He has thrown for seven touchdowns versus just three interceptions and is also the team’s leading rusher with 218 yards and four scores.

 

Seniors Isaiah Howard (eight catches, 102 yards, 1 TD) and Dorian Gaston (5-134-3 TD) have been Colbert’s most productive targets.

 

Petit-Frere averages 25.4 yards per kickoff return for the Lions heading into Saturday’s game. Junior Ivy Wall, the reigning Southland Conference Special Teams Player of the Week has averaged 45.3 yards per punt – eighth-best in FCS – to highlight the SLU kicking game in the opening three weeks.

 

Last Saturday versus UCA, senior kicker Jonathan Tatum tied his career-long with a 41-yard field goal to end the first half.

 

Lamar senior Rodney Randle Jr. leads the Cardinal special teams units. He averages 19.5 yards per punt return and also returns kickoffs for LU.

 

Southeastern is 9-4 all-time versus the Cardinals and has won five of the last six meetings. Last season, SLU rolled to a 49-21 victory in Hammond. In their last trip to Beaumont in 2016, the Lions suffered a 38-14 loss at Lamar.

 

Following Saturday’s contest, Southeastern will return home to host Northwestern State for a 7 p.m. league game in Strawberry Stadium. The Sept. 29 contest will be televised on Cox Sports Television and will be available on ESPN3 outside of the CST viewing area.

Fans will also be able to hear the Lions-Demons tilt on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU-FM (90.9), Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and WFPR 1400 AM). Fans can also listen live at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Radio FX and TuneIn Radio apps.

 

Next Saturday is a White Out, as all Lion fans are encouraged to wear white to the contest. Saturday is also Youth Day versus the Demons. All children ages 12 and under will receive a free ticket to the game. Lastly, a discounted ticket will be available for any middle, junior and high school students for an $11 bench seat ticket when you show your local school ID.

 

The SLU-NSU contest will be a family affair. Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo’s son, Anthony, coaches quarterbacks for Northwestern State.

 

TICKET INFORMATION

For season ticket information and individual game tickets, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. The Lions will welcome conference foes Central Arkansas (Sept. 15), Northwestern State (Sept. 29), Houston Baptist (Oct. 13 – Homecoming), Abilene Christian (Oct. 20 – Hall of Fame Game) and McNeese (Nov. 3) to Strawberry Stadium in 2018.

 

CLEAR BAG POLICY

Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.

 

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 la*@so**********.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @SLUFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.

 

INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN FOOTBALL WITH FRANK SCELFO

Inside Southeastern Football with Frank Scelfo, the Lion first-year head coach’s radio show, is held every Monday through Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at Tope La Catering (113 East Thomas Street) in downtown Hammond.

 

Hosted by Scelfo and Allen Waddell, the show will air on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (KSLU-FM (90.9), Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and WFPR 1400 AM). Fans can also listen live at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Radio FX and TuneIn Radio apps. A live video stream of the show will be available via Facebook Watch at www.facebook.com/sluathletics.

By: Southeastern Athletics