Coming into the 2013 season, the Louisiana College Wildcats had a giant question hovering over them. 

With the loss of 25 seniors from their 8-3 playoff team from a year ago, that question has been - just how good would this year's LC team be after having to replace a number of key starters? 

The first step to answer that question with a resounding "very good" was taken Saturday night at Wildcat Stadium when the LC jumped out to a 28-0 lead and never looked back in a 38-7 win over Belhaven in the Wildcats' season opener. 

Junior defensive lineman Jared Myatt may have summed up LC's response to all the questions best. 

"Everyone said we were young and inexperienced," Myatt said. "We thought that was dumb."

If that response sounds like this year's Wildcats have a slight chip on their shoulder, the way they played against the Blazers made it look that way even more. 

The LC defense harassed Belhaven's quarterbacks to the tune of 10 sacks and held the Blazers to just 94 yards passing. 

On offense, the Wildcats got a nearly flawless first half from junior quarterback Alonzo Bellamy who led the Cats to four scoring drives in the first two quarters while finishing the game 15-of-18 for 126 yards and two touchdowns. 

"Before the game, Ryan (Montague) and I, we just talked about playing our hearts out," Bellamy said. "We just focused on going out and giving it all we had because we knew sooner or later, we'd be in a position to make plays and when that time came, we just wanted to be sure we'd make them." 

After the game, LC coach Dennis Dunn told his players they had played the best first half of a season-opening game of any team he had ever coached. And though the Wildcats seemed to lose some of their offensive momentum in the second half, overall, it proved to be a nearly dominant performance for the Wildcats who outgained the Blazers in combined offense, 400-228 yards. 

"I thought we were really sound on defense and made a lot of big stops and a lot of big plays," Dunn said. I thought the pass rush was relentless with the amount of pressure our guys put up front on the quarterback. We're still young in a lot of areas."

Among those areas, offensive line, wide receiver and even quarterback. LC was replacing four of their five starting offensive linemen, had just one returning starter, Kyle Galyon, at wide receiver and though he has been in the program for two previous years, Bellamy was getting his first starting experience under center. 

Despite all that, the Wildcats used a six-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 14-yard Bellamy to Galyon touchdown strike to put LC up 6-0, though the extra point failed. 

Two possessions later, senior running back Ryan Montague, the American Southwest Conference preseason player-of-the year put the Wildcats on the board again with a three-yard touchdown run. Galyon added the two-point conversion on an end around run, and LC led 14-0 with 10:55 left in the first half. 

LC's third touchdown would be set up by an interception and 50-yard return from senior linebacker Dominic Graham. Montague's second touchdown run, this time from eight yards out increased LC's lead to 21-0 with 2:53 left in the half. 

Following another LC defensive stand, the Wildcats would score their final touchdown of the half with just 21 seconds left. Senior running back Reggie Sims took a pass in the left flat from Bellamy and dove for the end zone pylon to give LC a 28-0 lead at the half. Sims also finished as the team's second leading rusher on the night with three carries for 64 yards, the same tally Montague recorded on 13 carries. Northwestern State transfer D.J. Palmer led LC in rushing with seven carries for 71 yards. Bellamy also added 26 yards rushing on seven carries. 

"The first half, I just really tried to stay focused," Bellamy said. "I just really told myself that whatever the defense gave me, I was going to take it, whether it was a two-yard pass, three-yard pass, and not focus on trying to make the big play. I was just letting those plays come to me."

"Zo's a good quarterback," Galyon said. "He's been in the system a long time, he's been patient, and once he got his time, once he got a couple under his belt, he got that confidence, and he helped our offense get going."

In the second half, Bellamy and the LC offense started to sputter, however. After his offense's first drive ended with a Bellamy fumble and the third drive ended with a Bellamy interception, Dunn went to his bench for highly-touted freshman Easton Melancon who wasted no time making an impact. Easton's first career pass, a screen to sophomore Ladarius Gardner, would go 27 yards for LC's final touchdown of the game and give the Wildcats a 31-0 lead late in the third quarter. Though Melancon would finish just 3-of-11 for 31 yards, his potential was not diminished in the eyes of his coach, nor was that of the starter, Bellamy. 

"I thought Zo was really composed in the first half, made a couple of errant throws there in the second half, that got him over there on the sideline," Dunn said. "And again, we're going to continue to prepare two, and I think we have a system where either one can play at any time and lead our offense."

Defensively for LC, the big story was the pressure put on Belhaven's quarterbacks, Ian McGinnis and Darrell Williams. The Wildcats totaled 10 sacks for the game with Preston Thibeaux and Daniel Hebert totaling two each and Grayson Pylant, Joey Jarreau, and Darrius Clark each finishing with 1.5 sacks. Co-defensive coordinator Brian Wallace said Hebert made a direct impact on the LC defense in the second half after he was switched from his normal safety position to outside linebacker. 

"Our game is speed – this is probably one of the fastest defenses I've ever been around," Wallace said. "We just have to get more physical up front. Last year, we had a great defense, and I think we have the capability to be even better than last year."

That statement may ring true across the LC roster. A roster that was noted as young, but talented, showed Saturday that it may be maturing faster than expected. 

The Wildcats will look to take their next step Saturday, Sept. 14 when they host Webber International of Florida in game two of the season at noon. 

"It's a great way to start," Dunn said of the win. "I think this is an opportunity we have to build on."

"There really are no limits to how good we can be," Bellamy said. "As long as we focus on keeping God first as a team, and stay humble, if feel we'll go a long way this year."