FRISCO, Texas – While the first month of Southland Football has brought about several key non-conference results, Saturday keyed on several intra-conference matchups that set the landscape of the SLC heading into the turn of the calendar to October.
No. 15/15 Lamar 49, Nicholls 18
Lamar stormed out of the gate in the SLC Commissioner's Game of the Week, overwhelming McNeese in an impressive conference opener for Big Red. Quarterback Aiden McCown turned in one of his best games in a Cardinal uniform, finishing with 232 passing yards with three touchdowns and adding 80 rushing yards and another touchdown with his feet. He started things off with two touchdown passes of 40+ yards that went to Blake Thomas and Davin Driskell respectively. Leading 14-7 after a Nicholls touchdown with 5:46 in the first, Caleb Holmes returned the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for a score and the Colonels would not get any closer, posting 42 points in the first 30 minutes.
LU Next: Northwestern State, Oct. 3, 3 p.m.
NICH Next: @HCU, Oct. 3, 6 p.m.
RV/RV Southeastern 52, Northwestern State 21
Southeastern extended its winning streak to three games in a row, quite literally running away from Northwestern State in Natchitoches. The Lions saw multiple runners amass over 100 yards on the way to a team total of 300 rushing yards, benefiting from the outstanding individual performance of Chad Elzy Jr. who turned in an uber efficient 101 yards with three touchdowns on seven carries. Elzy had touchdown carries in the first and second quarter before putting a bow on the night for Southeastern with a 50-yard touchdown scamper with 13:58 to play in the fourth. Southeastern has averaged 40 points per game though its three-game winning streak, scoring over 30 points in each of those contests. The Lions return to Hammond next week for an idle week before heading down to The Valley.
SLU Next: @UTRGV, Oct. 10, 7 p.m.
NSU Next: @LU, Oct. 3, 3 p.m.
McNeese 27, East Texas A&M 24
Both McNeese and East Texas A&M desperately needed a win coming into Saturday's matchup in Lake Charles. However, it was the Cowboys riding away triumphantly after holding on to beat the Lions at Navarre Stadium. The action started slow as McNeese took a 13-10 lead into halftime. But the Cowboys found their stride coming out of the locker room as Omiri Wiggins broke open a 74-yard carry for a touchdown and Hutch Swiley dove across the goal line to make the score 27-10 with 4:35 to go in the third quarter. The Lions would rally in the final 15 minutes, using two explosive touchdown passes from Eric Rodriguez to Kaden Taylor and Rayshawn Glover to cut the lead to a 27-24 margin. Time would run out on the Lions, however, and McNeese held on for its first conference victory of the season.
MCN Next: @LSU, Oct. 3, 6:45 p.m.
ETAMU Next: UTRGV, Oct. 3, 6 p.m.
No. 9/6 SFA 63, Northeastern State 14
SFA closed out its non-conference portion of the season, overwhelming Northeastern State in its return to Homer Bryce Stadium. While the win added little to the 'Jacks already impressive résumé it did accomplish two objectives. First, SFA moved to 5-0 for the first time since 1995, maintaining its status as an elite threat in the SLC and in FCS at large. Second, the win marked head coach Colby Carthel's 49th with the program, the most ever by any head coach in the history of Lumberjack football. SFA will return its focus to the conference season next week when it hosts UIW.
SFA Next: UIW, Oct. 3, 5 p.m.
OTHER RESULTS ACROSS THE SLC
Texas State 63, UIW 10
North Texas 63, RV/NR HCU 14
Week 5 Outlook