A key first half injury proved costly for the Southeastern football team last week as the Savage Storm couldn’t withstand a Southern Arkansas charge after intermission in a 36-31 season-opening loss at Paul Laird Field.
New quarterback Luke Hohenberger got off to a dynamic start in spurring the Southeastern offense to a touchdown on its opening possession of the season. The redshirt freshman threw for 168 yards and two scores and added 15 yards rushing and another touchdown before suffering an ankle injury that sidelined him the entire second half after building a 24-14 cushion at the break.
Without their starting signal caller the Savage Storm offense sputtered, especially in the third stanza as Southern Arkansas reeled off 22 unanswered points to take control.
Ryan Hirt’s two-yard scoring run capped a 44-yard drive with just 3:14 remaining to stem the tide, but the Savage Storm offense could not get the ball back after that in falling to 0-1 on the season.
“Southern Ark got the momentum in the third quarter and we couldn’t get it back until it was too late to finish,” head coach Bo Atterberry commented. “Our guys faced a lot of adversity that we fought through to have a chance. Injuries, bumps and bruises are the nature of the game. Everyone has to be ready to go when called on.
“We probably put Cergio (backup QB Cergio Perez) in too many bad situations in the third quarter and it took him a little bit to get us going in the fourth.”
Hohenberger was lights out on the opening Southeastern drive, marching the squad 73 yards in seven plays aided by some nifty catches from 6-foot-7 wideout Kobe Jennings. The junior made a diving grab for a 26-yard touchdown that gave the hosts their initial lead with 9:13 left in the period.
The Muleriders answered to tie the score before Hohenberger engineered a pair of touchdown drives in the second quarter to grab a 21-7 edge. He cashed in the first with a seven-yard run and then hit Victor Taylor on a deflected 65-yard catch and run score for the other.
Southern Arkansas narrowed the gap to a touchdown with 1:11 to go but left enough time for the Savage Storm to march 62 yards for Dylan Cox’s 30-yard field goal on the final play of the half. That put Southeastern ahead 24-14 at intermission but proved to be the end of the night for Hohenberger.
Southeastern netted just 69 total yards and punted five times on its first five possessions of the second half before putting together the final rally.
Jennings ended with four receptions for 78 yards while Gabe Corona had two for 70. D.J. Brown also contributed 21 carries for 72 yards on the ground.
Tyveon Williams contributed 13 tackles and Braeden Winters had nine to pace the Southeastern defensive unit. Michael Hookfin added an interception in the secondary.
The Savage Storm face another major test this week on the road for the first Saturday at Henderson State with a 6 p.m. kickoff. The Reddies smacked East Central, 41-17, in their opener with nearly 500 yards of total offense.
“We faced a 10-win team from a year ago (Southern Arkansas) and now have to face a team that made the playoffs last season (Henderson),” Atterberry added. “There are just no easy weeks in this league. We aren’t defined by one game, although I know our kids are frustrated. We are going to be defined on what we do to get ready this week.”
