By Drew Parsley, Louisiana Tech Associate Director Strategic Communications; featured photo by Robert Summerlin
Louisiana Tech erased a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 46 seconds remaining to defeat in-state rival UL-Lafayette, 32-31, Saturday night at Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium, securing the Bulldogs’ first-ever Sun Belt Conference football victory in program history.
The Bulldogs (3-2, 1-0 SBC) earned their 49th all-time victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns (4-2, 1-1 SBC), improving to 49-33-6 in the series while extending their winning streak over UL-Lafayette to nine consecutive games. The victory also marked Louisiana Tech’s fifth consecutive victory at Joe Aillet Stadium.
Quarterback Blake Baker led the offensive effort, completing 32 of 42 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns while adding a rushing score. Eli Finley recorded nine receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns, while Talyn Shettron added eight catches for 102 yards. Jalen Mickensfinished with nine receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown.
After a scoreless opening quarter, Louisiana Tech struck first when Baker connected with Finley for a 10-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. UL-Lafayette answered with 10 consecutive points before the Bulldogs regained the lead on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Baker to Mickens with 1:48 remaining in the half, giving Tech a 13-10 advantage at the break following a missed extra point.
The Ragin’ Cajuns took control in the third quarter, scoring on touchdown runs by JJ Garner and Trenton Chaney to build a 24-13 lead entering the fourth.
Louisiana Tech responded with an eight-play, 76-yard touchdown drive capped by a 3-yard rushing score from Mickens to cut the deficit to 24-19. UL-Lafayette answered just over a minute later on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Lunch Winfield to KeDarius Wade, extending its advantage to 31-19 with 11:34 remaining.
The Bulldogs mounted their comeback within the final four minutes, with Baker capping an eight-play, 63-yard possession with a 12-yard touchdown run to pull Tech within five at 31-26 with 3:44 remaining.
After the Bulldog defense forced a three-and-out, Louisiana Tech took over at its own 34-yard line with 2:41 remaining. Baker directed an eight-play, 66-yard drive before finding Finley for a 7-yard touchdown with 46 seconds left, giving the Bulldogs a 32-31 lead.
The Louisiana Tech defense sealed the victory on UL-Lafayette’s ensuing possession when Kameron Carter intercepted Winfield with 27 seconds remaining.
Tech finished with 485 yards of total offense, including 338 through the air and 147 on the ground, while converting seven of 13 third-down attempts. The Bulldogs controlled possession for 33:18 and recorded 28 first downs.
Defensively, Sam Fongang led Louisiana Tech with a career-high nine tackles, while Alonzo Jackson Jr. and Taeden Rogers added seven apiece. Jackson Jr. also recorded a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery, while Jordan McRae and Carter each registered interceptions.
The Bulldogs will return to Sun Belt action Saturday, Oct. 17, when they travel to Monroe to face ULM.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Sonny Cumbie
Opening Statement:
told the kids before the game that there’s not many times that you get to write your own history. This is the first season for us to play as a football program in the Sun Belt. There are seven more games ahead of us, so this is not a finished product and there is a lot of things that we have to correct and get better at. I’m really proud of our players for how hard they played the first half. We did not play a very clean game or our best in terms of smart winning football. It was actually the opposite–and it continued into the second half. It was really hard for us to get out of our own way. We talked to our coaches on defense and offense on the headsets saying we are going to find out in these next eight minutes what type of football team that we have. I was really proud of how we were able to get a quick three and out. We scored, got another stop, went down there and scored, and then we got an interception. Another thing I want to say is that the football team that we played, it’s a good football team. They were 4-1, and they are well-coached. They have really good players and they had a great game plan, and Coach Desormeaux has done a phenomenal job in terms of building that program. It was a great team win, and I’m looking forward to putting this one to bed tonight, learning from the things that we have to correct and we will be even better next week because we’re going to have a team that’s coming off a bye week. They are going to be rested, refreshed, and ready to go. I’m proud that we can put on a product that all of the fans can come here and watch on a Saturday night at 6:30. We also created such an environment for our players to feed off of. You saw early on in the first half, the false starts from them. I think it was a direct result of the sound that our student section provided. They stayed with us and we’re appreciative of that environment and the excitement that our crowd brought to the table tonight. I know that travels, just like our ability to play winning football travels. The goal next week is to make sure our guys understand that this only counts once, and we have got a lot of work to do for next week.”
Cumbie on the mental shift for players to close out and win the tighter-contested games…
“It’s learning and applying. When you go through what we went through–in certain seasons where there are close calls and then some where you win close calls–you learn from a tangible what went wrong, and wonder how do we correct it, how do we practice it better, how do we put our players in position and practice to have a chance to be successful in those situations. There’s a lot of poise that our football team has from a player standpoint and a lot of poise that it derives from battle scars. We have been through some battles, we got some scars, and we learned from them. I’m really proud of their resiliency.”
Cumbie on Alonzo Jackson Jr’s performance…
“He missed last week’s game for most of the game, so he was fresh and excited, He is a playmaker. I think that, defensively, it wasn’t our best in the second half and then we found ways to get stops and a takeaway to end the game. We rose up there at the end and I’m really proud of Alonzo. He’s going to continue to just ascend and make plays. He’s a great Bulldog.”