COMMERCE, Texas – Jake Strong and Coleby Hamm each toppled the 100-yard rushing mark while the McNeese defense scored on its first pick-six in five years as the Cowboys defeated East Texas A&M 35-20 in Southland Conference football action on Saturday.
 
The win was the second straight for McNeese, its first winning season of the season, as it improves to 4-6 overall while reaching the .500 mark in league play at 3-3. ETAM fell to 2-8 and 2-4.
 
Strong finished the night with 136 yards rushing and a touchdown while Hamm added 127 yards on the ground and two TDs. Both were career highs in rushing.
 
Offensively McNeese grinded out 308 yards on the ground and 479 total. It's the second straight game to reach the 300-yard mark and third time this season.
 
Defensively, McNeese forced four turnovers, three interceptions (Phillip Bradford, Javon Davis, and Brandon Jones, and one fumble, and returned an interception for a touchdown (Bradford) for the first time since the 2021 season.
 
The DWA also held the Lions, the league's No. 1 passing offense, below their season average.
 
East Texas A&M returned the opening kickoff 100 yards to go up 7-0 but that would be the only time the Lions would see the end-zone until midway through the fourth quarter.
 
McNeese got back-to-back first quarter touchdowns – a 39-yard acrobatic catch by Kameran Senegal from Strong then a Coleby Hamm 2-yard plunge as McNeese went up 14-0 by the end of the first quarter. It was the first time this season the Cowboys scored 14 points in the opening frame.
 
A 29-yard field goal by ETAM's Ozlo Rigby cut the lead to 14-10 at the 12:58 mark of the second quarter.
 
McNeese added to its lead when Bradford swatted, then intercepted, a Lions' pass and returned it for 12 yards to put the Cowboys up 21-10 with 2:08 remaining in the half. It was McNeese's first pick-six since the 2021 season (Grayson Mays vs. HCU in November 2021).
 
The Cowboys' second possession of the third quarter began on their own 5-yard line after a 21-yard punt return by Matthew McCallister was nullified due to a penalty. McNeese capped the 95-yard drive when Strong burst up the middle for a 48-yard touchdown run and putting McNeese up 28-10.
 
ETAM added a fourth quarter touchdown when Eric Rodriguez found Jaden Proctor on a 22-yard route to cut the McNeese lead to 28-20 with 6:43 to play.
 
Hamm put the game away with a 29-yard touchdown run with 2:46 remaining to give the Cowboys the 35-20 lead.
 
Next Up:
• McNeese returns home for its final game of the season in Navarre Stadium when it hosts UTRGV next Saturday at 6 p.m.
 
How it Happened:
1^st 14:45 ET Allijah Harrison 100 yd kickoff return (PAT kick by Ozlo Rigby). ET, 7-0.
1^st 06:42 McN Kameran Senegal 39 yd reception thrown by Jake Strong (PAT kick by Fabrizio Pinton). 5 plays, 60 yards, 2:35. 7-7.
1^st 00:12 McN Coleby Hamm 2 yd rush (PAT kick by Pinton). 5 plays, 37 yards, 2:14. McN 14-7.
2^nd 12:58 ET Ozlo Rigby 29 yd field goal. 7 plays, 63 yards, 2:14. McN 14-10.
2^nd 2:04 McN Phillip Bradford 12 yd interception return (PAT kick by Pinton). McN 21-10.
3^rd 06:45 McN Jake Strong 48 yd rush (PAT kick by Pinton). 5 plays, 95 yards, 2:41. McN 28-10.
4^th 12:43 ET Rigby 28 yd field goal. 5 plays, 20 yards, 1:15. McN 28-13.
4^th 06:43 ET Jaden Proctor 22 yd reception thrown by Eric Rodriguez (PAT kick by Rigby). 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:53. McN 28-20.
4^th 02:46 McN Hamm 29 yd rush (PAT kick by Deaglan Camron). 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:37. McN 35-20.
 
Notebook:
• McNeese won at East Texas A&M for the first time in the history of the series while evening the all-time series 3-3.
• Jake Strong's 48-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was his third TD run of 30 yards or more on the season.
• McNeese led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter… it's the first time this season the Cowboys scored 14 points in the opening period.
• The Cowboys have held their last five opponents to just 7 total points in the third quarter and 24 total points in the second half during that span, 21 of those coming against Nicholls.
• Finished the night with 308 rushing yards marking the fifth time this year to rush for 250 or more yards and third time to go over 300 including for the second straight game.
• Recorded 15 plays with gains of 10 yards or more – six passing and nine rushing… three of those went for 30 yards or more (passing – 39, 33; rushing – 48).
• Phillip Bradford's second quarter interception return for a touchdown was the first defensive score of the season for McNeese but's not the first defensive score. In the season opener, McNeese recorded a safety against Louisiana Christian.
• It was the first pick-6 for McNeese since Nov. 13, 2021 vs. HCU (Grayson Mays, 46 yards).