Box Score

On a sweltering Saturday afternoon in central Louisiana, the Louisiana College Wildcat and Southwestern University Pirates engaged in a tale of two halves that came down to the final seconds to decide a winner. SU kicker Luke Fierst knuckled a 36-yard field just inside the left upright with 42 ticks left on the clock give the visiting Pirates a 37-34 lead and eventual win over the stunned Wildcats. LC falls to 1-2 on the season and 0-2 in American Southwest Conference play. They return to action next Saturday at Wildcat Stadium against Sul Ross State University.

The Pirates were the first to strike on the scoreboard on their second possession of the game, when back-up quarterback Chris Demny scampered 37-yards through the right side of the LC for a touchdown to give SU an early 7-0 lead. After five plays and a punt from the Wildcats, Southwestern found pay dirt again with another big play, this time a 54-yard pass to tight end A.J. Daniels and midway into the first quarter the Wildcats were down 14-0.

The Wildcats would get on the board before the end of the first quarter, taking advantage of a strip-sack fumble recovery and a 54-yard run from D'Angelo Moore two plays later to cut the lead in half at 14-7 with just over two minutes left in the opening quarter. SU would answer LC's score with one of their own on the next drive, going 74 yards in six plays to regain the two-score cushion on the Wildcats.

The defenses control play through much of the second quarter, but Southwestern found a way to work into field goal range for Fierst, who knocked in a 20-yard chip shot with 48 second remaining in the half. The Wildcats got one last chance to get on the board before half as Wayne Griffin found Shedrick Davis on a 30-yard pass down the left side line to put the Wildcats close to field goal range. With the ball at the SU 26-yard line, head coach Justin Charles sent his field goal unit out for a 43-yard attempt with two seconds left on the clock. Junior kicker Curtis Sebren drilled the 43-yarder as time expired in the half to cut into the lead and give the Wildcats the momentum heading into the half.

The Wildcats hit the first big play of the second half, as junior signal caller D'Ondre Joseph found a wide-open Drake Battaglia for a 49-yard touchdown and LC was right back in the ballgame. A big third down stop and incomplete pass on fourth down gave LC the ball back with a chance to tie the game. A pass interference call set the Cats up at the SU four-yard line, and Joseph found Moore to tie the game at 24 with 4:08 left in the third quarter.

LC took their first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter as Sebren nailed another 43-yard field goal to put the Cats ahead 27-24 just over 30 seconds into the final frame. The momentum the Wildcats had would shift violently to the other side in the span of 13 seconds. An interception gave Southwestern the ball in good field position which they turned into a game-tying, 19-yard field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, the ball bounced through the hands of LC return man C.J. McGarner and towards the oncoming coverage unit and fell into the hands of the Pirates. They turned that turnover into immediate points with a 26-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead 34-27.

Two drives later, the Wildcats had an answer as Wayne Griffin found an uncovered Drake Battaglia for his second long score of the night, this one going for 60 yards to tie the game at 34 with just over three minutes left in the contest. The physical running game of the Pirates helped them move the ball into scoring position against a tiring Wildcat defense. They took two and a half minutes off the clock and ended the drive with a game-winning 36-yard field goal.

D'Ondre Joseph threw for 195 yards and two touchdowns on 9-of-21 passing and freshman Wayne Griffin added 155 yards and a score on 6-of-17 passing. D'Angelo Moore led the Wildcats rushing attack with 61 yards on four carries, the bulk of which coming on his 54-yard touchdown run. Drake Battaglia and Shedrick Davis became the first receivers with over 100 yards in a game this year. Battaglia ended with 142 yards on three catches with two touchdowns, and Davis caught five passes for 118 yards.

Defensively the Wildcats senior linebacker Ryan DeMattie was all over the field, making 21 total tackles in the game including seven solo stops. Willie Smith made eight stops and broke up three passes in the game.

The Wildcats will close the first month of the season at Wildcat Stadium next week as they host Sul Ross State with a 7 p.m. kickoff. For the latest on Louisiana College football follow @LC_ftball on Twitter and like LC Athletics on Facebook.