Box Score

ABILENE, TEXAS - Talk about a grand finale.
 
With nothing to play for other than pride, the Louisiana College Wildcats put together their most impressive quarter of the season – scoring 26 points in the fourth – to rally past Hardin-Simmons, 46-34, in the final game of 2013.
 
The comeback was fueled by the return of senior running back Ryan Montague to the game after he missed most of the second and all the third quarter with an ankle injury. Freshman quarterback Easton Melancon capped his inaugural season with three touchdown passes in the final 15 minutes, and the LC defense rose up to force three turnovers in the deciding minutes, as well.
 
With the win, the Wildcats finished 7-3 for the fifth time in six years and 5-1 in the American Southwest Conference to claim their third runner-up trophy in the last four years. But, it didn't come easy.
 
"It was a really emotional season," said junior wide receiver Kyle Galyon. "It didn't really turn out how we wanted it to, but we wanted to finish the season strong for these seniors because they deserve it.
 
Playing on the emotion of death of teammate Taylor Huff just days earlier, the Cowboys took a 27-20 lead on the Wildcats with three scores in the third quarter in their attempt to avoid their first losing season in 20 years. Quarterback Josh Christian's 13-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Johnson put HSU up seven heading into the final quarter.
 
That's when things got interesting. On a drive that started late in the third and into the fourth, the Wildcats drove 75 yards in seven plays with Galyon making a sensational catch of a Melancon pass from seven yards out. The game was tied at 27-27 with 14:54 to play.
 
The Cowboys then drove to the LC 31, but on a pass play from Christian to Jesse Ramos, LC's Landon Henry knocked the ball loose from the receiver, and Preston Thibeaux recovered to stop the drive. The Wildcats offense responded with their longest score of the game when Melancon found sophomore Ladarius Gardner streaking down the middle of the field – 62 yards later, Gardner crossed the goal line like a sprinter crossing the finish line. Despite the missed extra point, the Wildcats had regained the lead, 33-27 with 10:06 left.
 
In what was shaping to be a fantastic finish, Hardin-Simmons needed just one play to answer the Wildcats. Christian found a wide-open Ty Fisher up the right sideline, and 75 yards later, Fisher was in the end zone. The Cowboys would convert their extra point to lead 34-33 with 9:53 left in the game.
 
That's when Ryan Montague became a factor. Midway through the second quarter, Montague, who had 46 yards rushing at that point, had his ankle twisted in a pile-up following a short run. Montague had to be helped off the field with an apparent ankle injury that saw him sidelined with ice on his foot the rest of the half and all the third quarter. But, as the fourth quarter got underway, Montague returned to the game with the ankle heavily taped. With the Wildcats starting a drive at the HSU 48, Montague broke a 37-yard run, carrying several defenders with him, down to the Cowboys 11.
 
"It showed so much about his character," senior center Hunter Feibel said. "Not quitting, always finishing. It really showed me what he truly is."
 
Three plays later, Melancon found freshman Shedrick Davis for an 11-yard touchdown pass. LC decided to try for two, but a busted play saw senior Reggie Sims tackled well short of the goal line. Even so, the Wildcats had the lead they would never relinquish, 39-34, with 8:38 to play.
 
From that point, the LC defense put the Cowboys on lockdown. HSU's ensuing possession ended in just four plays when Christian's pass was intercepted by junior Shaq Lewis who returned it to the LC 48.
 
The Wildcats converted that turnover into points when Montague, on 2^nd and two, took an inside handoff and cut outside – then ran 44 yards for a statement touchdown. That run not only put Montague over 100 yards for a record 16^th time in his career, it was part of a 24-carry, 150-yard day that saw him surpass the 1,000-yard mark for a second straight year and become the first running back in the history of LC football to accomplish that feat.
 
The touchdown, which extended the LC lead to 46-34 with 6:29 to play, also completed Montague's school record total 40 – 35 of which were rushing touchdowns, also a record.  His fourth quarter total alone was 105 yards on nine carries, but more than that, it was the departing senior's way of thanking those who had supported him since his arrival to LC in 2010.
 
"I was just keeping the faith, and trying not to think I would be out for the whole game," Montague said. "I was telling coach (Dennis Dunn) I would find a way to get back in there. It hurt, but I had to do what I had to do for my team and my coaches. I love those guys."
 
"He had on the ice on there, and I thought he was done," Galyond said. "But, I saw him later on putting his cleats back on, lacing them up. He said he was going to give us everything he had. He showed a lot of heart today. I'm proud of him."
 
