Southland Conference Scoreboard: Week 1

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No. 3/3 Southeastern Louisiana 44, Jacksonville 3
HAMMOND, La. – The No. 3/3 Southeastern Louisiana football team jumped out to a 27-0 first quarter lead and never looked back on the way to a 44-3 victory over Jacksonville in the season opener for both teams Saturday night at Strawberry Stadium.
 
The defending Southland Conference champion Lions (1-0) were never tested, winning their season opener for the second straight season and posting its 11th win in its last 12 home openers. Jacksonville, a member of the Pioneer Football League, lost to Southeastern for the fourth time in as many meetings.
 
Southeastern senior quarterback Bryan Bennett, a Walter Payton Award candidate, led a Lion offensive attack that racked up 564 total yards. In just over a half of action, Bennett threw for 311 yards and two scores, while also running for a game-high 93 yards – including a career-long 83-yard touchdown run.
 
Bennett and sophomore quarterback D’Shaie Landor combined to complete 13 of 20 passes, spreading receptions to nine different receivers. Junior Xavier Roberson (3-22), junior Jeff Smiley (2-38) and senior Devante Scott (2-37) were the only Lions with multiple catches, while juniors Rasheed Harrell and Dylan Bossier each caught long touchdowns.
 
Southeastern also spread the ball around in its rushing attack, as 11 different Lions accounted for the Lions 233 rushing yards. Bennett, Roberson and junior Darrius Guy each scored touchdowns for the Lions.
 
The Lion defense was impressive, holding a Jacksonville team that ranked in the top 10 nationally in several offensive categories in 2013 to just 222 total yards. Senior Isiah Corbett led Southeastern with seven tackles, while senior Kaleb Muse was credited with six stops. Junior Jordan Batiste forced a fumble for SLU’s lone turnover and junior Micah Eugene scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown.
 
SLU harassed JU junior quarterback Kade Bell into 19-for-50 passing for 149 yards, while holding the Dolphins to just 68 yards rushing on 29 carries.
 
Southeastern jumped on top on the opening drive of the game and never looked back. A 16-yard Bennett pass to Smiley and a 15-yard Roberson run highlighted an eight-play, 56-yard scoring march. Roberson scampered in from 10 yards out to cap the drive and give the Lions a 7-0 lead with 11:00 left in the first quarter.
 
The Lion defense forced a punt and SLU answered with the first big play of the game. Bossier, who transferred in from Louisiana-Lafayette at the start of the fall semester last week, burned the Dolphin defense and ran under a perfect pass from Bennett, racing 89 yards for a touchdown – the longest pass of Bennett’s career and the fourth-longest pass play in school history. Senior Ryan Adams’ extra point was blocked and the Lions led 13-0 halfway through the first quarter.
 
The Lion defense made the next big play. Batiste – in his first year with the Lions out of Tulane – popped the ball loose from D’Andre Randle at the 20-yard line and the ball squirted free down the near sideline. Eugene, one of three former LSU players in the Lion secondary, scooped up the loose ball and cruised in from three yards out to give Southeastern a 20-0 lead with 6:33 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
The SLU first quarter onslaught was capped after the defense forced a quick punt. Bennett broke through a hole on the right side and raced untouched 83 yards for a touchdown and a 27-0 Lion lead less than 12 minutes into the game. The run was the longest of the Granada Hills, California native’s Lion career.
 
The second quarter saw Jacksonville take advantage of Bennett’s lone mistake to get on the board. Driving near midfield, the rain soaked ball slipped out of Bennett’s hand and right into the grasp of senior linebacker Mike Klein, who returned the pick into Lion territory. Sophomore Brandon Behr knocked in a 33-yard field goal to cut the SLU advantage to 27-3 with 8:09 left in the opening half.
 
Southeastern answered with a nine-play, 41-yard scoring drive of its own. Adams, attempting his first field goal of his Lion career, drilled a 46-yard attempt to send the Lions into the break with a 30-3 lead.
 
Bennett’s day was done after another big play on the first drive of the second half. Harrell ran free wide open down the left sideline, hauled in a Bennett pass, shook a JU defender and raced 73 yards for the score. The touchdown catch was the first of Harrell’s career and gave the Lions a 37-3 lead less than four minutes into the second half.
 
Landor, in his first season with the Lions after transferring from Louisiana-Lafayette, handled the quarterbacking duties for the rest of the way. Landor led Southeastern on its final scoring drive that extended into the fourth quarter. Guy handled much of the work on the 12-play, 63-yard scoring march, capping the drive and providing the final margin with a six-yard score with 13:06 remaining in the game.
 
