PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana College football team used a balanced offensive attack and a solid defensive performance to keep things tight against #14 Langston, then used a 17 play, 96-yard drive that ate up nearly all of the remaining 9:52 to score the game-winning touchdown and pull the upset over the Lions as the Wildcats celebrated homecoming with a 31-24 win Saturday afternoon at Wildcat Field.
 
On this homecoming day, the Wildcats showed early that it wouldn't be easy for the visitors as LC forced Langston to punt on its opening possession, then marched 65 yards on a time-consuming 13-play drive that resulted in a 34-yard field goal by Hunter Martensson to give LC a 3-0 lead with 5:51 left in the first quarter. Langston's ensuing possession started on the Wildcats' side of the field, but the LC defense made sure it didn't matter by tackling the Lions running back for no gain on a fourth and one play for a turnover on downs and the first quarter ended with the Wildcats leading 3-0.
 
After another fourth down stop ended another Langston drive in LC territory, but a Wildcat miscue set up the Lions first score. A bad snap on a Wildcat punt attempt set up Langston at the LC 23. However, the Wildcat defense held again, this time in the red zone, and forced a 20-yard field goal by the Lions to tie the score at 3-3 with 6:30 left before halftime.
 
A short LC punt set up Langston deep in Wildcat territory again, but it seemed that again LC's defense had held as the Lions faced a fourth and five play from the Wildcat 32. But the Lions caught the Wildcats with a throwback screen to a tight end who ran all the way to the end zone to give Langston a 10-3 lead with 4:05 left before the half.
 
LC didn't let being behind get them down though as the Wildcats took the ensuing kickoff and methodically moved down the field. The drive included several key plays, including a 17-yard pass from Sal Palermo III to Canaan Leon on third and 15 and another Palermo to Leon pass for 27 yards on second and 18. On third and ten from the Langston 16, Palermo rifled a pass through a tight window into the hands of Glenn White in the end zone for a touchdown to cap off the 11-play, 57-yard drive. Langston, however, blocked the extra point and the Lions maintained the lead at 10-9 with just 32 seconds left before the break. One Langston kneel down later, and the game went to halftime with the Lions leading 10-9.
 
The Wildcats used the momentum from the drive before halftime to pull back ahead to start the third quarter, and it came on the heels of another long drive with a couple big plays involved. A third and 15 play from LC's own 16 was converted when Sal Palermo III found Zion Williams for 22 yards and a first down. Two plays later, Markaylin Milburn burst through the line and raced for 47 yards to the Lion nine-yard line to set up first and goal. Two plays later, Canaan Leon took the ball on a jet sweep and got to the front corner of the end zone for a Wildcat touchdown to end the seven-play, 79-yard drive in less than four minutes and take a 16-10 lead.
 
LC had the chance to really open the score when a bad snap on a Langston punt set the Wildcats up at the Lion three-yard line. However, Langston's defense held, and a 22-yard field goal hit the upright. After that good fortune, the Lions went on an 11-play, 80-yard, nearly six-minute drive that ended in an eight-yard touchdown rush by the Lions quarterback and Langston retook the lead at 17-16 with 2:26 left in the third quarter.
 
On LC's ensuing drive, the Wildcats faced third and five from their own 32 when the third quarter came to a close. During the quarter break, the Wildcats decided to go for the shot play, and the decision worked out as Micah Dunn got behind the Lion defense and Sal Palermo III hit him in stride, and he raced to the end zone for a 68-yard touchdown pass just 12 seconds into the final quarter. Palermo found Zion Williams open in the end zone on the two-point conversion attempt and the Wildcats lead moved up to seven points at 24-17 just 12 seconds into the final period.
 
Langston had its answer, marching 70 yards in ten plays in less than five minutes and scored on a two-yard touchdown to tie the game at 24-24 with 9:58 left.
 
That's where the Wildcats took over and ate up almost all the remaining time on the clock to grind out the win. LC found plenty of success on the ground, especially on the legs of Markaylin Milburn, who was handed the ball nine times on the drive and gained 28 yards on the drive. Sal Palermo III also had success in the air on the drive, hitting Jacob Ganote for seven yards, and converted a third and ten play with a pass to Zion Williams who ran for 13 yards to pick up the first down. Later in the drive, Sal Palermo III hit Jaelon Watkins for 17 yards to get the team into the red zone with the clock ticking down. LC got a bit fortunate when the drive stalled and a 34-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright, but the miss was negated by a personal foul penalty against Langston for illegal leaping along the line. Two plays after the penalty, Palermo found Glenn White in the end zone, again through a tight window, for the score with just 54 seconds left to put LC on top 31-24.
 
The onus was then on the defense to make the late score with less than a minute left stand up, and the Wildcats did their job. Four Lion pass attempts gained only three yards and the Wildcats could celebrate the upset of a top-15 team in the NAIA on homecoming.
 
"I'm proud of our players," said Louisiana College head football coach Andrew Maddox. "They never quit, even when we started 0-5 and had all of the injuries, but the guys kept playing hard. They just want to get better and work hard everyday and I'm proud of them."
 
Markaylin Milburn's efforts on the ground helped the Wildcats maintain possession and ground down the clock. He finished the contest with 20 rushes for 117 yards.
 
Sal Palermo III had a very effective day in the air, going 13 of 25 for 235 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Palermo's favorite target was both Zion Williams and Glenn White, who each had three receptions in the contest. White's three catches went for 38 yards with two touchdowns. Williams had 63 receiving yards on his three catches, which were instrumental in keeping several key drives alive with third down conversions. Micah Dunn's lone catch of the day was a huge one, going 68 yards for a touchdown.
 
Andre Reed led the defense with ten total tackles in the game. Micah Latin had six tackles, including a half-tackle for loss and a half-sack. Kelan Bourgere had four tackles, including a half-tackle for loss and a half-sack.
 
The Wildcats (3-6, 3-4 SAC) look to build off this win heading into the final two weeks of the season, starting with the final road game of the season on Saturday as Lyon College. Kickoff against the Scots (1-7, 1-6 SAC) in Batesville, Ark. is set for 2:00 P.M. at Pioneer Stadium.