2021 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team

2021 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football
NCAA Division I Second Round, L 20–59, vs. James Madison
Conference	Southland Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 15
FCS Coaches	No. 15
Record	9–4 (6–2 Southland)
Head coach	Frank Scelfo (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Greg Stevens (6th season)
Defensive coordinator	Raymond Monica (1st as DC, 3rd overall season)
Home stadium	Strawberry Stadium
Seasons ←  2020 2022  →

2021 Southland Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 12 Incarnate Word $^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
Nicholls		5	–	3					6	–	5
McNeese State *		3	–	5					4	–	7
Northwestern State		3	–	5					3	–	8
Houston Baptist		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * – Ineligible for FCS postseason play due to NCAA sanctions Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2021 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team represented Southeastern Louisiana University as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lions were led by fourth-year head coach Frank Scelfo and played their home games at Strawberry Stadium.

Preseason

Preseason poll

The Southland Conference released their preseason poll in July 2021. The Lions were picked to finish first in the conference. ^[1] In addition, sixteen Lions were chosen to the Preseason All-Southland Team. ^[2]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Southeastern Louisiana	48 (8)
2	Nicholls	43 (4)
3	Incarnate Word	32
4	McNeese State	26
5	Northwestern State	21
6	Houston Baptist	10

Preseason All–Southland Teams

Offense 1st Team Cole Kelley – Quarterback, SR CJ Turner – Wide Receiver, RS-JR Jalen Bell – Offensive Lineman, JR Mateo Rengifo – Kicker, SO Austin Dunlap – Punter, SO 2nd Team Damien Dawson – Tight End/Halfback, RS-SR Austin Mitchell – Wide Receiver, RS-SR Ethan McMullan – Offensive Lineman, SR Rendon Miles-Character – Offensive Lineman, SR Drew Jones – Offensive Lineman, SR

Defense 1st Team Darrius Harry – Defensive Lineman, RS-FR Alexis Ramos – Linebacker, SR Ferlando Jordan – Defensive Back, RS-JR Donnell Ward-McGee – Defensive Back, JR 2nd Team Herman Christophe – Linebacker, SO Jack Henderson – Defensive Back, FR

