Box Score
PINEVILLE – Senior day couldn’t have gone better for the Louisiana College seniors, who set a new record for conference wins over a four-year period by virtue of their 55-13 drumming of McMurry, a team coached by former Kentucky and Southeastern Louisiana head man Hal Mumme.
The win for LC, which finished its season with its second straight 7-3 mark, was the 16th conference win by the LC seniors, besting the mark of 15 set by the 1958-61 Wildcats.
The game also featured more individual records set by junior wide receiver Jordan Rideaux (Carencro, La./Carencro High), who set the new school mark for total receptions in a season (78) thanks to his 10-catch, 61-yard performance.
The 5-foot-9 Rideaux also produced one of the most amazing plays of the season, hurdling a standing McMurry defender on a 24-yard reception.
Rideaux also rushed for a touchdown on an end-around and completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Dane Reeves (Longville, La./South Beauregard) on a receiver option, meaning, for the first time in LC history, a player rushed for a touchdown, caught a pass for a touchdown, threw for a touchdown, returned a kick for a touchdown and returned a punt for a touchdown.
Rideaux finished the season with 78 catches for 1157 yards and 11 touchdowns (14 in total), all new single-season records for the Wildcats.
As for the contest with McMurry (4-6), LC’s dominance was rarely in question.
Although McMurry took a 7-0 lead early after a Chantz Purvis run of one yard, LC scored 52 unanswered to blow open the game.
Detrick James (Shreveport, La./Evangel), who finished as the Wildcats’ rushing leader with 71 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, jumpstarted LC’s offense on a nine-yard run.
Rideaux and Chad Hindman (Slidell, La./Pope John Paul II) , added 11-yard touchdowns in subsequent drives (Rideaux’s a run, Hindman’s a pass) and John Michiels (Shreveport, La./Captain Shreve) booted a 33-yard field goal to give the Wildcats a 24-7 lead at the break.
In the second half, it was all Wildcats as quarterback Ben McLaughlin (Dierks, Ark./Dierks) connected with Zach Morris (Baton Rouge, La./Central) for a 31-yard touchdown, James added a 26-yard run and cornerback Reggie Calhoun (New Orleans/Trinity Valley Community College) returned an interception (one of five on the day for the Wildcat defense) 41 yards for a score.
The Rideaux pass to Reeves and a 30-yard field goal by Michiels rounded out the scoring for LC.
McLaughlin finished with 243 yards passing on the day. McMurry quarterback Landry Gunter passed for 216.