Marlon Jones Jr. seals win with pick-6 for Eastern Washington in 40-29 victory over SE Louisiana

Updated Sep. 16, 2023 8:01 p.m. ET

Associated Press

CHENEY, Wash. (AP) — Kekoa Visperas threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns, Marlon Jones Jr. sealed the win with a pick-6, and Eastern Washington defeated Southeastern Louisiana 40-29 on Saturday.

The teams traded touchdowns — and the lead — for two possessions each in the second half before the Lions had one last chance, taking possession at their own 35 and trailing 33-29 with 1:34 remaining. That's when Jones came up with the defensive play of the game, intercepting a first-down pass and returning it 34 yards for the game's final touchdown.

Zachary Clement threw a short touchdown pass to gave SE Louisiana a 21-20 lead in the third quarter. EWU responded with an 85-yard drive ending in Justice Jackson's 7-yard run to give EWU a 26-21 lead in the fourth quarter.

The Lions came right back, going 75 yards capped by Clement's 19-yard TD pass to Jacob Logan for a 29-26 lead, then EWU drove 75 yards to a 1-yard touchdown run by Tuna Altahir to take the lead for the final time, 33-29.

SE Louisiana scored 29 points on 293 yards of total offense and one takeaway. The Lions (0-3) were helped by Cyrus Zuell's 106 yards of kick returns and had touchdown drives as short as 44 and 30 yards.

Jackson finished with 91 yards rushing and Efton Chism III had 113 yards receiving with a touchdown for the Eagles (1-2).

—-

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll