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During the week leading up to the game, Louisiana College quarterback Easton Melancon called his team's matchup with Huntingdon College "a must win."
 
Saturday, Melancon helped deliver that win in dramatic style. His 18-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Ladarius Gardner with eight seconds left in the game lifted the Wildcats to a 49-42 come-from-behind win over the Hawks in the season opener for both teams.
 
"We just believed in each other," Melancon said. "We knew that if we believed in each other, we'd come out here and get a W."  
 
The winning score came after a Huntingdon punt was shanked out of bounds at the Hawks' 31-yard line with 44 seconds to play. Melancon's winning throw to Gardner came on the third play of the drive and put a cap on a comeback that saw the Wildcats trailing throughout most of the second half and 42-35 early in the fourth quarter.
 
"Like I told my defense, I you give me the ball back, I'm going to do everything in my power to put it in the end zone," Gardner said. "We set them up on the bubble (pass play), and it just so happened the Fox play played out perfectly."
 
"He was so wide open," Melancon said. "I didn't want to overthrow him, so I just kind of lobbed it up and let him lay under the ball. It was just a wide open touchdown we had to have." 
 
Melancon was nothing but sensational in the first start of his sophomore season. He finished the game 25 of 42 in pass attempts for 363 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 37 yards rushing and two more scores on the ground. A two-point pass play to fellow sophomore Jake Dunbar in the third quarter meant Melancon had his hand in 36 of his team's 49 points.
 
As is almost always the case in games between LC and Huntingdon, this one came down to which team had the ball last. The Wildcats actually jumped out to a quick lead in the game. Melancon's 63-yard touchdown pass to Gardner on the Wildcats' first possession gave LC the first score of the game. Following an Adan Olivares 35-yard field goal, one of two on the day for the senior, Melancon found Dunbar for a 16-yard strike to give LC a 17-0 lead after the first quarter.
 
"Coach Dunn told us all week he was going to throw it," Gardner said. "So, I was just blessed to get it one my side."
 
With that first quarter field goal and two extra points, Olivares upped his career total to 203 points and in the process broke the career scoring record at LC of 202 points held previously by wide receiver and kick returner Jordan Rideaux.
 
Huntingdon found its offensive rhythm in the second quarter by using a combination of play action fakes and run-or-pass option plays keyed by their senior quarterback, Taylor Hughes. Touchdown passes by Hughes to Darius Dawsey and Brantley Carr saw the Hawks cut the LC lead to 17-14 at the half.
 
"We felt good, but we knew Huntingdon is a good team, and we had to keep putting it on them," Melancon said. "We let them score 14 unanswered points, and we knew we were going to be in a dog fight until the fourth quarter."
 
As the third quarter got underway, Huntingdon took its first lead of the game. The Hawks capped a 3-play, 49-yard drive with John Iwaniec's 6-yard score to make it 21-17. Iwaniec finished as Huntingdon's leading rusher with 61 yards on 19 carries.
 
The Wildcats drew three points closer on Olivares' second field goal of the game, this from 29 yards out to make it 21-20, but Huntingdon extended its lead to eight points when Iwaniec scored his second touchdown of the game to make it 28-20.
 
The LC offense, which seemed to sputter in the second and early third quarters finally found its pace again when the Wildcats put together a 6-play, 72-yard drive capped by Melancon's 1-yard bootleg run off a handoff fake. LC made the decision to go for two in order to tie the game at 28, though the conversion had to come after a holding penalty pushed the ball back to the 12 yard line.
 
In what was becoming a see-saw affair, Huntingdon regained the lead in unusual fashion. Hughes had to temporarily leave the game after his legs started cramping. Backup Luke Bailey promptly came in and on connected on his first play for a 41-yard touchdown pass to Willie Coleman to put the Hawks up again, 35-28.
 
"Coming in, we knew Huntingdon was a playoff caliber team," said senior linebacker Grayson Pylant. "We knew they were very good at the run, but as you could see today, they're also very good at the pass. They're a very balanced football team."
 
But, that lead would disappear on Huntingdon's first possession of the fourth quarter. The Hawks, who had snap issues on punts for much of the game, had disaster strike when punter Jamichael Bibb couldn't handle the snap and tried to kick the football out of the end zone for a safety. Instead, LC junior Dayshun Johnson fell on the football in the end zone to tie the game again at 35.
 
Huntingdon took its final lead of the game on its next possession, a 6-play, 57-yard drive capped by Hughes with a 2-yard touchdown run. However, the cramping issues Hughes experienced would keep him out for the rest of the game. He finished with 275 yards passing on 18 of 27 with two touchdowns and ran for 38 yards on 9 carries. With Hughes out, Huntingdon , leading 42-35, would not score again.
 
Meanwhile, the Wildcats tied the game again on an impressive 77-yard drive on five plays capped by Melancon's second touchdown run of the game, this from 5 yards out, to make the score 42-42 with 9:55 to play – setting the stage for the Wildcats' final scoring drive.
 
Gardner finished as the Wildcats' top receiver with 5 catches for 146 yards and the two touchdowns. Senior Kyle Galyon grabbed 7 passes for 48 yards and sophomore Shedrick Davis finished with 5 catches for 71 yards. Dunbar also had 6 catches for 86 yards, but had to leave the game in the fourth quarter after apparently being knocked out cold on a collision with a Huntingdon defensive back on a pass play. Dunbar would walk off the field, but did not return to the game.
 
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the game for LC came in the backfield where the Wildcats, who are looking to replace ASC offensive player of the year Ryan Montague, rushed 40 times for 157 yards. Sophomore Aurren Cooksey led the way for the Wildcats with 16 carries for 104 yards.
 
Now 1-0 on the season, the Wildcats will have another strong test for their next game, Saturday, Sept. 13 at FCS school Alcorn State. Kickoff for that game will be 2 p.m.
 
"This (win) give us a lot of motivation for next week," Melancon said. "Starting the season off 1-0 is a big help for us."
 
"We needed to be tested and that was a good team to be tested by," senior linebacker Beau Brewer said. "That was definitely a playoff team. That just sets the bar of where we're at and where we can be."