Southeastern will be back in action next Saturday, hosting Southern Utah at 7 p.m in a battle of 2013 NCAA FCS playoff participants.

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No. 17/14 Sam Houston State 51, Alabama State 20
HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Sophomore quarterback Jared Johnson passed for 386 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 17/14 ranked Sam Houston to a 51-20 victory over Alabama State Saturday at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium.
 
Johnson threw scoring passes of 48 yards to Jeffrey Thomas,  nine yards to Rickey Smith and 68 yards to Keshawn Hill. Hill also scored on a four-yard run.
 
Jalen Overstreet, a transfer running back from Texas, was the Bearkats leading rusher with 11 carries for 83 yards. Freshman Donavan Williams added 83 yards on 12 carries including a 1 yard score.
 
Hornet quarterback Daniel Duhart led Alabama State completing 17 of 32 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Sam Houston now stands 1-1 for the year while the game was Alabama State’s season opener.

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Lamar 42, Grambling State 27
BEAUMONT, Texas – Senior quarterback Caleb Berry became the school’s all-time leader in touchdown passes with his third scoring strike against Grambling State (0-1) Saturday night. The touchdown pass to junior Devonn Brown would be all the points Lamar would need as it held off an improved Grambling State team, 42-27.
 
“You could tell it was the first game of the season,” said head coach Ray Woodard. “Give credit to Coach (Broderick) Fobbs and his staff. They were ready to play and really fought hard, like we knew they would. The first half was very frustrating because we left so many points on the field, but we went into the locker room and talked about what they were trying to do. Grambling was really challenging us defensively trying to take away our running game and short passing game. We made some good adjustments at halftime and were able to overcome our mistakes.
 
“We played a very good third quarter as a team. I thought Grambling did a great job fighting back in the fourth quarter. We’re happy to get the win but there are some things we have to get corrected,” added Woodard.
 
The game was just as sloppy as the weather, at times, as Mother Nature had an impact on the game’s outcome. The two teams combined for 10 turnovers and 26 penalties, but the Cardinals overcame their share of miscues to record their second-straight win a season opener.
 
The Cardinals struck first when Berry completed the first of his five TD passes to classmate Mark Roberts. The Houston transfer caught the pass and outran the safety for a 69-yard scoring strike on the first play of the game, but the Tigers answered back exactly two minutes later with touchdown of their own. GSU added a 41-yard field goal early in the second-quarter to take their first, and only, lead of the game. The lead would last for eight and a half minutes before the Cardinals could respond.
 
Lamar’s response would come in the form of sophomore running back Kade Harrington who scored on an eight-yard run. Harrington, who finished the game with 65 yards on 15 carries, gave the Cardinals a four-point lead, and it was a lead LU would not surrender. The visitors trimmed that lead down to a point right before halftime but that would be as close as the red and white would allow them to come to victory.
 
Lamar came out of the locker room and scored 28 unanswered points to build an insurmountable 42-13 advantage with 1:55 remaining in the third quarter. Four different Lamar players got in on the scoring act in the third, including Brown who caught Berry’s record-setting TD pass from five yards out. Roberts tacked on another long reception with a 43-yard grab and Port Neches junior Jayce Nelson hauled in 45-yard touchdown pass on the first play of a drive.
 
The Tigers closed out the game by tacking on two scores late in the contest, but it was a case of too little too late.
 
Berry finished the night 27-of-45 for 389 yards and five touchdowns. He connected with seven different receivers, including junior Reggie Begelton who picked up where he left off last season. The Beaumont native led the Southland in receptions last year, and starts 2014 with 12 catches for 119 yards. Begelton’s 12 catches tied for the fourth-best mark in school history.
 
Roberts only had three catches on the night but he made the most of every grab, finishing the night with 139 yards and two touchdown catches.
 
Lamar’s youthful defense was led by Ronnie Jones who posted a career-high 12 tackles. He was also credited with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Sophomore Xavier Bethany finished the night with 11 tackles, including 2.5 for losses and one sack. He also picked off a pass and forced a fumble.
 
The Cardinals return to action Saturday when the travel to College Station, Texas to take on Texas A&M. The game against the Aggies is slated to kick off at 6:30 p.m. from Kyle Field.

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Texas Tech 42, Central Arkansas 35
LUBBOCK, Texas – The University of Central Arkansas Bears gave the Texas Tech Red Raiders and their stadium-record 60,778 fans all they wanted Saturday night before falling 42-35 at Jones AT&T Stadium.
 
