Southland

Illinois State brought Southeastern Louisiana’s season to an abrupt end Saturday in the teams’ opening-round FCS Playoffs matchup.

The visiting Redbird (9-4) snatched more interceptions than they allowed points to upset the No. 16 Lions (9-4) on a long, frustrating final afternoon in Strawberry Stadium, 21-3.

Illinois State zipped 80 yards down the field on six plays to open the game with a 6-yard run by senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse.

That’s all Southeastern Louisiana would allow for the next two-plus quarters, but that’s also all the stingy Redbirds would need.

The Lions got on the board early in the second quarter with a 40-yard Guillermo Garcia Rodriguez field goal to cap a 16-play, 69-yard march.

But they would only start one possession all afternoon — midway through the fourth quarter — beyond their own 30-yard line and managed only one more drive of more than 40 yards.

Senior defensive back Shadwel Nkuba II intercepted a pass to end Southeastern Louisiana’s first possession of the third quarter and set Illinois State up just 37 yards from goal.

Rittenhouse found the end zone on a 1-yard pass from senior wide receiverDaniel Sobkowicz on a gadget play a few minutes later.

And junior linebacker Tye Niekamp snatched another Redbirds interception on the Lions’ next possession to begin tightening the vice.

Senior linebacker Mason Kaplan, who picked off a pass before halftime, added Illinois State’s third after the break and fourth of the game midway through the fourth quarter to set up another eventual touchdown: a goal-line run by senior running back Seth Glatz to effectively ice away the win.

Junior wide receiver Jaylon Domingeaux (Comeaux) led the Southeastern Louisiana offense with six catches for 78 yards.

Junior defensive back Jakyri Jones topped the defense with 12 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, and a forced fumble and pass breakup.

Senior defensive back Khamron Ford and junior defensive back Shakespeare Louis each added eight tackles, and senior linebacker K.K. Reno (Catholic-New Iberia) had seven.

Senior defensive lineman Kaleb Proctor (Oak Grove) and freshman defensive end Evan Aubrey each recorded a sack.

Southeastern Louisiana exploded for 24 second-quarter points Thursday and kept Nicholls State out of the end zone in the second half to claim its second straight River Bell Classic.

Three first-half Jaylon Domingeaux (Comeaux) touchdowns helped highlight the 38-26 victory for the Lions (9-3, 7-1), who positioned themselves well for an at-large bid to the 24-team FCS Playoff field to be announced Sunday at 11 a.m.

Domingeaux caught six passes for 45 yards and his three scores to lead Southeastern’s balanced 413-yard performance for the home Strawberry Stadium crowd.

Junior quarterback Carson Camp finished 12-for-24 (50.0%) for 106 yards and two touchdowns, and sophomore Kyle Lowe completed all eight of his passes for 47 yards and a score and rushed six times for 62 yards and an end-zone trip of his own.

Veteran running back Jaedon Henry carried 14 times for 93 yards and a touchdown to lead six different rushers, and Domingeaux topped 10 total receivers.

Junior defensive back Jakyri Jones finished with a game-high 10 tackles, including one of the Lions’ six for loss.

The in-state rivals had battled back and forth to a 21-21 score late in the first half with Nicholls State (4-8, 4-4) answering Domingeaux’s three touchdowns with runs by Shane Lee (Destrehan) twice and then Corey Warren Jr. (Pearl River).

But Southeastern Louisiana scored the final 10 points of the half, following Lowe’s 22-yard dash with a quick three-and-out and then a 28-yard Guillermo Garcia Rodriguez kick.

The Colonels would trim their deficit to 31-26 in the second half with a safety early in the third quarter and a Gabriel Showalter field goal late in the fourth.

But Lowe and Henry led a final touchdown drive, capped by the latter’s 14-yard score, to effectively shut the door.

Sophomore quarterback Ean Rodrigue (Thibodaux) finished 15-for-21 (71.4%) for 137 yards to six different receivers for the Colonels.

Lee rushed 14 times for 73 yards and two scores, and sophomore Miequle Brock Jr. ran nine times for 48 yards and caught five passes for 30 yards.

Junior linebacker Jake Dalmado (Archbishop Hannan) led the defense with 10 tackles, and senior defensive backs Ty Marsh and Laurence Sullivan Jr. had nine and eight, respectively.