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.