SE Suffers First Loss of the Season

DURANT, Okla. – Saturday's battle of unbeaten teams featured four ties and five lead changes, with Southeastern unfortunately suffering its first loss of the season, 27-24, against No. 13 Henderson State at Paul Laird Field.
 
The loss dropped the Savage Storm to 4-1 on the year heading into a 2:30 p.m. road matchup with Southern Arkansas on Oct. 9 in Magnolia, Ark.
 
"They did some things," said head coach Tyler Fenwick. "And we did some things to adjust to those things. We take what they give us. We threw the ball pretty well. It was close.  We were right there."
 
"Our kids gave it everything they had," continued Fenwick. "They prepared well. They played their butts off and that's all you can ask. And we just came up short."
 
Daulton Hatley finished the contest going 19-of-30 for 219 yards and two scores while adding 25 yards rushing on nine carries.
 
Hunter Hawthorne turned in his best day receiving with four catches for 67 yards and a touchdown to lead the SE receiving corps.
 
Braxton Kincade pulled down five catches for 54 yards, while Duce Pittman added three for 32 and a score.
 
CJ Shavers led the team on the round with 36 yards, followed by Hatley's 25, with Deundre Wheeler collecting his sixth rushing touchdown of the season on a nine-yard run.
 
Trey Keatts added a 33 yard field goal and was 3-of-3 on PAT attempts in the kicking game.
 
SE forced a three-and-out on defense to open the game and then marched the ensuing possession 69 yards on 10 plays with Wheeler capping the drive with a nine-yard TD run to take a 7-0 lead at the 8:46 mark of the first quarter.
 
The teams then traded fruitless drives for the remainder of the first quarter, with the Reddies special teams making a play in the final minute as Trenton Moore blocked a Jackson Nalley punt which would go out of bounds on SE's 13 yard line.
 
Four plays later Adam Morse found Chase Lodree for a two-yard touchdown pass, tying the game at 7-7 with 14:15 to go in the second quarter.
 
SE answered by marching the ensuing possession 68 yards on nine plays, ending on a Hatley to Hawthorne TD toss from 16 yards out to take a 14-7 lead with 8:56 to go in the half.
 
HSU answered on its next drive which ended with a 25 yard Morse to Mike Benning TD pass to knot the game at 14-14, and it would go on to take a 21-14 lead on its last possession of the half when Duce Sproles scored from three-yards out with 38 seconds to play.
 
The Storm used chunk plays on its first drive of the second half to move the ball; 75 yards on just six snaps with Hatley finding Pittman for a 13 yard TD connection that knotted the game at 21-21 with 12:36 to go in the third.
 
The Reddies would then burn 9:57 off the clock on an 18 play drive that was capped by a 33 yard Temo Martinez field goal to take a 24-21 lead with 2:34 to play in the third quarter.
 
Southeastern once gain answered, going 56 yards on 14 plays and taking 5:32 off the clock before Keatts connected on a 33 yard field goal to once again tie the game up, this time at 24-24.
 
HSU would answer with a five-play drive that ended with a 36-yard Martinez field goal, pushing out to a 27-24 lead.
 
SE would move the ball out to midfield but was forced to punt with five minutes remaining, but HSU was able to pick up three first downs and run out the clock to hand SE the 27-24 loss.