NACOGDOCHES, Texas – No. 2 SFA scored 21 straight points in a four-minute stretch of the third quarter to pull away for a 45-24 victory over Southeastern Louisiana University in Southland Conference football action Saturday evening in Homer Bryce Stadium.
After falling behind 14-0 early, Southeastern (4-4, 2-3 SLC) clawed its way back into the game, cutting the lead to 21-17 early in the third quarter. SFA (8-0, 5-0 SLC) responded with 21 points over the final 4:18 of the third period to end the Lions’ comeback hopes.
Kyle Lowe completed 17-of-31 passes for 203 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, finding Landon Ibieta and Blake Smith on scoring tosses. Lowe also led the Lions with 58 yards rushing on 12 carries.
Jake Dalmado led SLU with 10 tackles, while Kenneth Ford Jr. and Carter Hanberry contributed nine stops apiece. Trace Carter and Jacob Black each recovered fumbles for Southeastern.
SFA was led by Jaylen Jenkins’ 159 yards on 17 carries. Lumberjack quarterback Gavin Rutherford threw for 153 yards and two scores on 11-of-20 passing, while also rushing for 54 yards and a score on eight totes.
SFA took the early lead with a six-play, 60-yard scoring march on the opening possession. Jenkins rushed up the middle from eight yards out to give the Lumberjacks a 7-0 advantage less than two minutes into the contest.
After a Southeastern punt, SFA doubled its advantage. The Lumberjacks marched 73 yards on eight plays with Rutherford scampering in from eight yards out for a 14-0 SFA advantage with 8:11 left in the opening quarter.
SLU moved into SFA territory, but was forced to punt and Lion punter Jack Hunter pinned the Lumberjacks back at their own six-yard line. On the third play of the drive, Rutherford fumbled and Carter pounced on the loose ball at the SFA six-yard line.
The Lions took advantage of the short field, as Lowe found Ibieta from seven yards out on the final play of the first quarter to cut the lead to 14-7 after the opening period.
SFA answered right back on the first drive of the second quarter. Rutherford connected with Clayton Wayland from 13 yards out to put the Lumberjacks up, 21-7, with 13:23 left in the first half.
Southeastern fired right back with a 75-yard scoring march. A 57-yard run by Lowe set up a two-yard touchdown run by Elzy Jr. to cut the lead to 21-14 with 9:55 remaining in the second quarter.
The teams traded punts for the rest of the half until Southeastern moved into Lumberjack territory in the final minute of the second quarter. Drew Talley’s 52-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the first half bounced off the cross bar and kept the Lions down, 21-14, heading into halftime.
The Lions went three-and-out on the first drive of the third quarter, but Bugs Mortimer muffed Hunter’s punt and Jacob Black pounced on the loose ball at the SFA 26-yard line to give Southeastern the ball back. SLU took advantage of the short field, as Talley connected on a 23-yard field goal to pull Southeastern within, 21-17, with 9:46 remaining in the third quarter.
After the two teams traded punts, Rutherford found Cameron Kelley for an 81-yard touchdown pass to extend the Lumberjack advantage to 28-17 with 4:18 left in the third quarter.
Just over a minute later, Lowe had a pass tipped at the line right into the hands of SFA’s A’Amear Walton, who rumbled in from 20 yards out to stretch the lead to 35-17 with 3:15 left in the third period.
On the ensuing possession, Lowe’s pass went through the hands of Blake Smith and ricocheted into the hands of Chance Sautter at the SLU 27-yard line. Five plays later, JT Kitna scored from four yards out to continue SFA’s third quarter surge and give the Lumberjacks a commanding 42-17 lead with less than a minute left in the third quarter.
Southeastern moved into the SFA red zone on the first drive of the fourth quarter. However, the Lions were turned over on downs to keep the deficit at 42-17.
SFA took nearly nine minutes off the clock on its next drive, as the Lumberjacks embarked on a 12-play, 79-yard drive the Carlos Alvarado capped with a 28-yard field goal to extend the lead to 45-17 with four minutes left.
Southeastern cut into the SFA lead in the final minutes, as Blake Smith caught a short pass from Lowe and raced untouched 73 yards for a touchdown to trim the margin to 45-24 with 3:18 left.
Saturday’s game was the first of two straight in east Texas for the Lions. Southeastern heads to East Texas A&M for a 3 p.m. contest on Halloween in Commerce, Texas. The Battle of the Lions 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 97.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM).
SLU – 7 7 3 7 – 24 (4-4, 2-3 SLC)
SFA – 14 7 21 3 – 45 (8-0, 5-0 SLC)
1st Quarter
SFA – Jenkins 8 run (Alvarado kick), 13:08
SFA – Rutherford 8 run (Alvardo kick), 8:11
SLU – Ibieta 7 pass from Lowe (Talley kick), 0:03
2nd Quarter
SFA – Wayland 13 pass from Rutherford (Alvarado kick), 13:23
SLU – Elzy Jr. 2 run (Talley kick), 9:55
3rd Quarter
SLU – Talley 23 FG, 9:46
SFA – Kelley 81 pass from Rutherford (Alvarado kick), 4:18
SFA – Walton 20 interception return (Alvarado kick), 3:15
SFA - Kitna 4 run (Alvarado kick), 0:25
4th Quarter
SFA – Alvarado 28 FG, 4:00
SLU – Smith 73 pass from Lowe (Talley kick), 3:17
SLU SFA
FIRST DOWNS 14 20
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 34-119 42-279
PASSING YDS (NET) 203 153
Passes Comp-Att-Int 17-31-2 11-20-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 65-322 62-432
Fumble Returns-Yards 2-1 0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards 3-61 3-83
Punt Returns-Yards 1-3 0-0
Interception Returns-Yards 0-0 2-22
Punts (Number-Avg) 5-43.2 4-34.0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-2
Penalties-Yards 6-69 6-58
Possession Time. 30:35 29:25
Third-Down Conversions 4-for-16 6-for-12
Fourth-Down Conversions 1-for-3 0-for-0
Red Zone Scores-Chances 3-for-4 5-for-5
RUSHING: SLU – Lowe 12-59, Elzy 10-47, Jackson 9-10, C. Smith Jr. 3-3. Totals – 34-119. SFA – Jenkins 17-159, Rutherford 8-54, Alford 11-49, Martinez 2-9, Kitna 1-4, Lewis 2-4, Team 1-0. Totals – 42-279.
PASSING: SLU – Lowe 17-31-2-203-2. Totals – 17-31-2-203-2. SFA – 11-20-0-153-2. Totals – 11-20-0-153-2.
RECEIVING: SLU – Joseph 6-43, Goodly 4-53, Shinn 2-15, B. Smith 1-73, Jefferson 1-11, Ibieta 1-7, Jackson 1-4, C. Smith Jr. 1-(-3). Totals – 17-203. SFA – Kelley 3-100, Wayland 3-33, Mortimer 2-7, Sarratt 1-6, Alford 1-4, Jenkins 1-3. Totals – 11-153.
A – 12,034.
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.