Personnel

2021 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 0 Damien Dawson  Sr WR 1 Brennon Dingle Sr WR 3 Anthony Spurlock  So WR 4 Austin Mitchell  Sr QB 5 Cephus Johnson III Jr WR 6 Nick Kovacs Jr WR 7 Terrell Carter Jr WR 9 Tim Wilson Jr Jr WR 10 Maurice Massey  Fr QB 12 Bauer Sharp Fr TE 13 Jordan Loving  So QB 14 Jacob Switzer Fr QB 15 Cole Kelley Sr WR 16 Justin Wendt  Jr QB 18 Christian Westcott Fr QB 19 Eli Sawyer Fr RB 20 Jordan Griffin  So RB 22 Taron Jones Jr WR 23 Jett Booker Fr WR 24 Calvin Jones Fr RB 25 Jessie Britt Jr WR 27 Corey Lorio Fr RB 29 Joseph Wilson Fr RB 33 Jahmon McClendon  Fr TE 38 Ivan Drobocky Fr TE 44 Connor Briggs Fr OL 52 Javin Turner Fr OL 53 Holden Kareokowsky Fr OL 54 Tyree' Rhodes  Jr OL 55 John Allen So OL 56 Brockhim Wicks  Fr OL 61 Rendon Miles-Character Sr OL 62 William Granville  So OL 63 Dom Serapiglia III  Fr OL 64 Noah Devlin Fr OL 68 Cayden Guzzardo Fr OL 70 Ethan McMullan Sr OL 71 Gavin Burtchaell Fr OL 72 Brennan Lanclos  So OL 73 Jhy Orgeron Fr OL 74 Jalen Bell Jr OL 75 Blakely Miller Fr OL 79 Drew Jones Sr WR 80 Da'Shun Hughley Fr WR 81 Malik Hillard Fr WR 82 Gage Larvadain Fr WR 83 CJ Turner  Jr TE 84 Spencer Owens  Jr TE 85 Tanner Olsen  So WR 86 Ed Magee So WR 87 Reginald Patterson Jr. Fr TE 88 Nolan Givan Sr TE 89 Cade Collier Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 2 Ferlando Jordan  Jr DB 6 Coryell Pierce Fr DB 8 Donniel Ward-Magee Jr DB 11 Matt Wright  Sr DB 12 Champ Craven  Fr DB 13 Markell Linzer Fr DB 14 Zy Alexander Fr DB 16 Justin Dumas Fr LB 17 Chinedu Ogbonna Sr DB 20 Jack Henderson Fr DB 21 Brandon Barbee Jr DB 23 Blayne Delahoussaye Fr DB 24 Alphonso Taylor So DB 25 Taquan Thomas Fr DB 26 Mark Clement Fr DB 27 Justin Douglas So DB 28 Tyrone Legette So LB 30 Alexis Ramos Sr DB 31 Robert Buquoi  Fr LB 32 Mike Mason  Sr LB 33 Max Jubenville Fr LB 34 Arlen Williams  So DB 38 Calvin Watson Jr.  Fr LB 39 Gerald Henderson  Fr LB 40 Gerald Nathan So LB 41 Kevin Bickham Fr DB 41 Taylor Martin Fr DB 42 Edward Wilson Fr LB 43 Donte' Daniels Fr DL 45 Garrett Crawford So LB 46 Herman Christophe So LB 47 David Ellis Fr LB 48 Dominic Lamm So DL 49 Sci Martin Sr LB 50 Tommy Lee Fr LB 57 Josh Cook  So DL 58 Rodney Sopsher So DL 65 Kaleb Hogg  So DL 78 Brendon Kelley  So DL 90 Bryce Cage Fr LB 91 Darrius Harry  Fr DL 92 Nelson Jenkins III So DL 93 Kam Johnson Fr DL 94 Cherif Seye So DL 96 Dalton Allen Fr DL 97 Tyrik Mitchell  Fr DL 98 Cullan Scott Fr DL 99 John Graves III So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 26 Austin Dunlap So K, P 33 Nathan Holliday  So K 36 Mateo Rengifo So P, K 42 Aubrey Bishop Fr LS 51 Korey Karbowsky Fr LS 59 Jake Rotenberry  Jr	Head coach Frank Scelfo (Northeast Louisiana) Coordinators/assistant coaches Greg Stevens (Eastern Oregon) Offensive coordinator/qb Raymond Monica (North Alabama) Defensive coordinator/lb Ross Jenkins (Louisiana Tech) Special teams coordinator A. J. Hopp (Slippery Rock) Run game coordinator/ol Anthony Scelfo (Tulane) Pass game coordinator/recruiting coordinator/te Giovanni Vizza (Texas A&M) Wide receivers Albert Poree (Georgia Tech) Running backs Bill D'Ottavio (Millersville) Safeties Del Lee-Collins (McNeese State) Cornerbacks Antonio Baker (Louisiana Tech) Nickelbacks Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 8 August 2021

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	6:00 p.m.	at North Alabama *	No. 15	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL [lower-alpha 1]	ESPN3	W 49–28	3,433
September 11	6:00 p.m.	at Louisiana Tech *	No. 13	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	ESPN3	L 42–45	15,328
September 18	11:00 a.m.	at Central Connecticut *	No. 15	Arute Field New Britain, CT		W 56–10	3,117
October 2	12:00 p.m.	at McNeese State	No. 14	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	ESPN+	W 38–35	6,044
October 9	12:00 p.m.	at No. 25 Nicholls	No. 14	John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA (River Bell Classic)	ESPN+	W 58–48	7,402
October 16	4:00 p.m.	Houston Baptist	No. 11	Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA	ESPN+	W 61–24	7,389
October 23	3:00 p.m.	at Northwestern State	No. 9	Harry Turpin Stadium Natchitoches, LA (rivalry)	ESPN+	W 51–14	6,523
October 30	6:00 p.m.	McNeese State	No. 8	Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA	ESPN+	W 23–20	4,185
November 6	2:00 p.m.	at No. 22 Incarnate Word	No. 6	Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium San Antonio, TX	ESPN+	L 52–55	3,220
November 13	6:00 p.m.	Northwestern State	No. 14	Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA (rivalry)	ESPN+	W 56–28	4,137
November 18	6:00 p.m.	Nicholls	No. 15	Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA (River Bell Classic)	ESPN+	L 42–45	6,057
November 27	7:00 p.m.	No. 22 Florida A&M *	No. 18	Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA (FCS Playoffs First Round)	ESPN+	W 38–14	4,125
December 4	1:00 p.m.	at No. 2 James Madison *	No. 18	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (FCS Playoffs Second Round)	ESPN+	L 20–59	11,743
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^{[4] [5] [6]}

