The Lions football team emerged victorious over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks with a 47-30 Southland win on Nov. 2 in Strawberry Stadium.

Frank Scelfo, head coach, commented on both teams’ good efforts, including what he was proud of from the Lions’ performance on the field.

“Give credit to Stephen F. Austin,” said Scelfo. “I mean, that’s a team that comes in here 1-7 and plays like that. That’s not what you expect, but you’re gonna see that’s a glimpse of what’s gonna happen in their future. I thought we did a great job tonight. What they did defensively was to back off and not allow us to have any big plays, so it was going to be a grinding game for us. Well, for that to happen, we got to win up front, and I thought our running game really did a great job.”

In addition to the game’s defensive plays, Scelfo also commented on what offensive decisions he was proud of during the game.

“I think the screens out in the backfield and us being able to run the football up front,” stated Scelfo. “Our offensive line, Devonte and TJ did a super job being able to bounce plays and get to the perimeter. Those six, seven, eight-yard gains really add up after a while, and for us being able to capitalize on that was huge. I can’t wait to look at this film. I really want to see how we changed the line of scrimmage at times from our offense standpoint, just to see our guys compete.”

Overall, Scelfo was proud of the team’s progress, and he hopes that they can carry the same mindset to their upcoming games.

“For us to be in this position and have this opportunity this late in the season, this is what you dream about,” said Scelfo. “That’s the reason you play this game, and I can’t wait for our players to see how they come back and the frame of mind that they have and what they’re geared towards. I believe they’re geared towards winning that game next Saturday. I’m looking to see what kind of practice we’ll have this week.”

Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, senior defensive lineman, elaborated on the defensive aspects of the game that he was proud of.

“I feel like defense played great,” commented Adeyemi-Berglund. “You’ve got Ferlando Jordan, he’s a great player, great leader. He’s mature enough and knows how to have fun, but turns it on when he needs to. I feel like the rest of the defense did a great job communicating. Sure, there was breakdowns at the end, but just little things. I feel like on defense especially, we performed well and I don’t even think we’ve scratched the surface of what we can do.”

Looking forward, senior running back Devonte Williams explained how the team will be preparing for the rest of their season.

“We kinda just got to take it game by game, every single week,” stated Williams. “It doesn’t matter. You can never get too high and you can never get too low. You kinda just have to stay mellow with your mentality towards the game each week.”

The Lions’ next game will be against Central Arkansas on Nov. 9 in Conway, Arkansas.