SE Stumbles at Home to Bulldogs

Box Score PHOTO GALLERY

DURANT, Okla. – After not deciding anything over the game's first 30 minutes with the teams locked in a 20-20 tie, Southwestern would score the game's final 17 points and Southeastern would come out on the short end of a 37-27 final score on Friday night at Paul Laird Field.
 
The loss was just the second to the Bulldogs in the last 12 years, but drops the Savage Storm to 2-5 on the season and 2-4 in Great American Conference play.
 
SWOSU, on the other hand improves to 4-3 overall and 4-3 in league play.
 
SE will now get back on the road for an Oct. 16 matchup in Alva, Okla., with Northwestern Oklahoma State at 3 p.m., while the Bulldogs return to Weatherford to host East Central.
 
The Storm offense turned in a near even offensive output with 233 yards through the air and 199 on the ground for a 432 yard offensive performance.
 
Nick Sioson was 21-of-39 for 233 with a pair of touchdowns and one interception, while hitting Anthony Gale, Anthony Foster and Kaymon Farmer each five times.  Foster turned in the biggest night with 87 total yards and both touchdowns, while Gale added 56 yards and Farmer 52.
 
Ladarius Abrams rushed for a team-best 76 yards on six carries with a touchdown, while Nelson Akinwande added 64 yards on 18 carries and a score and Devlon Wortham chipped in 59 yards on eight totes.
 
For the Bulldogs Dustin Stenta turned in a season-high 352 yards with four touchdowns on 26-of-37 passing, with 10 of his completions going to Ryan Corbin who had 164 yards and three scores.
 
Karl Hodge led all rushers as well with 81 yards on 17 carries.
 
Clay Waters led the SE defense with nine stops on the night, while Greg Jackson and Chad Tucker each added eight.
 
Logan Russell chipped in five tackles and a sack, while Raheem Wilson added three pass breakups.
 
Ryan Feller turned in 13 tackles for SWOSU, while Jim O'Brien added nine with a sack and Steven Townsley had eight and an interception.
 
The game looked to get off to a great start for the Storm as the opening kickoff was returned 61 yards by Chance Grayson down to the SWOSU 27 yardline.
 
Two plays later Wortham would pick up 21 yards down to the Bulldog six yardline, but SE could not punch it in and would see a 23 yard Chris Peoples miss left and leave SE scoreless.
 
Southwestern would answer by marching the ball 80 yards on 11 plays and Stenta would hit Corbin for a 14 yard score that put the Bulldogs in front 7-0.
 
SE would get back on track offensively on the next drive going 62 yards on 11 plays thanks to a SWOSU pass interference penalty on third and nine, followed by a 22 yard completion from Sioson to Foster which ultimately set up a five yard Akinwande TD plunge that knotted the score at 7-7.
 
The Storm would hold SWOSU to a punt and would take over to begin the second quarter with the ball and on the second play of the drive Abrams would break loose a  45 yard TD run to put SE up 14-7.
 
The teams would trade punts before SWOSU would take the ball 80 yards in eight plays that ended on a Stenta to M.J. Porter 20 yard score, but a missed PAT would leave SE up 14-13.
 
SE would then respond on the ensuing drive, going 57 yards on 15 plays with Sioson hitting Foster for a six yard TD toss with 1:38 to go in the half, but a missed PAT would leave SE with a 20-13 lead.
 
That lead would not last long as Terrance Franklin took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards the other way for the Bulldogs and knotted the game at 20-20 with 1:18 to go in the half and that is where the score would hold at the break.
 
With 5:36 to play in the third quarter Southeastern regained the lead when Sioson hit Foster for a 46 yard touchdown on third and six to put SE up 27-20.
 
The Storm would hold that lead heading into the fourth quarter, but SWOSU would chip into it with a Kevin Cantrell 26 yard field goal with 13:31 to play.
 
SE would be held to a punt on its next drive and the Bulldogs would take their second lead of the game when Stenta hit Corbin for an eight yard TD pass with 8:39 to play, making the score 30-27.
 
SWOSU would pick off a Sioson pass at the Storm 36 yardline with 7:35 to play and 11 plays later would make them pay when Stents for the third time on the night found Corbin for an eight yard TD connection that put the Bulldogs in front 37-27 with 4:52 to play.
 
SE would move the ball over its final two possessions, but both would end on missed fourth-down tries and SE would eventually fall 37-27.