Harlan Dixon runs for TDs of 35 and 23 yards as SE Louisiana beats E. Washington 28-24

HAMMOND, La. (AP) — Harlan Dixon ran nine times for 92 yards and two touchdowns, Eli Sawyer threw two TD passes and Southeastern Lousiana beat Eastern Washington 28-24 Saturday night.

Antonio Martin Jr., who redshirted at Georgia Tech in 2022 and ran for 603 yards and five touchdowns at Blinn College last season — added 149 yards rushing on 28 carries for Southeastern Louisiana (1-2).

Dixon, who scored a 35-yard touchdown to make it 14-all in the second quarter, ripped off a 23-yard scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the Lions a 28-24 lead.

Kekoa Visperas connected with Efton Chism for a 23-yard gain that gave Eastern Washington (1-2) a first-and-10 from the Lions 20 but the Eagles failed to convert a fourth-and-8 with about 5 minutes remaining and Martin ran nine times for 54 yards on the final drive as Southeastern Louisiana milked away the rest of the clock.

Malik Dotson opened the scoring with a 7-yard run about 5 minutes into the game and his TD run from the 1 gave the Eagles a 14-7 lead with about 9 minutes to go in the first half.

Sawyer hit Brandon Hayes for a 17-yard touchdown that put the Lions ahead 21-14 with 1:40 left in the second quarter but Visperas answered with a 43-yard scoring strike to Noah Cronquist that made it 21-all at halftime.

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The Associated Press