Box Score

The Louisiana College football team had the opportunity to turn heads across the nation with #12 ranked Hardin-Simmons in town on Saturday night. In a game where both teams were so evenly matched offensively and defensively, it was special teams that proved to be the Achilles heel for the Wildcats this time. The Cowboys were able to score touchdowns on a high snap on an LC punt that was recovered in the endzone and an 89-yard kickoff return in their 42-21 victory.

With both team's offenses entering the game averaging over 47 points per game, it was the defenses that took control of the game early.  Neither team was able to get on the scoreboard in the first 15 minutes of the game.  The Wildcats defense was able to force the Cowboys to punt on their first drive and forced a turnover on downs on their second drive, but the Wildcats offense, for the second week in a row, started off slow. Easton Melancon was intercepted on the first two drives of the game but both time the Wildcat defense kept the Cowboys from establishing the offensive gameplan.

It wasn't until the second play of the second quarter that the Cowboys were able to break through on a 52-yard catch and run for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. After a Wildcat punt on their next possession, the Cowboys took the ball down the field in 11 play touchdown drive that ended in a 1-yard scoring run on fourth down and goal.  The Wildcats would respond right away with a long touchdown drive of their own, going 65 yards in 12 plays to cut the HSU lead in half on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Nick Julien.  The half would end on a Wildcat interception in the endzone by Josh Pickett, his first of the season, to send the team to the locker room with Hardin-Simmons leading 14-7.

The Wildcats started the second half with the football and on back to back possessions had drives end with pivotal game changing plays. To start the half the offense put together an impressive drive for what looked as if it would be a game tying touchdown, but the turnover bug bit LC by way of a fumble inside the HSU 5 yard line, that gave the ball back to the Cowboys.  On the Wildcats next possession an errant snap over the head of punter Matthew Guth was recovered in the endzone for a touchdown that gave HSU a 21-7 lead.

The Wildcats would punt on their next two possessions of the quarter and go to the fourth down by two scores. There were more points scored in the final 15 minutes of the game than the previous three combined.  After an HSU touchdown gave them a 28-7 lead, the Wildcats responded with a 70-yard catch and run by Lamar Carroway, only to be answered by the Cowboys with an 89-yard kick return for a touchdown to steal the momentum back from the Wildcats and push the score to 35-14 with 12 minutes remaining in the game.

Down 42-14, the Wildcats got their final score of the night on a 9 play drive that ended in a spectacular one-handed catch by Shedrick Davis in the corner of the endzone. Davis's touchdown catch was his 14th of the game, which tied the Louisiana College school record for receptions in a single game, now shared between Davis and Taylor Huffman who had 14 catches in one game against Hardin-Simmons in 2007.

Easton Melancon finished with his third 350 plus yard passing effort of the season and the ninth of his career, completing 33 passes on 63 attempts for 377 yards and two touchdowns.  Aurren Cooksey fell 18 yards short of reaching 100 yards for a third straight game, finishing with 82 tough yards on 24 carries. Both Shedrick Davis and Lamar Carroway had over 100 yards receiving in the game, Davis with 145 and a touchdown and Carroway with 114 and a touchdown.  After missing last week's game Orel Ledet Jr led the Wildcat defense with 11 tackles including 2.0 tackles for loss. 

The Wildcats will make the long trip to Alpine, Texas next Saturday to take on the 2-3 (1-1) Sul Ross State Lobos in their first road trip since September 17th. LC will play three of their final five games on the road with games in Pineville on back to back weeks October 22nd and 29th, when Belhaven and ETBU come to town for those games.