<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0eGofK_1GlwDfuD00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0eGofK_1GlwDfuD00" width="480" height="640" ><figcaption>“It was extremely disappointing.” SLU coach Frank Scelfo&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>As October slips into November, Southeastern Louisiana University is typically preparing for a Southland Conference championship run and a potential playoff berth, as happened a year ago.But a recent swoon that has seen the Lions lose three of four games, and the offense held without a touchdown in two of those games, has SLU looking in from the outside for the post season.Southeastern’s most recent loss was a 10-7 setback to East Texas A&amp;M this past Saturday in a road game that saw the usually effective and disciplined Lions commit four turnovers and nine penalties.“It was extremely disappointing,” a somber coach Frank Sclefo said during his weekly press conference in the Victory Club on Monday. “We played poorly and it showed offensively.”“We could not get anything going that gave us a chance to win,” he added. “A really disappointing trip for us and it falls on me.”Scelfo conceded he did a poor job of preparing the team and getting them ready to play, which he said showed on the field.The Lions entered their Oct. 3 bye week on a three-game winning streak and had climbed back into the SLC race. But since coming out of the break SLU has been plagued by nontypical errors for a Scelfo-coached team.“Turnovers are probably the biggest thing,” Scelfo said when asked if he could point to any one culprit for SLU’s sudden and unexpected demise.“You are not going to score points when you do that,” he added. “You are giving up those possessions and when you give up the possessions your percentages (of scoring and winning) go down.”Scelfo has been especially frustrated because daily practices emphasize reducing turnovers and limit penalties. The Lions have been the least penalized team in the conference for the past two years.“I don’t agree with all of the calls but that is neither here nor there,” he said. “We had nine penalties and four turnovers and that is just unacceptable.”A perplexed Scelfo said he believes his team had a good week of practice and the preparation was good. He credited the defense for its play but lamented the lack of offensive production.“We did not show up offensively and that is on me,” he said. “We just have to put together a better plan on offense to do things to get us into the end zone.”He said at one point against East Texas A&amp;M the Lions had six true freshmen on the field, three of those walk-ons. He did not use that as an excuse but said they were playing because they have performed well in practice and thought they gave SLU a chance to win.In the second half Scelfo briefly benched quarterback Kyle Lowe in favor of Isaac Mooring III, who led the Lions on a long drive before throwing an interception.“(Lowe) needed to get out,” Scelfo said. “You can’t turn the football over.“He needed to come out and take a look at what was going on.”Lowe completed 18 of 29 attempts for 173 yards with one interception. He also fumbled twice, one of which was recovered by East Texas A&amp;M.Scelfo was non-committal when asked about lineup changes for Saturday’s home game against the University of Incarnate Word, which is on a three-game winning streak and has averaged 48 points a game during that time.“We’ll see how practice goes,” he said. “Guys will get opportunities.“The guys that are going to play will get the football and take care of it.”Scelfo also said he has complete confidence in place kicker Drew Talley, who misfired on two field-goal attempts, the final one coming from 52 yards with one second in the fourth quarter that would have tied the score.Earlier in the fourth quarter Tally missed from 53 yards on a fourth-and-three from the East Texas A&amp;M 36-yard line.“I have a lot of faith in (Talley),” Scelfo said. “We put him in a tough situation.”Scelfo also explained his reasoning for not attempting to go for it on fourth down in that situation.“I think when you look at what we were doing offensively, we did not have a lot of trust in what we were able to do on offense,” Scelfo said. “(Talley) does a really good job at practice.“There is no second guessing that, at least for me.”But he is somberly aware a season that had such expectations, a season with a three game winning streak when the Lions averaged more than 40 points a game after a 2-2 start, nosedive in the past five weeks, perhaps the crucible coming this past week.In the past four games Southeastern has averaged a little more than 11 points a game. Heading into the bye week the Lions were averaging 32.4 points a game, including a 52-point outburst against Northwestern.Scelfo said the players have to play well and be consistent in what they do, saying that consistency creates a foundation to build on and grow.He said inconsistency creates doubt and that contributes to the ups and downs of the season.“It is really disappointing for me,” Scelfo said. “We are used to getting ready for a playoff run; that is what we do.“And we had that expectation that was going to happen again but it is not.”After the game his message to the team was there are three games remaining, offering players a chance to create value for themselves. Scelfo said that some of the players will be graduating and admitted others will be leaving via the transfer portal.“We know the playoffs are out and we got some guys that will be playing in their last games,” he said. “We got to work a little better so they can create value for themselves for the future.”The Lions are returning to Strawberry Stadium for their first home game since Oct. 17, when they upset then eight-ranked Lamar 34-13, and SLU’s second home game since Sept. 17.The victory against Lamar was Southeastern’s lone win in the past four weeks.</div></body>

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As October slips into November, Southeastern Louisiana University is typically preparing for a Southland Conference championship run and a potential playoff berth, as happened a year ago. But a recent swoon that has seen the Lions lose three of four games, and the offense held without a touchdown in two...

Scelfo disappointed as losses rise

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As October slips into November, Southeastern Louisiana University is typically preparing for a Southland Conference championship run and a potential playof

Scelfo disappointed as losses rise

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