COLUMBIA, Ky.—Four turnovers dug Southeastern too big of a hole at No. 6 Lindsey Wilson.
The Blue Raiders turned three of them into a pair of touchdowns and a field goal in a 43-30 win over No. 10 Southeastern.
"It was all three phases," said coach
Keith Barefield. "We made enough mistakes on special teams to lose three or four games, we had three interceptions, and we didn't stop them when we had to on defense."
A first quarter fumble turned into a seven-play, 15-yard touchdown drive to give LWC (4-0) a 7-3 advantage with 7:08 left in the quarter.
Southeastern (3-1) was able to answer just before the quarter ran out with a 40-yard touchdown pass from
Jonathan Pearce to LaQuivionte Gonzalez to put the Fire back on top 10-7.
Gonzalez was the top Fire receiver with eight grabs for 136 yards, marking his third-straight 100-yard game.
Back-and-forth football followed with Lindsey connecting on a 30-yard field goal to tie the game.
Jarrell Reynolds capped off a 10-play, 83-yard drive with 8:54 remaining in the half to regain the lead. The Blue Raiders turned an interception into a touchdown pass.
The Blue Raiders also picked up a score with 1:13 left in the half on a 35-yard touchdown pass to give LWC a 24-17 lead at the break. They also added a field goal to start the third quarter.
SEU's run game got on track during its first drive of the second half, with
Kamario Bell diving in from a yard out to complete a 10-play, 77-yard drive that ate up 2:43. The Blue Raiders returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to make it 33-23 in favor of the hosts.
Bell was the top rusher for SEU, gaining 128 yards on a career-high 26 carries.
Southeastern drove the ball to the opposing 20-yard line, but the second pick of the game ended the 11-play, 54-yard drive short of the goal line. The Blue Raiders added a field goal to push the advantage to 13 (36-23).
A
Simmian Mitchell touchdown with 12:02 left in the game got the Fire within a score on an 11-yard run. The defense forced a three-and-out, but Southeastern's next drive ended with a punt at the LWC 39. The Blue Raiders went to the end zone on three plays to get the lead back to 13, and then intercepted the Fire to seal the game.
The Fire offense finished the game with 540 total yards on 96 plays, and converted 10 of 19 third-downs against the NAIA's No. 1 scoring defense, but was also hurt by 12 penalties for 116 yards.
"When we had the opportunity to make plays on offense, we didn't always make them, and we didn't finish drives like we should," said Barefield.
Blake Ingleton led the way for Lindsey Wilson, rushing for 168 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
Tyson Kee was the top tackler for the Fire, making 10, and breaking up a pass.
"If we want to be the team that we feel we can be, we have to improve, and it starts this week during an open week," said Barefield.
The Fire return home to open Sun Division play on October 7
th against Warner.