Following an exchange of possessions, the Wildcats put the game away when sophomore Richard Jefferson intercepted Christian again – this time at the LC 15. Jefferson's 36-yard return set up LC's final possession – a possession that ended with Melancon taking two snaps in the victory formation as the Wildcats celebrated one of their most hard-fought wins of the season.
 
"The old saying is big-time players make big-time plays," senior linebacker Dominic Graham said. "When it came down to it, big-time players made big-time plays getting turnovers, interceptions and fumbles – all that."
 
The excitement of the second half overshadowed what had been a competitive first half, as well. The Wildcats scored first in the game. It came after their initial 13-play, 58-yard drive was stopped on an incompletion on 4^th and nine from the HSU 17. But, on Hardin-Simmons' ensuing drive, Christian threw the first of his four interceptions on the day to Jefferson at the 28, and Jefferson returned the pick 24 yards to the Cowboys' 4-yard line. It took the Wildcats two plays – both runs by Montague – to score, and when Adan Olivares' kick was blocked, LC led 6-0 with 7:25 left in the first quarter.
 
The game's next score would not come until the second quarter. That's when Hardin-Simmons capped an eight-play, 61-yard drive with a Christian to Trei Lewis 23-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-6 lead.
 
The Wildcats would regain the lead following a pair of turnovers. The first was committed by LC when the Wildcats had driven to the HSU 21. But on third and four, Montague fumbled, and the Cowboys' Ben Hartley recovered at his team's 13. But, on the next play, Christian's pass to Ramos also ended on a fumble when LC junior linebacker Grayson Pylant knocked the ball loose and made the recovery at the 12-yard line.
 
It was that next drive when Montague suffered his ankle injury. With their leading rusher out of the game, the Wildcats turned to Sims, who took the ball in from the four, and LC had regained the lead, 13-7, heading into halftime.
 
"That's a team effort," Montague said. "We're not a one-man team. If I go down, I know I have Reggie or someone else to step up. Ladarius made a big play, Gally, Jake – those guys, there's just so much love on this team, I just love those guys."
 
The third quarter, however, would be dominated by HSU as the Cowboys outscored LC 20-7. The Wildcats lone score came off a blocked punt. With LC trailing 14-13 after a Tevin Mitchell five-yard touchdown run, HSU's next drive ended after a three-and-out. Brandon Abbott's punt, however, would be blocked by LC freshman Charles Hawkins, and fellow freshman Lecorey Demease scooped up the ball and scored from 16 yards out. The Wildcats were up again, 20-14.
 
That lead, however, would not last long. Switching to the Wildcat formation, the Cowboys caught LC's defense with just 10 players on the field on a play where Mitchell, who finished with 169 yards on 34 carries took the ball 41 yards to LC's one-yard line. On the next play, Mitchell's second touchdown of the game and the extra point put HSU back on top, 21-20.
 
Statistically, the game was extremely close. HSU finished with slightly more total yards, 456 to 446, and led in first downs (22-20) and rushing yards (181-170). The Wildcats passed for one more yard (276-275) than the Cowboys, and ran 78 total plays to HSU's 77. LC also finished with a slight edge in time of possession, 30:44 to 29:16.
 
Melancon ended the game by completing 21-of-36 passes for 276 yards and one interception. Christian was 18-of-32 for 263 and four interceptions. Galyon was LC's leading receiver with 96 yards on 10 catches, while Davis finished with 81 yards on five catches, Gardner had 67 yards on four catches, and sophomore Jake Dunbar had two catches for 32 yards.
 
On defense, Dominic Graham led the Wildcats in tackles for a third straight week with eight. Lewis and Preston Thibeaux each had seven tackles, while Jefferson, Ira Jewitt, Landon Henry and Pylant all finished with six each.
 
"It's really encouraging to the whole program to know you can end on a positive note," Feibel said. "Because a couple weeks ago, we were really discouraged. It shows the underclassmen, if you're not playing for the playoffs, you can still play for each other. "
 
"I'm glad we got this win," Montague said. "It wasn't the season that I wanted to go 7-3. This game, I just wanted to leave something those guys could build on."
 
"It meant a lot," Graham said "It meant the world to finish the game with a win and finish the game with my brothers. It's something I will always remember.
 
"This senior class is great," Galyon said. "I've been here for four years with them. I've seen them grow up with us. It was a really emotional season. It didn't really turn out how we wanted it to, but we wanted to finish the season strong for these seniors because they deserve it."