HAMMOND, La. – Behind the stormy tandem of Antonio Martin Jr. And Harlan DixonThe Southeastern Louisiana University football team earned a hard-fought 28-24 victory over Eastern Washington in its home opener Saturday night at Strawberry Stadium.
With the win, SLU (1-2) improved its record in non-conference home games under the head coach to 7-1. Frank Scelfo. Eastern Washington fell to 1-2 with the loss.
Dixon stormed in from 21 yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter and scored the eventual winning goal.
Southeastern stopped EWU in the red zone with just over five minutes left in the game. Martin carried the ball nine times for 58 yards and five first downs on SLU’s final drive as the Lions wiped the final 5:22 off the clock and tied the game.
Martin led the Lions offensively, finishing with 149 yards on 28 carries, while Dixon added 92 yards on nine carries and two scores. Martin’s yardage total was the most by an SLU runner in a game under Scelfo and the most by a Southeastern runner since Darren Johnson rushed for 178 yards against Lamar on Sept. 23, 2017.
After a 21-21 first half, the Lions defense limited Eastern Washington to three points in the final 30 minutes. Coryell Pierce led SLU with 11 tackles, while Robert Briggs, Joshua Randall, Caleb Proctor And Dorian Davis were credited to all bags.
EWU quarterback Kekoa Visperas completed 21 of 28 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown. His top target was Efton Chism III, who caught seven passes for 83 yards, while Malik Dotson led the Eagles on the ground with 11 carries for 47 yards and two touchdowns.
After exchanging punts to start the game, Eastern Washington took an early lead on its second drive of the game. Dotson fired in from seven yards out to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead with 10:16 left in the first quarter.
Southeastern equalized in the final minute of the first quarter. Eli Sawyer found Darius Lewis With a short swing pass he was free, and the speedster slipped into the right pylon to equalize the score at 7:7 before the second quarter.
After the teams went three times in a row, EWU regained the lead. A 32-yard run by Visperas capped a six-play, 63-yard drive that Dotson capped with a one-yard run to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead with 8:59 left in the first half.
Southeastern immediately answered on the ensuing drive. Dixon capped a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with a 35-yard run around left end to tie the game at 14-14 with 6:17 left in the second quarter.
After a three-and-out, SLU took the lead for the first time this season. Sawyer found Brandon Hayes on a short screen and the Hattiesburg, Mississippi native turned on the Jets, scoring from 15 yards out that gave the Lions a 21-14 lead with 1:40 left in the first half.
Eastern Washington responded and sent the game into halftime with a tie. Visperas found unmarked Noah Cronquist from 43 yards out to tie the game 21-21.
Southeastern made its first drive of the third quarter three-and-out, and Eastern Washington regained the lead. Soren McKee nailed a 36-yard field goal after an 11-play, 53-yard touchdown drive to give EWU a 24-21 lead with 8:42 left in the third quarter.
Both offenses marched into opposing team territory on the following drives, but both marches ended with the defenses forcing turnovers. An 18-yard Rodeo Graham Jr. Run set up Dixon’s touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
After the Lion defense forced Eastern Washington to punt, Southeastern again drove the ball into EWU territory. But on fourth and short, Brock Harrison stopped Martin Jr. without gaining any ground and gave the ball back to the Eagles.
A 23-yard pass from Visperas to Chism gave Eastern Washington a first down at the Lions’ 20-yard line. The Eagles only managed two more yards as Pierce, Donte’ Daniels And Kadan Lewis both made nice tackles on Dotson’s runs. Facing a fourth-and-8 attempt at the Lions’ 18-yard line, Visperas shot over Chism at the goal line and SLU got the ball back.
With Damon Stewart After replacing Sawyer and making his first appearance as a Lion at quarterback, SLU put the game in Martin’s hands. The freshman from Atlanta wreaked havoc on the Eagles defense and forced EWU to use all three remaining timeouts. Facing a third-and-one at Eastern Washington’s 24-yard line, Stewart handed the ball off one final time to Martin, who broke through for the game-winning first down and the Lions’ first win of 2024.
Saturday was the first of back-to-back home games for Southeastern, as the Lions welcome two-time defending FCS national champion South Dakota State to Strawberry Stadium for a Southland game on Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. The game between SLU and the visiting Jackrabbits will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard live in the Hammond area 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 to offer mobile ticketing as the primary way to obtain tickets. All tickets will be available via email or text message in PDF format for fans to download to their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded in 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 who want to actively support the football program can join the Touchdown Club. Former Lion football players can join the exclusive S Club, which is reserved exclusively for Southeastern Athletic Letter winners.
All membership dues and donations to the Touchdown Club and S Club (football) are for the exclusive use of the Southeastern football program. For membership information, contact the Lion Athletics Association at [email protected] or (985) 549-5091 or visit www.LionUp.com.
GUIDELINES FOR CLEAR BAGS
Southeastern Athletics follows a clear bag policy at all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.
