The No. 25 Southeastern Lions managed a 41-7 victory over No. 4 McNeese State at Cowboy Stadium in a game between the Southland Conference co-leaders, bringing the Lions to the top of the conference rankings.
The Lions (7-2, 4-0 Southland) victory against the Cowboys was their sixth straight win, their longest streak since 1978.
“When we watched film of McNeese as the first couple weeks, they really got our boys’ attention,” said head coach Ron Roberts. “They knew we were going to have to come in and play well. They were focused and they put it on the line in preparation, to get ready for these guys.”
The game featured two of the top 14 offenses in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Lions began the game with a quick lead, and the Cowboys were never able to catch up.
Southeastern turned a turnover into the first few points of the game when junior Marice Sutton stripped senior Marcus Wiltz and Theo Alexander was able to recover at the Cowboy 31-yard line. Five plays later, Sebastian made a field goal, bringing the score to 3-0. A 30-yard run by Harrell highlighted an eight-play march that Bennett capped with his 10th rushing touchdown of the season from a yard out to put the Lions ahead 20-0 with 8:46 left in the first half. The Cowboys would score their only touchdown of the game with an eight-play, 86-yard scoring drive, cutting the Southeastern lead to 20-7 with 5:44 left in the first half.
The Lions opened the second half with a 64-yard scoring march that took eight plays. Harrell broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and raced 40 yards to put Southeastern back up by 20, 27-7, with 12:18 remaining in the third quarter. The Lions furthered their lead with another touchdown, giving the Lions a 34-7 advantage with 2:24 left in the third quarter.
The Lions continued to pad their lead with a 54-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter. Bennett finished the march with a nine-yard run, ending the game with a final score of 41-7.
Sophomore Rasheed Harrell finished with a game-high 119 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Junior quarterback Bryan Bennett contributed 18 carries for 88 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Bennett also threw for two scores and 155 yards on 14 of 29 passing in the victory, aiding sophomores Jeff Smiley and Juwaan Rogers on scoring plays. The Lions racked up 439 total yards against McNeese.
“It’s awesome,” said Bennett. “We’re real happy. We got a goal, and we’re taking it one game at a time. My favorite part about this is that we act like we’ve been here before, and that’s because we’ve got high expectations. We’re going to keep working towards it.”
The Lions defense limited the Cowboys to 191 yards, nearly 300 yards under their average heading into the contest, and 13 first downs.
Senior Theo Alexander had an interception and a fumble recovery, sophomore Harlan Miller had an interception and junior Marice Sutton was credited with a forced fumble. Juniors Isiah Corbett, Scott Korte, Justin Church and John Andrews all posted sacks, holding back McNeese senior quarterback Cody Stroud to 92 yards passing on 11 of 32 passes.
“I think all around everybody did an outstanding job,” said Roberts. “Defense, I think it was probably one of our better games, discipline-wise up front. That was a great offensive ball club.”
The game against McNeese was the first of three consecutive games against ranked opponents for the Lions. This Saturday, the Lions will head to Conway, Ark. for conference play against the No. 18 Central Arkansas Bears.