HAMMOND, La. – HCU racked up 549 yards of total offense and never trailed on Saturday night at Strawberry Stadium, knocking off preseason Southland Conference favorite Southeastern by a 34-19 final to open conference play.
The Huskies (2-2, 1-0 SLC) started fast, opening the game with a 13-play, 75-yard drive that included a fourth down conversion and ended on a 24-yard pass from
Colby Suits to
Darrion Sherfield. Southeastern (0-4, 0-1 SLC) responded with a 61-yard drive for a score but HCU's
Jalyx Hunt got a hand up and blocked the extra point attempt for a 7-6 Huskies lead.
HCU started its next possession at its own 14, but that didn't matter as Suits found
Deuce McMillan across the middle at the HCU 33 on the first play of the drive and the sophomore took it to the house for an 86-yard score and a 14-6 lead. The Huskies' defense forced a punt by SLU on the next possession and made it three-straight scoring drive to start the game thanks to a 30-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
The score remained 14-6 as the second half wore on with HCU taking possession with 2:27 left in the half. The Huskies' offense worked quickly with Suits tossing a perfect throw
Karl Reynolds for a 25-yard touchdown that capped a five-play, 78-yard drive that took just 1:15 of game time and put HCU ahead, 24-6. The Lions answered, however, with an efficient drive of their own that included a touchdown pass from Eli Sawyer to Jaylon Domingeaux with just 17 seconds left in the half, making it a 24-13 game at the intermission.
The Lions cut it to a one score game with 2:40 left in the third quarter and went for the two-point conversion but Hunt knocked down the pass to leave HCU with a 24-19 advantage. The Huskies went scoreless in the third quarter but got the offense moving again in the fourth.
Darryle Evans opened the Huskies' first drive of the final quarter with a 38-yard run to put HCU at the SLU 40-yard line. Four plays later, facing a third-and-12, Suits carried it himself for 11 yards, setting up a fourth-and-one at the SLU 21. Suits again kept it, spun out of a tackle and took it to the house to put HCU ahead, 31-19.
Southeastern moved the ball on the ensuing possession, marching down to the HCU 13-yard line for a first-and-10. SLU got a five-yard run before Zavion Evans came up with a big tackle for loss at the HCU nine-yard line. Back-to-back stops by HCU created a turnover on downs with 6:19 left to play. Evans rushed for 77 yards on five carries on the next possession, including a 50-yard scamper, to set up another Fedor field goal from 31 yards for the 34-19 final.
HCU finished with 549 yards of total offense, the sixth-highest single-game total in program history, with 282 yards through the air and 267 on the ground. Evans set a new career-high and finished with 173 yards on the ground on 21 carries for the fourth-highest rushing total in program history. Suits ended the night 16-for-27 passing for 282 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He also ran five times for 29 yards and a touchdown. Four different receivers recorded multiple receptions with Sherfield and Reynolds each hauling in four.
Defensively, Rodney Dansby led the Huskies with eight tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and a quarterback hurry. Hunt, meanwhile, finished the game with seven tackles, one and a half sacks, one and a half tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a blocked. Judas McKenzie forced a pair of fumbles. The Huskies held the Lions to just 29 yards on the ground, keeping the SLU offense to 360 yards of total offense.
The win marks the first time HCU has defeated Southeastern and puts the Huskies at the top of the Southland Conference standings by virtue of being the lone conference game of the weekend.
The Huskies return home next weekend after three weeks of road games to host Lamar in an SLC matchup at Husky Stadium on Saturday, Sep. 30, at 6:00 p.m.