The Bears, in their first game under the direction of new head coach Steve Campbell, fought back from a 28-16 deficit early in the third quarter and got to within a touchdown twice in the fourth quarter against the Red Raiders, members of the Football Bowl Subdivisin (FBS).
 
“I was so proud of our players,’ said Campbell. “I thought they gave tremendous effort from the first snap all the way through the last snap. We were one play away against a great football team. You’re never happy when you don’t win a football game, but I’m very, very proud of the effort the kids gave. We were a couple of plays away, or a couple of mistakes away from beating a Top 25 caliber team.’
 
The Bears, who have come close against both Colorado last season and Ole Miss the year before, scored first and then led the Red Raiders 16-7 early in the first quarter behind a Jace Denker field goal, a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Taylor Reed and a 2-yarder from running back Willie Matthews.
 
“They just got their players ready to go and we didn’t,’ said second-year Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury. “Just playing harder, wanted it more than we did. They came out fired up and expecting to win the game. We came out flat, and that’s a credit to their coaching staff.’
 
The Bears scored first, playing keep away with an 18-play, 58-yard drive that ended in a 28-yard field goal by junior Denker for a 3-0 lead at the 7:41 mark of the first quarter. UCA converted a fourth-and-1 from the Tech 25 to keep the drive alive.
 
UCA tried an onside kick after the score but the Red Raiders recovered on the UCA side of the field and drove 43 yards in 10 plays to take the lead with 1-yard touchdown ryun by DeAndre Washington with 5:13 to play in the period.
 
After the Bears failed to score on their next possession, the Red Raiders drove deep into UCA territory. But a tipped pass by UCA sophomore cornerback Prince Ene resulted in an interception by sophomore defensive tackle Dawson Hadnot in the end zone to stop the Red Raiders’ drive and keep it 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Reed then spread the wealth in the passing game to drive the Bears down to the red zone before converting a 1-yard run on a keeper for the go-ahead touchdown and a 10-7 lead with 3:29 to play in the first quarter.
 
UCA’s defense then stepped up again as freshman cornerback Artez Williams picked off Tech quarterback Davis Webb again on the UCA sideline and took ti 32 yards down to the Tech 2. Senior running back Willie Matthews scored the touchdown on the first play. A botched snap on the point-after attempt ended in a failed pass attempt as UCA took a 16-7 lead with 10:38 left in the half.
 
The Red Raiders scored two quick touchdowns to re-take the lead, the first on an 11-play, 63-yard drive, capped by a 6-yard pass from Webb to Jordan Davis, and the second on a quick 6-play, 63-yard jaunt which ending in a 6-yard run by Justin Stockton. That gave Tech a 21-16 advantage, one it would take to the locker room.
 
“When you play a team like this, who have tremendous skill players,’ Campbell said, “you have to try to turn it into a street fight. Hopefully we did that, but we just came up a little bit short. But I’m very proud of the way these guys played. The recipe was very close.
 
“That’s the thing I’m most proud of is the effort that our guys gave. We told our guys, let’s don’t pay any attention to what the score is. If we’re up by ten or down by ten, whatever. Let’s just go out, let’s play as hard as we possibly can for as long as we possibly can, and let’s give a great effort for four quarters. And our guys did that.’
 
Tech opened the second half with its third consecutive scoring drive to push its lead to 28-16 early in the third quarter. The Bears came back with consecutive scores, including a 34-yard field goal by Denker and a strange safety when Webb grounded the ball while be tackled in his own end zone by UCA linebacker Ricky Wyatt. The safety closed the gap to 28-21 midway through the third quarter.
 
The Red Raiders, who led the nation in offensive plays per game last season, finished with 636 yards of total offense. However, UCA ran more plays (94-89) than Tech.
 
A quick three-play drive, ending with a 70-yard touchdown pass from Webb to Bradley Marquez, put the Red Raiders up 35-21, but the Bears answered again, going 75 yards in 15 plays, with Blake Veasley scoring from the 1. Webb hit Marquez again fromm 27 yards, good for a 42-28 lead, but senior quarterback Ryan Howard came on and engineered an 87-yard scoring drive in 2:41, hitting Damien Watts from 7 yards out for the touchdown.
 
Reed completed 19 of 33 passes for 140 yards in his first start at UCA, and added 29 rushing yards. Senior Dezmin Lewis caught a team-high seven passes for 105 yards, while Matthews had 96 rushing yards. Webb was 39 of 52 for 452 yards and 4 touchdowns for the Red Raiders.
 
UCA hosts UT Martin in its home opener next Saturday at 6 p.m. at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.
 
