SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – Southeastern Louisiana, the 11^th-ranked team in the country, lived up to their billing as they ran over the University of the Incarnate Word on Saturday night in FCS football action at Benson Stadium, 63-7.

It was the Southland Conference opener for the visiting Lions (3-2, 1-0) who were the conference champions a year ago and they wasted no time in starting up their repeat bid.  They scored on the opening drive of the game, a 13-play, 75-yard affair that culminated in a Rasheed Harrell 1-yard touchdown run and were never seriously threatened by the Cardinals (0-5, 0-2).

Despite rainy weather for most of the previous 24 hours, the game time conditions were nearly perfect at 75 degrees and sunny. 

The Lions used a ball control game offensive game plan that focused on the run and sprinkled in some deep passes.  Southland Conference Preseason Player of the Year Bryan Bennett was the driving force for the Southeastern offense.  He directed the team to six touchdowns on his nine drives running the offense.  He rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns while going 13-of-24 for 212 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

The Cardinals had thoughts of making the game interesting in the second quarter.  After falling behind 21-0, UIW mounted their first sustained drive of the game.  Breylann McCollum (Cibolo/Steele HS) completed passes to Broderick Reeves (Mexia/Mexia HS) and Cole Wick (Hallettsville/Sacred Heart Catholic HS) for first downs that led the team into the Red Zone.  Unfortunately, a strip sack by Drew Misita ended thoughts of a score.

The UIW defense stood strong though forcing punts on back-to-back drives.  The second punt was shanked and it gave the Cardinals possession at the SLU 24-yard line.  On the very first play, McCollum threw a backwards pass to wide receiver Kody Edwards (Mesquite/Poteet HS) who tossed a wounded duck toward the end zone that Wick was able to haul in for a touchdown with 1:40 left in the half.  That cut the SLU lead to 21-7, but the Lions were able to snuff out comeback thoughts from the Cardinals with a touchdown right before halftime.

The Lions started rolling beginning with their last drive of the first half and they scored a touchdown on six consecutive drives before finally being stopped on their final drive of the game.  SLU picked up 34 first downs and 564 yards of total offense.  They rushed for 337 yards on 60 carries and passed for 227 yards.  They held nearly an 11-minute advantage in time of possession.

In addition to Bennett, Kody Sutton ran the ball 16 times for 104 yards and a touchdown for the Lions.  Eugene Bethea added 51 yards and a touchdown while Harrell, Marquis Hayes and Jordan Barnett all had touchdown runs.  Devante Scott was the leading receiver with five catches for 99 yards and a score while Jeff Smiley had four receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown.

The Cardinals were held to 166 yards of total offense and seven first downs.  Reeves finished with 18 yards on five carries and had one catch for 13 yards.  McCollum finished up the game 12-of-23 for 92 yards and an interception.  Wick led the receivers with three catches for 50 yards and a touchdown.  Edwards finished with 102 total return yards and a touchdown pass on his first career attempt.

Freshman kicker Ramon Coto (Houston/Westfield HS) had a record-setting night in the punting game.  He boomed four punts of at least 50 yards and broke the school record on two of his punts.  His first punt of the night went 67 yards which was good enough to break the school record and then on his third punt he dropped a 73-yarder that also set the stadium record.  He averaged 48.8 yards per punt on eight attempts.

The UIW defense struggled to get off the field as the Lions converted 10-of-16 third down attempts compared to the Cardinals converting 1-of-12.  Freshman linebacker George Schwanenberg (Bulverde/Smithson Valley HS) led the team with a career high 11 tackles while Kobie Douglas (Plano/Plano HS) added nine tackles.  Josh Zellars (Baytown/Baytown Lee HS) had the team's lone sack of the night.

The Lions recorded two sacks and matched the Cardinals with 4.0 tackles for loss.  Kaleb Muse had four tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery while Herbert Harris led the team with five tackles.  Ryan Sigers had the team's only interception.  SLU kickers were a perfect 9-for-9 on extra-point tries.

The Cardinals are back in action next Saturday at 6 p.m. against Southland Conference rival Houston Baptist at Benson Stadium.
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