DELAND, Florida - The Louisiana Christian University Wildcats showed dramatic improvement from their opening-week loss to SAGU before falling to Stetson, 48-14, Saturday in DeLand, Florida.  

For 30 minutes, the Wildcats matched their FCS Division 1 opponent toe-to-toe, as the two teams were tied 14-14 at halftime. But a couple of missed opportunities combined with a second straight stellar performance from Hatters quarterback Brady Meitz saw LCU outscored 31-0 in the second half, as the Wildcats dropped to 0-2 in the young season.  

Stetson, which improved to 2-0, got off to a solid start in the game. The Hatters took the opening kickoff and drove 73 yards in six plays, capped by Jalen Leary's 15-yard scoring run to make the score 7-0. Later in the quarter, Meitz threw the first of his three touchdown passes when he found Quinton Lane for an 18-yard strike to make the score 14-0.  

But in the second quarter, the momentum swung LCU's way with two impressive drives. The  first came after Stetson's Marshall Golick's punt pinned the Wildcats at their own 3-yard line. LCU was able to move the ball to their own 36 before quarterback Sal Palermo hit Micah Dunn for 55 yards to the Stetson 9-yard line. On the next play, running back Devin Briscoe found a hole on the right side to score LCU's first touchdown and cut the lead to 14-7 following the extra point kick by Levi Holborn. The drive totaled 92 yards in just 7 plays.  

Stetson responded to the Wildcats touchdown with a drive to the LCU 13 before the Wildcats defense forced the Hatters to kick a field goal. Cameron Gillis' 30-yard attempt was no good, however, and LCU took over the ball at their own 20-yard line.  

Once again, Palermo engineered a scoring drive for the Wildcats. With the help of a key pass interference call, Palermo connected with Canaan Leon and Ethan Christman for pass plays of 23 and 24 yards, respectively, as the Wildcats moved into the Stetson red zone. The 80-yard, 10-play drive was capped by another Briscoe touchdown run, this one from the 3-yard line, as Hilborn's extra point tied the game 14-14 at the half.  

The Wildcats continued to hold close for much of the third quarter, despite Meitz's 47-yard touchdown strike to Nazeviah Burris at the 9:47 mark. That capped an 87-yard drive in eight plays.  

Perhaps the turning point of the game came midway through the third quarter when Stetson's Javeon Ensley blocked the punt of LCU freshman punter Mason Ingram and set up the Hatters at the LCU 42-yard line. Three plays later, running back Kaderris Roberts took the ball off the right side for 30 yards into the end zone. The kick made it 28-14 Hatters, who would never look back after that series of events.  

Late in the third quarter, the Wildcats gave Stetson great field position when Briscoe fumbled on a first and 20 at the LCU 10-yard line. The Hatters would convert that turnover into points on Golick's 28-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter to make the score 31-14.  

After an exchange of possessions, Stetson would get its third passing touchdown of the game from Meitz, who found Jalen Mason for 24 yards. The extra point made the score 38-14 and effectively put the game out of reach.  

Stetson's last score of the game came with 4:11 left to play when Jackson Ellerbee took a handoff up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown that made the eventual final score 45-14.  

Despite the loss, LCU head coach Drew Maddox said he saw several improvements from the previous week's loss to the Southwest Assemblies of God University. The Wildcats had a much better game in total offense with 346 yards after just 72 the week before.  

Individually, Paleremo finished 14 of 27 for 243 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions, though he was sacked twice.  Meitz finished 25 of 48 for Stetson for 444 yards and three touchdowns despite being sacked three times, twice by LCU's Logan Brimmer and once by Micah Latin.  

Dunn saw his best performance of the young season, as he caught four passes for 109 yards. Leon finished with three catches for 82. Briscoe had 20 carries for 47 yards and the two touchdowns. Defensively, Tyren Young and Andre "Bubba" Reed led the Wildcats with seven tackles each.  

LCU will finally see the friendly confines of Wildcats Stadium Saturday when they host Arizona Christian University (1-1) at 6 p.m. on "We Love Cenla Night." Fans are asked to bring canned goods to the game, which will be broadcast live on the radio on 104.3 The Bridge (also on the Tune-In app) and streamed live through LCU's Convergence Media Department.