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Kansas State 55, Stephen F. Austin 16
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Stephen F. Austin spotted 20th-ranked Kansas State a 21-point lead in the first half and never recovered, falling 55-16 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in the 2014 season opener.
 
“We’re disappointed, but we’re not discouraged,” said head coach Clint Conque. “We knew coming in this would be a significant challenge, and they certainly played like the number 20 team in the country. That said, we had a lot of miscues. Some dropped balls, some missed assignments, some blocking issues. We had a few big plays that were just beyond our reach. We’ll learn from this and we will continue to grow as a football team.”
 
Kansas State dominated in time of possession, holding the ball for 37:45 while running 81 plays for 478 yards in an extremely balanced effort. The Wildcats rushed for 240 yards while passing for 238.
 
SFA managed just 294 yards of total offense on the night, with 225 of that coming through the air. Zach Conque went 17-of-30 for 118 yards while Joe Minden completed seven of his nine attempts for 107 yards.
 
Aaron Thomas was the top Lumberjack receiver, catching six passes for 85 yards while Marquis Mosley added five receptions for 17 yards. Tyler Boyd also notched three catches for 31 yards on the night.
 
On the ground, Gus Johnson rushed for 26 yards on eight carries, including a 30-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter after missing the first half. Minded rushed for 25 yards and a touchdown as well for the Lumberjacks.
 
Defensively, Collin Garrett and Alex Miller led the way with seven tackles each while Justin Owens added six of his own. Nick Bryant notched five tackles and a sack with Kedrick Harrison and Donald Bryant registering sacks of their own.
 
SFA had a sluggish start in its season opener, and Kansas State took advantage. The Setting the tone for the evening, The Wildcats controlled the game for the duration of the first quarter, holding the ball for 11:58 in the opening stanza, running 21 plays for 134 yards. To contrast, the ‘Jacks ran just nine plays for 17 yards, chewing just 3:02 off the clock.
 
Kansas State used an 11-play, 69-yard drive to open the scoring as Jake Waters hit Tyler Lockett for a nine-yard touchdown strike. Waters then scored on a five-yard scramble nine seconds into the second quarter before Charles Jones took a direct snap 15 yards up the gut less than four minutes later, giving the Wildcats the 21-0 lead with 11:13 left in the opening half.
 
SFA responded on its ensuing drive as Minden led the Lumberjacks on an eight-play, 77-yard drive, capped by his own 18-yard scramble to put SFA on the board at 21-10. After another Wildcat scoring drive, Conque led the Lumberjacks on a 13-play, 72-yard drive which resulted in a 33-yard field goal for Jordan Wiggs with 53 seconds left in the half. K-State missed a 45-yard attempt as time expired, taking the 28-10 lead into the half.
 
After notching its first three-and-out to start the second half, SFA appeared to build some momentum. But it was short-lived as the ensuing drive stalled and Kansas State added two more touchdowns to extend its lead to 42-10 midway through the third quarter.
 
SFA responded with a big 30-yard touchdown run down the Lumberjack sideline by Johnson, trimming the deficit to 42-16 after three following a missed extra point. But that was as close as the Lumberjacks could get, giving up 13 more points in the fourth quarter.
 
Two other statistics contributed to SFA’s struggles as the Lumberjacks had 10 penalties for 130 yards, including eight for 115 in the first half. Kansas State also was successful on eight of its 14 third down conversions and was two-for-two on fourth down while SFA converted on just five of its 14 third down attempts.
 
Quarterback Jake Waters completed 19 of his 28 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 55 yards on 17 carries with a pair of scores. Charles Jones also rushed for 55 yards and a pair of touchdowns for K-State.
 
The Lumberjacks will now return home as SFA begins a four-game home stand at Homer Bryce Stadium, beginning Saturday, September 6th when the Lumberjacks host Southland Conference newcomer Incarnate Word. Kickoff against the Cardinals is set for 6 p.m.

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Air Force 44, Nicholls 16
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Things looked promising in the early going for the Nicholls State University football team in its season opener at Air Force as the teams were tied in the second quarter, but the Falcons’ rushing attack proved to be too much, leading to 35 consecutive points as the Colonels fell 44-16 on Saturday afternoon at Falcon Stadium.
 
With the loss, Nicholls (0-1) drops to 21-22 all-time in season openers, and 0-2 all-time against Air Force (1-0).
 
Nicholls managed 263 yards on offense, with 63 yards on the ground. Kalen Henderson led the offense, throwing for 136 yards on 12-of-25 passing. Beaux Hebert went 6-for-6, all in the fourth quarter, for 64 yards, throwing a late touchdown pass to Darryl Watson II, who finished with four grabs for 66 yards.
 
