Football Tripped Up in Road Opener at HSU

ARKADELPHIA, Ark – Kaleb Whitley opened the contest with a kickoff return for a score and the defense forced three turnovers but Southeastern was outscored 21-7 in the second half en route to a 34-17 loss on the road to No. 19/24 Henderson State on Saturday night in Arkadelphia, Ark.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 0-2 to open the season heading into a return home on Sept. 21 to host Oklahoma Baptist at 6 p.m. at Paul Laird Field.
 
The SE offense picked up most of its yards through the air, with Cergio Perez connecting on 9-of-27 passing for 145 yards and a touchdown.
 
Matthew Nunez hauled in three of those passes for 40 yards and a touchdown, while Gabe Corona posted a team-high 51 yards on a pair of grabs.
 
DJ Brown led the rushing attack with 45 yards on 11 carries, while Ryan Hirt added 19 yards on six totes.
 
Tyveon Williams turned in his second-straight double-digit tackling performance, finishing with 14 while Tre Martin added 10.
 
Jalen Hughes and Braeden Winters almost hit the double-digit mark, finishing with nine stops apiece.
 
Williams would recover a fumble while Michael Hookfin would snag his second interception of the season.
 
SE's special teams were solid as Whitley led the way in the return game with a 96 yard touchdown return for a score, while Dylan Cox connected on his lone field goal try of the game and a pair of PAT.
 
Whitley put the Storm on the board with a 94-yard house call on the opening kickoff to put SE up 7-0. It was the first kick return score since Whitley last did it versus Arkansas Tech on Sept. 1, 2022.
 
HSU would answer by taking the ensuing drive 68 yards on nine plays, using 4:26 off the clock before Jeremiah Davis scored from three yards out, but a missed PAT would leave the Storm ahead 7-6.
 
SE would march down the field again, going 71 yards before settling for a 20-yard field goal from Cox to extend the lead to 10-6 with 6:59 to play in the first quarter.
 
The Reddies would follow with an eight play, 66-yard drive that ended in another Davis rushing TD with 3:22 to go in the quarter, taking a 13-10 lead.
 
That I where the score would stand at the end of one quarter, while the second quarter would see the teams combine for four punts, one turnover on downs, and one missed field goal to leave the score sitting at 13-10 at the halftime break.
 
HSU would get on the board first in the second half, scoring on a 60-yard touchdown pass to Jody Easter to take a 20-10 lead less than two minutes into the third quarter,
 
Southeastern would close the third quarter with a big play of its own as Nunez pulled in a Perez pass down the middle for a 36-yard touchdown, closing the gap to 20-17 at the 1:52 mark of the third quarter.
 
That was as close as it would get though as the Reddies scored twice in the fourth quarter to make the final 34-17.