Despite a close game at halftime, the Southern Miss football team rattled off 21 unanswered points in the second half to beat FCS opponent Southeastern Louisiana 35-10 on Saturday in Hattiesburg.
The Golden Eagle offense struggled at the beginning with only 12 net yards on the first three possessions, one of which ended with Ti Mims fumbling inside the red zone. Fortunately for quarterback Tate Rodemaker and company, the defense stalled Southeastern from finding the end zone and allowed the Lions just three points. Rodemaker connected with tight end Kyrin Heath on a nine-yard score to take a 7-3 lead into the second quarter.
Rodemaker had another touchdown pass halfway through the second quarter, this time to Davis Dalton across the middle. Southeastern Louisiana running back Anthonio Martin, Jr. responded with a 10-yard rushing touchdown to make it a 14-10 score at intermission in favor of Southern Miss.
The Golden Eagles found some much-needed cushion after the break when backup quarterback Ethan Crawford hit Justyn Reid on a 59-yard pass that ended at the one-yard line. Rodrigues Clark, in his second season in Hattiesburg after transferring from Memphis, pushed into the end zone to make it a two-possession game.
Up 21-10 in the final quarter, Southern Miss defensive back and Lucedale native Dylan Lawrence picked off an Eli Sawyer pass and returned it 67 yards for a touchdown. Kenyon Clay then ended the game with a 70-yard scoring run to help the Golden Eagles land their first win of the season.
In the postgame press conference, Lawrence noted the impact late teammate MJ Daniels had on him as a player. Daniels, who was slated to help hold down the secondary alongside Lawrence, was killed outside a Hattiesburg apartment complex in June.
“His looking down on me has been amazing, and it feels great to have that for the last two weeks,” Lawrence said. “If he was here, he would be making those plays along with me.”
Though Southern Miss was able to keep its 45-year streak of beating FCS teams alive, it did not go without struggle at times. If it were not for Clay’s big run with the clock waning, the Golden Eagles would have only gained 51 yards rushing on the night.
“We’re a little inconsistent and high jerky offensively,” head coach Will Hall noted. “Defensively, I thought we played solid throughout the whole game with the exception of the possession before the half. Most importantly, I thought our kids never panicked.”
Southern Miss now holds a 19-3 advantage over Southeastern Louisiana in an all-time series that dates to 1940.
Leading the stat sheet for the Golden Eagles was Rodemaker with 179 yards on 18 of 33 passing with two touchdowns. Notably, the Florida State transfer did not turn the ball over after throwing two interceptions against Kentucky in week one. Ole Miss transfer Larry Simmons led the receiving corps with 100 yards on five receptions while Lawrence had a game-high seven tackles in addition to the interception.
Southern Miss returns home next week with their second-straight game at M.M. Roberts Stadium when they take on USF in a 6 p.m. contest. The Bulls were down one point to No. 4 Alabama going into the fourth quarter on Saturday before a disastrous final period of play resulted in a 42-16 loss.
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