LU 24 ACU 21 FINAL

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The Cardinals finished the night with 464 yards of total offense, while the Wildcats recorded 449. Lamar outscored their opponents 14-0 in the final 10:29 of the game to pick up the victory.

“Credit goes to our kids tonight,” said head coach Ray Woodard. “Our kids showed a lot of maturity. We had an opportunity to get down and quit but we didn’t. Our defense kept us in the game until our offense could get going.

“Mark (Roberts) is a great player. As a coach you try and get the best matchups for your players and tonight we had that. Roberts made a great play on the ball. This is a great way to go home,” added Woodard.

The Wildcats got the scoring started when Cedric Gilbert caught a 38-yard pass from Parker McKenzie to give ACU a 7-0 lead with 7:38 remaining in the first quarter. The lead wouldn’t last long Lamar answered back on the next drive. Sophomore running back Kade Harringtoncapped a 12-play, 75-yard drive with a three-yard plunge.

After getting the ball out to midfield, ACU forced Lamar to punt the ball away. Jaun Carranco’s punt was downed at the 11, but a penalty against the Cards forced Carranco to punt it away again which worked out better for Lamar as LU downed the second punt at the one yard line. The LU defense forced a three-n-out and the Cardinals started their drive from the 43-yard line.

Senior Caleb Berry was able to move the offense down to the two yard line before the drive stalled, but freshman Josh Davis came on to boot a 19-yard field goal to give the Cardinals their first lead of the game, 10-7, with 3:59 remaining. The lead would stand as Lamar took the advantage into the locker room. 

The Cardinals finished the half with 225 yards of total offense, including 146 yards on the ground. The Wildcats finished the half with 151 yards.

Lamar had an opportunity to add to that lead early in the second half driving inside the ACU 20-yard line but the drive stalled out and Davis came on to attempt 35-yard field goal. Davis’ attempt missed to the right which seemed to give the Wildcats the momentum as they drove the ball down to the LU five-yard line. The Lamar defense held on the first three plays setting up a fourth-n-one from the one. The Wildcats tried Herschel Simms again and he was stood up at the line of scrimmage.

The three-point advantage would stand until the 1:51 mark of third quarter when ACU’s Monte Green-Avery caught a 65-yard pass from Cade Stone, to give the Wildcats back a four-point lead, 14-10. ACU tacked on another score less than five minutes into the fourth quarter. ACU quarterback Parker McKenzie capped a 13-play, 78-yard drive when he found Noah Cheshier from 10 yards out. The scoring play gave the Wildcats a 21-10 lead with 10:29 remaining.

Trailing by 11, the Cardinals turned to Harrington who broke off a 43-yard run to move the ball deep into Wildcat territory. It appeared that Lamar had turned the ball over on downs at the ACU 12, but a personal foul penalty kept the drive alive and the Cardinals made their hosts pay on the next play. Berry found senior Payden McVey at the nine-yard line and he carried the ball in for the score. The Cardinals went for two and converted cutting the lead to three, 21-18, with 7:52 remaining.

On the ensuing drive, the LU defense held giving the ball back to the men in red and white. Six plays later, the Cardinals took the lead back when Berry found Mark Roberts in the back of the end zone on a fourth-and-eight. Lamar did not convert on fourth down taking a 24-21 lead with 2:30 remaining.

Berry finished the game completing 23 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns. Harrington returned from injury to carry the ball 20 times for 143 yards and a score. Junior Devonn Brown led all LU receivers with seven catches for 62 yards.

The Cardinals return to action Saturday, Oct. 11, when they return home to host defending Southland Conference Champions Southeastern Louisiana. The game against the Lions will begin at 6 p.m. from Provost Umphrey Stadium.

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