The Lions (2-5, 0-3) returned home on Saturday and faced off against the Texas State Bobcats (5-3) in a thriller that saw the two teams rack up a total of 1,004 yards of offense. The win snapped the Lions’ four game losing streak bringing them to 2-1 at home.

The game on Oct. 22 in Strawberry Stadium marked the 15th meeting between the two teams and the Lions’ third straight win against the Bobcats. The Lions proved to be too much for the Bobcats as the team scored five touchdowns and a field goal to cap off the late night thriller Southeastern 38, Savannah State 28.

For head coach Mike Lucas, snapping the Lions’ four game losing streak against a winning football team was a sign of improvement.

“The last couple of games got out of hand because of turnovers and missed tackles and things like that,” said Lucas. “That was a good football team and our kids played very, very hard and rose to the occasion.”

After winning the coin toss and deferring, the Lions defense played hard and was able to force a quick three and out, forcing the Bobcats to punt on their opening drive.

“We have been taking the ball every coin flip,” Lucas said about choosing to defer. “Last week, we get the football and we fumbled it, so this time we decided to kick it.”

On their first possession, the Lions put together a quick drive that saw the team move steadily down the field. The drive was capped off by quarterback Brian Young’s 17 yard rush that resulted in a touchdown. The Bobcats, however, responded with a touchdown of their own. Marching steadily down the field on a drive that took 8:10, the Bobcats scored on a 5-yard rush.

The first half was a game of back and forth as both teams matched each other score for score. Southeastern running back Sam Fairley scored at the end of the first quarter on a 7-yard run, but Texas State quarterback Shaun Rutherford quickly answered with a 75-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darius Bolden tying the score at 14-14.

The Lions again drove down the field and scored on a 7-yard run by running back LaTruan Weary, who saw lots of action due to running back Zeke Jones likely being out for the season after surgery on his finger. The rush marked the second career touchdown for the sophomore who would finish the game with three of the team’s five touchdowns.

This drive also saw wide receiver Simmie Yarborough become the school’s all time leader in receiving yardage. Yarborough, who holds school records for receptions and touchdown receptions, ended the night with five receptions for 79-yards.

“It feels great,” said Yarborough about breaking the record. “There are a lot of people behind that. Great coaches, just practicing, it feels great. I’m at a loss for words really.”

The Bobcats matched the Lions’ touchdown with a scoring drive of their own after capitalizing on a 58-yard rush by running back Terrence Franks who scored one play later on a 4-yard rush.

The half ended with the score tied at Southeastern 21, Texas State 21.

The second half continued the back and forth scoring with the Lions opening the half with a scoring drive capped off by a 1- yard Weary touchdown. On the following kickoff, special teams contributor Parris Stewart forced Bobcats return man Derek Lopez to fumble. Southeastern then recovered the ball on the Texas State 20-yard line and capitalize with a field goal.

The next six drives saw both defenses step up and put a halt to the scoring in the third quarter. In his first college start, Lions’ defensive end David Durden put up 10 tackles and recorded one of the team’s two sacks.

“We played hard today,” said Durden. “We had two days of good practice and we just came out and believed and played with faith.”

The Lions scored again on their opening drive of the fourth quarter on a 9-yard touchdown rush by Weary. The Bobcats responded with the last score of the game on a quick 75-yard touchdown rush by Franks. On the last Texas State possession, the Lions’ defense shut down the Bobcats’ offense with a sack on fourth down, ending the game Southeastern 38, Texas State 28.

Lucas expressed his excitement at the team’s performance and hoped they could continue to improve upon this win.

“We got to continue improving on our tackling, but I thought all the way around it was a great performance,” said Lucas. “We did better on special teams, and all the way around I thought we played better.”

The Lions’ next game is a Southland Conference contest at Central Arkansas on Oct. 29. The team returns to Strawberry Stadium for the annual Homecoming game on Nov. 5 against Sam Houston State at 7 p.m.