2021 Southeastern Louisiana Lions football team explained

Year:	2021
Team:	Southeastern Louisiana Lions
Sport:	football
Conference:	Southland Conference
Short Conf:	Southland
Statsrank:	15
Fcscoachrank:	15
Record:	9–4
Conf Record:	6–2
Head Coach:	Frank Scelfo
Hc Year:	4th
Off Coach:	Greg Stevens
Oc Year:	6th
Def Coach:	Raymond Monica
Dc Year:	1st as DC, 3rd overall
Stadium:	Strawberry Stadium
Bowl:	NCAA Division I Second Round
Bowl Result:	L 20–59, vs. James Madison

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]

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

Schedule

^{[3] [4] [5]}

Game summaries

at North Alabama

See also: 2021 North Alabama Lions football team.

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Statistics	Southeastern Louisiana	North Alabama
First downs	30	23
Total yards	495	404
Rushing yards	232	54
Passing yards	263	350
Turnovers	2	1
Time of possession	36:49	23:11

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing		30/41, 263 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	Taron Jones	11 carries, 85 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	CJ Turner	3 receptions, 52 yards
North Alabama	Passing	Jaylen Gipson	23/46, 350 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Jaylen Gipson	7 carries, 22 yards
Receiving	Takairee Kennebrew	7 receptions, 132 yards, 3 TD

At Louisiana Tech

See also: 2021 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs football team.

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Statistics	Southeastern Louisiana	Louisiana Tech
First downs	32	23
Total yards	598	448
Rushing yards	103	198
Passing yards	495	250
Turnovers	3	1
Time of possession	32:48	27:12

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing	Cole Kelley	44/59, 495 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing	Cole Kelley	14 carries, 42 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	C. J. Turner	8 receptions, 131 yards, TD
Louisiana Tech	Passing		19/27, 217 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	Marcus Williams Jr.	18 carries, 99 yards
Receiving		4 receptions, 72 yards, TD

At Central Connecticut

See also: 2021 Central Connecticut Blue Devils football team.

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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

At McNeese State

See also: 2021 McNeese State Cowboys football team.

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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

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

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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

See also: 2021 Houston Baptist Huskies football team.

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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

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

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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

See also: 2021 McNeese State Cowboys football team.

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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

See also: 2021 Incarnate Word Cardinals football team.

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Statistics	Southeastern Louisiana	Incarnate Word
First downs	44	29
Total yards	774	711
Rushing yards	127	95
Passing yards	647	616
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	42:22	17:38

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Southeastern Louisiana	Passing	Cole Kelley	50/68, 647 yards, 3 TD
Rushing	Taron Jones	10 carries, 56 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Austin Mitchell	9 receptions, 169 yards, 1 TD
Incarnate Word	Passing		34/52, 610 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT
Rushing		6 carries, 65 yards
Receiving	Taylor Grimes	12 receptions, 193 yards, 2 TD

Northwestern State

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

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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

Nicholls

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

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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

See also: 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season.

At No. 3 Dukes – second round

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Southeastern Voted to Top Spot in 2021 Football Preseason Poll . www.southland.org . 8 August 2021 . en.
2. Web site: Southland Announces 2021 Preseason All-Conference Football Teams . www.southland.org . 8 August 2021 . en.
3. Web site: 2021 Southeastern Louisiana Lions Football Schedule.
4. Web site: 2021 Southeastern Louisiana Lions Football Schedule. FBSchedules.com.
5. Web site: 2021 SE Louisiana Lions Schedule. ESPN.com.