1. Southeastern Louisiana's game against North Alabama was originally scheduled to be played as a home game, in Hammond, but the game was moved to Florence, Alabama on August 31, 2021, due to safety concerns related to Hurricane Ida. ^[3]

Game summaries

North Alabama

North Alabama at Southeastern Louisiana

1 2 Total UNA Lions 0 No. 15 SLU Lions 0 Date: September 4, 2021 Location: Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time:  Game attendance:  Game weather: • Weather: TBD • Wind: TBD Referee:  TV announcers (ESPN+):

Scoring summary 1 2 3 4

See also: 2021 North Alabama Lions football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	North Alabama	Southeastern Louisiana
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Alabama	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

At Louisiana Tech

Southeastern Louisiana at Louisiana Tech

1 2 Total No. 13 Lions 0 Bulldogs 0 Date: September 11, 2021 Location: Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time:  Game attendance:  Game weather: • Weather: TBD • Wind: TBD Referee:  TV announcers (ESPN3):

Scoring summary 1 2 3 4

See also: 2021 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Southeastern Louisiana	Louisiana Tech
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Louisiana Tech	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

At Central Connecticut

Southeastern Louisiana at Central Connecticut State

1 2 Total No. 15 Lions 0 Blue Devils 0 Date: September 18, 2021 Location: Arute Field New Britain, CT Game start: 11:00 a.m. CDT Elapsed time:  Game attendance:  Game weather: • Weather: TBD • Wind: TBD Referee:  TV announcers ( ):

Scoring summary 1 2 3 4

See also: 2021 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Southeastern Louisiana	Central Connecticut
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Central Connecticut	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Northwestern State

Northwestern State at Southeastern Louisiana

1 2 Total Demons 0 No. 16 Lions 0 Date: September 25, 2021 Location: Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time:  Game attendance:  Game weather: • Weather: TBD • Wind: TBD Referee:  TV announcers (ESPN+):

Scoring summary 1 2 3 4

See also: 2021 Northwestern State Demons football team and Northwestern State–Southeastern Louisiana football rivalry

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Northwestern State	Southeastern Louisiana
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northwestern State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

At McNeese State

Southeastern Louisiana at McNeese State

1 2 3 4 Total •No. 14 Lions 14 10 7 7 38 Cowboys 7 0 14 14 35 Date: October 2, 2021 Location: Cowboys Stadium Lake Charles, LA Game start: 12:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:36 Game attendance: 6,044 Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: SE 9 Referee: Ed Bourgeois TV announcers (CST/ESPN+):

Scoring summary 1 2 3 4

See also: 2021 McNeese State Cowboys football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Southeastern Louisiana	McNeese State
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
McNeese State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

At No. 25 Nicholls

Southeastern Louisiana at Nicholls

1 2 3 4 Total •No. 14 Lions 7 24 14 13 58 No. 25 Colonels 7 7 21 13 48 Date: October 9, 2021 Location: Manning Field at John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA Game start: 12:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:17 Game attendance: 7,402 Game weather: 83 °F (28 °C) • Weather: Clear and sunny • Wind: 2mph NNE Referee: Gary Leeper TV announcers (ESPN+):

Scoring summary 1 2 3 4

See also: 2021 Nicholls Colonels football team and River Bell Classic

Pregame line	Over/under
NSU-1	72.5

Statistics	Southeastern Louisiana	Nicholls
First downs	32	26
Total yards	573	507
Rushing yards	167	209
Passing yards	406	298
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	37:51	22:09

