Second-Half Surge Spoils Southeastern’s Upset Bid at USM

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team was outscored, 21-0, in the second half in a 35-10 loss to Southern Miss Saturday night at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
 
Facing its second straight FBS foe to open the season, the Lions (0-2) went toe-to-toe with the host Golden Eagles (1-1) for the majority of the contest and trailed 14-10 at the half. Southeastern had 18 first downs to USM’s 17, but in the end it was the home team that made the key plays to pull away in the second half.
 
“We had our opportunities and we just didn’t take advantage of what we were given,” Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo said. “Our effort was good, but our execution has to be better. We have to learn from these first two weeks and put it all together (in the home opener versus Eastern Washington) next week.”
 
The Southeastern defense allowed 359 yards to the hosts, but those numbers were aided by a 70-yard Kenyon Clay touchdown run on USM’s final offensive play of the game. KK Reno forced a pair of fumbles and shared the team tackle lead with Donte’ Daniels with seven stops each. Kaleb Proctor and Khamron Ford each recovered fumbles, while Warren Peeples paced the Lions with two tackles for loss and a sack. SLU finished with nine tackles for loss.
 
Southeastern’s offense controlled the ball for over 34 minutes. Antonio Martin Jr. led the Lions with 93 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
 
SLU’s Eli Sawyer handled the majority of the work under center, completing 21-of-39 passes for 153 yards and an interception. Darius Lewis (seven catches, 51 yards) and Jaylon Domingeaux (4-45) were the top targets in the passing game for the Lions.
 
Southern Miss quarterback Tate Rodemaker completed 18-of-33 passes for 179 yards and two scores. Larry Simmons led USM with five catches for 100 yards. Defensively, Dylan Lawrence recorded seven tackles and an interception return for a touchdown to lead the Golden Eagles.
 
SLU drove into Southern Miss territory on its opening drive, but was forced to punt. On the Golden Eagles’ first play from scrimmage, Reno stripped USM’s Tiaquelin Mims and Proctor pounced on the loose ball. Three plays later, Riley Callaghan netted a 25-yard field goal to give the Lions a 3-0 lead with 8:14 left in the opening quarter.
 
The two teams traded punts for the next three possessions. On the second punt by USM, Lewis misplayed the punt and USM took over at the Lion 13-yard line. The Golden Eagles took advantage of the SLU miscue, as Rodemaker found Kyrin Heath for a nine-yard touchdown pass to give Southern Miss a 7-3 lead with 1:03 left in the first period.
 
After an empty Southeastern possession, a 56-yard Alec Mahler punt pinned USM down at its own 12-yard line. The Golden Eagles marched 88 yards on 11 plays, as Rodemaker found a wide-open Davis Dalton from five yards out to give Southern Miss a 14-3 lead with 7:11 remaining in the opening half.
 
After a Southeastern punt, USM moved the ball into Lion territory and was poised to add to its advantage. However, the SLU defense stiffened and Andrew Stein’s 48-yard field goal missed wide left to keep the deficit at 14-3.
 
Southeastern cut into the lead with a 10-play, 69-yard drive to close the second quarter. A 20-yard run by Martin, along with a pair of third-and-long Sawyer-to-Domingeaux hookups highlighted the march. Martin cut around left end from 10 yards out and cleared the goal line to send the Lions into the break down, 14-10.
 
Southern Miss drove in to SLU territory on the first drive of the second half. However, once again the Lion defense held strong and Stein’s 43-yard field goal try was off the mark to keep Southeastern within, 14-10, with 8:58 left in the third quarter.
 
After a Lion punt, the Golden Eagles extended their lead. A 59-yard pass from Elijah Crawford to Justyn Reid set up a one-yard Dreke Clark scoring plunge to give USM a 21-10 advantage with 5:22 left in the third quarter.
 
The two teams traded three-and-outs heading into the fourth quarter. Southeastern moved into Southern Miss territory, but a pair of penalties backed the Lions into a third-and-25 situation and Lawrence stepped in front of a Sawyer pass and raced in with a 63-yard pick-six to extend the Golden Eagles’ advantage to 28-10 with 13:19 remaining in the contest.
 
Southeastern had another scoring opportunity after Reno’s second strip of the game. Ford recovered Crawford’s loose ball and gave the Lions the ball at the Golden Eagles’ 28-yard line. The Lions couldn’t take advantage, however, as Callaghan’s 46-yard try missed left to keep the deficit at 28-10.
 
SLU moved into Southern Miss territory on its next possession, but USM wouldn’t allow the Lions to pull closer, as the Golden Eagles forced the Lions to turn the ball over on downs heading into the two-minute timeout. On the next play, Clay broke loose for a 70-yard touchdown down the left sideline to extend the lead to 35-10 with 1:44 left.
 
Southeastern will open its home schedule Sept. 14, hosting Eastern Washington in a 6 p.m. game sponsored by North Oaks Health System at Strawberry Stadium. Fans are encouraged to help SLU Green Out the stadium and wear their best green Southeastern gear for Saturday’s home contest.
 
Saturday will also be the Hall of Fame Game, as the 2024 Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame class of Amir Abdur-Rahim, Chris Laiche, Kevin Millican and Alex Young will be honored at halftime after being inducted at Friday’s North Oaks Health System Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame Banquet.
 
The game between the Lions and the visiting Eagles can be seen on ESPN+ and will be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (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.
 
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 [email protected] 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.