While Air Force had only 19 yards on six pass attempts, the Falcons were nearly unstoppable in running the ball, rushing for 539 yards. Jacobi Owens had a career day, accumulating 233 yards on 23 carries. Air Force racked up 7.4 yards per carry on 73 attempts.
 
After a pair of three-and-outs by the Colonel defense to start the game, Air Force’s defense was responsible for the first points of the day when Henderson was called for intentional grounding in the end zone. Following a punt that pinned Nicholls inside the 10, Weston Steelhammer came unblocked through the left side and hit Henderson, who tried to throw the ball away, but the penalty resulted in a 2-0 lead for the Falcons with 8:24 on the clock.
 
The free kick led to great field position for Air Force, and the Falcons scored the first touchdown on a 7-play, 2:23 drive. Owens highlighted the drive with a 40-yard rush to the Colonel 4, and Garrett Brown ran it in from five yards out. After the extra point, Air Force took a 9-0 lead with less than six minutes remaining in the quarter.
 
Nicholls answered on its next drive, scoring on an 18-yard run by Tobias Lofton. Keenan Canty started the drive with a 13-yard run on an end around, and Reggie Wilson ran 21 yards on a screen pass. Following a 14-yard keeper by Henderson, Lofton found a seam in the defense, running untouched into the end zone for the Colonels’ first touchdown of the year. But the Falcons blocked the extra point, making the score 9-6.
 
The Colonels got the ball back at midfield when Cole Frazier stopped Kale Pearson on a keeper on 4th-and-3.  The good field position led to a 37-yard field goal by Francisco Condado with 13:20 to go until half, tying the game at 9-all.
 
Air Force put together an 11-play, 75-yard drive on the next possession to take a 16-9 lead. Following a punt by the Colonels, the Falcons tacked on another touchdown, scoring from two yards out on a run by Devin Rushing. Air Force headed into the locker room with a 23-9 lead.
 
Not much changed after the break, as the triple option continued to cause problems for the Colonel defense. Air Force piled on 169 rushing yards in the third, scoring two more touchdowns for a 37-9 lead.
 
Air Force added one more touchdown in the fourth before Hebert and Watson hooked up to make the final.
 
Davin Bovie led the Colonel defense with 11 tackles, while Kameryon Brown and Ronnie Walker had nine each. For Air Force, Conner Healy had eight stops and the team accounted for five sacks.
 
Nicholls will be back in action next Saturday, Sept. 6, taking on Arkansas on the SEC Network. Kickoff in Fayetteville is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
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Sacramento State 49, UIW 13
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The University of the Incarnate Word football team dropped their 2014 season opener on Saturday evening at Benson Stadium, 49-13 to visiting Sacramento State.
 
A first quarter injury to Cardinals (0-1) starting quarterback Trent Brittain seemed to have a dramatic difference upon the game. He was hurt on a scramble with 3:24 left in the first quarter. UIW would kick a field goal on the drive to pull to within 7-6. After the injury, the Hornets (1-0) would score 42 consecutive points over the next 2.5 quarters.
 
Sacramento State quarterback Garrett Safron had an outstanding game going 17-of-25 for 251 yards passing with five touchdowns and one interception. Nnamdi Agude and DeAndre Carter each hauled in a pair of touchdown passes. Agude finished the game with six catches for 11 yards while Carter had three receptions for 56 yards.
 
The game really turned late in the first quarter. First, the Hornets blocked a UIW punt and scored on the very next play when Safron hit Carter for a 33-yard score. On the ensuing kickoff the ball was not fielded by the Cardinals and it was recovered by the Hornets at the UIW 24-yard line. Three plays later Safron found Agude in the endzone.
 
The Cardinals rushed the ball 32 times for 98 yards with Joseph Sadler (Devine/Devine HS) leading the way with six carries for 39 yards.  He also had three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown.  Taylor Woods finished the game 12-of-25 for 143 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Padyn Giebler was the leading tackler with eight stops and Corey Lee picked up a pair of sacks. Freshman Ramon Coto drilled 47 and 49-yard field goals for the team’s first two scores.
 
The Hornets finished the game with 386 yards of total offense and had nine more first downs than the Cardinals. Jordan Robinson led all players with 69 yards rushing on 12 carries. Darnell Sankey had a game high 10 tackles while Jaycee Totty had 1.5 sacks.
 
The Cardinals are back in action next Saturday at Stephen F. Austin in a non-conference game at 6 p.m.

 

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