FRISCO – East Texas A&M won one of the most exciting shootouts of the season, while Lamar found another late-game hero. Southeastern, McNeese, and Stephen F. Austin also took care of business. Here’s the Week 8 Rundown.
#17/18 Lamar 23, RV UTRGV 21
Just a week after winning a game with three seconds on the clock, senior kicker
Ben Woodard stepped into the spotlight Saturday and drilled a career-long 57-yard field goal to hand Lamar University a thrilling 23-21 Homecoming victory over UT Rio Grande Valley at Provost Umphrey Stadium. The game-winning kick – Woodard's second of at least 50 yards on the day – tied the mark for longest kick in program history (Mike Andrie, 1987, vs. Arkansas State). Lamar totaled 375 yards of offense while holding the Vaqueros to just 189, but two late turnovers allowed UTRGV to climb back and briefly take a fourth-quarter lead. Sophomore
Aiden McCown continues to improve on a week-by-week basis, moving to 5-0 as a starter after completing 17-of-23 passes (73.9%) for 203 yards and two touchdowns. He also led the team with 15 carries for 88 yards. The Cardinals outgained UTRGV on the ground, 155–83. Defensively, LU was led by junior
Kei'Trone Simpson with eight tackles, including one sack, while
C.J. Miller and
Ronnie Hamrick each added seven stops. Sophomore
Mar Mar Evans came up with the game-sealing interception to go along with two tackles.
Jaiden Haygood led UTRGV with a career-high 17 tackles (seven solo), including one for loss and one sack. Graduate student
Spencer Rich finished with 10 tackles (two solo).
#RV/22 Southeastern 49, Northwestern State 0
The No. 22 Southeastern Louisiana University football team celebrated Homecoming with an overwhelming 49-0 Southland Conference shutout victory over Northwestern State Saturday evening in Strawberry Stadium. The Lions limited the visiting Demons to only 120 total yards on the way to their third straight victory. The shutout was the second straight for SLU, marking the first time since 1960 Southeastern has shut out consecutive opponents and giving the Lions multiple shutouts in a season for the first time since 1978. Southeastern is now 41-29 all-time against NSU and has won the last 15 meetings with its in-state SLC rivals. Southeastern shined in all three phases of the convincing win. The 120 yards allowed marked the fewest SLU has yielded in a game in 2025.
Jakyri Jones led the Lions with seven tackles, while
Kaleb Proctor,
Khalid Moore,
Josh Randall,
Gabe Whittington, and
James Harris each recorded sacks.
Mike Mitchell grabbed his first career interception as a Lion late in the fourth quarter to secure the shutout. Quarterbacks
Kyle Lowe (9-of-10, 134 yards, 1 TD) and
Carson Camp (4-of-8, 86 yards, 1 TD) split time effectively under center for a Southeastern offense that rolled up 402 total yards.
Deantre Jackson scored three first-half touchdowns – two rushing and one receiving.
East Texas A&M 52, UIW 45
A toss in the backfield from
Eric Rodriguez to
EJ Oakmon with 27 seconds left gave the East Texas A&M University football team a thrilling 52-45 win over the Incarnate Word Cardinals at Gayle & Tom Benson Stadium. The Lions beat the Cardinals for the first time in program history, rallying from a 21-point deficit to complete the comeback. UIW had one final Hail Mary attempt on the last play of the game, but the pass fell short of the end zone. The Cardinals were outscored 31-10 in the second half as East Texas A&M erased the early deficit. Prior to Saturday, the two programs had met six times as conference foes in two different leagues, with UIW winning all six matchups. The victory marked the Lions’ first-ever win over the Cardinals. East Texas A&M improved to 2-5 overall and 2-1 in Southland Conference play, while UIW dropped to 2-5 and 0-3 in league action.
Ron Peace went 13-of-24 for 192 yards and two touchdowns, while
Rodriguez added 193 yards and two scores on 16-of-21 passing.
Oakmon led the ground game with 45 rushing yards on eight carries and two touchdowns. Among the Lions’ receivers,
Paul Odidi caught nine passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns,
Christian Jourdain finished with six receptions for 104 yards, and
Devin Matthews added six catches for 82 yards and two scores. For UIW,
Jaylon Spears paced the offense with 92 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
John Mathis led the Cardinal defense with three total tackles, two sacks, and two forced fumbles.
Will Faris set a new UIW record with a 57-yard field goal that tied the game at 45 late in the fourth quarter.
McNeese 27, HCU 0
McNeese quarterback
Jake Strong rolled up 241 total offensive yards, including 108 on the ground, and scored three rushing touchdowns, tying the school’s single-game record for most by a quarterback as the Cowboys cruised to a 27-0 Southland Conference win over HCU on Saturday night. The victory improved McNeese's record to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in league play as head coach
Matt Viator notched his 80th win at McNeese and 99th overall as a head coach. HCU fell to 2-5 and 1-2. Strong completed 14-of-22 passes for 133 yards with one interception and ran 16 times for 108 yards (6.8 ypc) and three touchdowns, becoming the first McNeese quarterback to run for three scores since
Derrick Fourroux in 2008 against South Dakota State. As an offense, McNeese ran for 270 yards and averaged 5.1 yards per carry.
Coleby Hamm added 93 yards on 15 carries (6.2 ypc). Defensively, the Cowboys intercepted two passes —
Shoes Brinkley and
Brandon Jones — and after surrendering 121 yards in the first quarter, limited HCU to just 158 the rest of the way for 279 total yards. Brinkley tied for the team lead with six tackles while adding a half tackle for loss.
#RV/25 SFA 26, Nicholls 0
A near 90-minute weather delay coming out of halftime and a two-hour, 17-minute stoppage midway through the third quarter were not enough to dampen
#25/rv Stephen F. Austin’s convincing 34-7 win over Nicholls — a game that began Saturday night and concluded in the early hours of Sunday morning inside Homer Bryce Stadium. The ‘Jacks extended their winning streak to five and remained unbeaten in Southland Conference play. With the lightning no longer an issue, punt returner
Bugs Mortimer became one himself, providing his own spark with a dazzling tight-roping act along the SFA sideline before reversing field on a 66-yard dash to the end zone. The score — Mortimer’s second punt-return touchdown of the season — pushed SFA ahead 26-0 just moments before the second delay hit Jimmy W. Murphy Field.
Sam Vidlak went 17-of-25 for 197 yards and a touchdown, while
Jaydon Southard led the Lumberjack defense with 13 tackles and fellow linebacker
Malachi Williams added 11. Mortimer produced 206 all-purpose yards, including 184 on punt returns.