by Nick Growall
Staff writer
In their first road game of the season, Southeastern made its debut in the Great American Conference last Saturday, Sept. 10 with a 24-21 comeback win against Southern Arkansas, overcoming an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Junior quarterback Logan Turner showed poise in the fourth quarter, leading the Storm offense on two 90-yard drives in the fourth quarter, capping them off with a touchdown pass to junior tight end Ryan Shelly and a one-yard run by junior fullback Don Brown with 16 seconds left in the game. Turner went 22-for-37 in the pocket with 226 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“Our players are extremely resilient,” said head coach Ray Richards. “Even when the momentum shifted in the other team’s favor, I didn’t see any quit in their eyes. I’m just proud of the way our team finished the game.”
On the end of Turner’s other touchdown pass was senior wide receiver Sam Roberson, who scored on a 6-yard pass in the second quarter, finishing with seven catches for 54 yards. Also going for seven catches was freshman Anthony Foster, finishing with a team-high 111 receiving yards.
Brown was assisted in the running game by sophomore running back Brandon Bryant and freshman CJ Kirk. The two underclassmen combined for 177 yards on the ground, with Bryant going for 96 and Kirk with 81.
Speaking of underclassmen, Richards says he is very pleased with his younger players stepping up on both sides of the ball.
“I don’t really look at them by classification really, but our future does look bright. Sometimes young players don’t perform well. I’m glad they’re doing well, and they’ll only get better,” said Richards.
Southeastern’s defense played a vital role in the Storm victory, holding the Muleriders to 358 total yards and making huge stops in the fourth quarter. Sophmore safeties Houston Slemp and Izzy Eziakor lead the team with seven tackles apiece, while junior linebacker Russell Hurst came up with a fumble and freshman cornerback Jacoby Sanders had the game’s only interception to end the game.
The Storm will head up to Ada this weekend in a matchup against rival East Central University. The Tigers are 2-1 on the season, having pulled out an overtime win against the Northeastern State Riverhawks, 45-38.
“They’re probably the best ECU team I’ve seen in a long time,” said Richards. “They throw the ball well, and they have talented kids on defense. Definitely the best team we’ve faced so far this year. “
Despite his respect for the rival Tigers, Richards expects this one to be another close, competitive game. “It’s gonna be a war.”