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Nicholls	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Houston Baptist

Houston Baptist at Southeastern Louisiana

1 2 Total Huskies 0 No. 11 Lions 0 Date: October 16, 2021 Location: Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA Game start: 4:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time:  Game attendance:  Game weather: • Weather: TBD • Wind: TBD Referee:  TV announcers (ESPN+):

Scoring summary 1 2 3 4

See also: 2021 Houston Baptist Huskies football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Houston Baptist	Southeastern Louisiana
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Houston Baptist	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

At Northwestern State

Southeastern Louisiana at Northwestern State

1 2 Total No. 9 Lions 0 Demons 0 Date: October 23, 2021 Location: Harry Turpin Stadium Natchitoches, LA Game start: 3:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time:  Game attendance:  Game weather: • Weather: TBD • Wind: TBD Referee:  TV announcers (ESPN+):

Scoring summary 1 2 3 4

See also: 2021 Northwestern State Demons football team and Northwestern State–Southeastern Louisiana football rivalry

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Southeastern Louisiana	Northwestern State
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Northwestern State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

McNeese State

McNeese State at Southeastern Louisiana

1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 7 0 0 13 20 •No. 8 Lions 3 0 7 13 23 Date: October 30, 2021 Location: Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time: 3:20 Game attendance: 4,185 Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: NW 7 Referee: Craig Heiser TV announcers (ESPN+):

Scoring summary 1 2 3 4

See also: 2021 McNeese State Cowboys football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	McNeese State	Southeastern Louisiana
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
McNeese State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

At No. 22 Incarnate Word

Southeastern Louisiana at Incarnate Word

1 2 3 4 Total No. 6 Lions 7 10 21 14 52 •No. 22 Cardinals 7 21 14 13 55 Date: November 6, 2021 Location: Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium San Antonio, TX Game start: 2:00 p.m. CDT Elapsed time:  Game attendance: 3,220 Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C) • Weather: Clear, sunny • Wind: SE 2 mph Referee: Ed Bourgeois TV announcers (ESPN+): David Saltzman (play-by-play), Taylor McHargue (analyst), Lainie Fritz (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 2 3 4

See also: 2021 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team

Pregame line	Over/under

Statistics	Southeastern Louisiana	Incarnate Word
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Incarnate Word	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Nicholls

Nicholls at Southeastern Louisiana

1 2 3 4 Total •Colonels 21 0 17 7 45 No. 15 Lions 14 14 0 14 42 Date: November 18, 2021 Location: Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA Game start: 6:00 p.m. CST Elapsed time: 3:45 Game attendance:  6,057 Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: N13mph Referee: Gary Leeper TV announcers (ESPN+):

Scoring summary 1 2 3 4

See also: 2021 Nicholls Colonels football team and River Bell Classic

Pregame line	Over/under
SEL-7.5	78

Statistics	Nicholls	Southeastern Louisiana
First downs	28	26
Total yards	556	496
Rushing yards	292	111
Passing yards	264	385
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	33:29	26:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Nicholls	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

FCS Playoffs

Vs. No. 22 Florida A&M – first round

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 22 Florida A&M	0	0	0	14	14
No. 18 Lions	7	17	7	7	38

See also: 2021 Florida A&M Rattlers football team and 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season

At No. 3 Dukes – second round

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Lions	10	3	0	7	20
No. 3 Dukes	14	24	21	0	59

See also: 2021 James Madison Dukes football team and 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season

References

1. "Southeastern Voted to Top Spot in 2021 Football Preseason Poll". www.southland.org. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
2. "Southland Announces 2021 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams". www.southland.org. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
3. Kelley, Kevin (August 31, 2021). "North Alabama-SLU football game moved to Florence due to Hurricane Ida". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
4. "2021 Southeastern Louisiana Lions Football Schedule".
5. "2021 Southeastern Louisiana Lions Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com.
6. "2021 SE Louisiana Lions Schedule". ESPN.com.