LANGSTON, Okla. – The Louisiana Christian University football program will make its first of five long bus rides this Saturday when it takes on the Langston Lions at 6 p.m. in Sooner Athletic Conference play inside W.E. Anderson Stadium.
The Wildcats have won eight straight games dating back to last season, including their last two road games. They are 2-0 overall, 1-0 in conference in 2023 while Langston will make its league debut after losing its season opening non-league contest.
Offensively, LCU is among the NAIA’s elite units, ranking inside the top 10 regarding first downs per game (25.5), points per game (44.5), and total yards per game (454.5) while slotting in the top five for nearly all rushing categories including total rush yards (633), rushing yards per game (316.5), and yards per carry (7.8) in addition to placing eighth for rushing touchdowns (8).
The two-headed monster in the backfield consisting of Daylon Charles and Devin Briscoe have been a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators with the pair touting the third (9.8) and fourth-best (8.9) yards per rush total in the nation, respectively.
Briscoe in particular has been dynamic, averaging 116 yards a night (8th in NAIA) and gaining 232 on the ground overall (13th in NAIA), despite splitting the load to the tune of only 26 carries.
Quarterback Sal Palermo III, the first SAC Offensive Player of the Week in program history, has not been called on that often due to the prolific rushing attack but when he has, he’s shone brightly. The grad student has posted the eighth-highest quarterback rating (166.1), a top 20 completion percentage (62.9%, 22-of-35), and four passing touchdowns (top-25), in addition to a pair of rushing scores.
His top target is Sammy Feaster, whose six catches for 104 yards and two TDs are all team-bests while Jacob Ganote also has two touchdowns out of his four receptions.
Defensively, the Wildcats have been equally impressive in all facets as they sit 13th in sacks (7), 18th in scoring defense (16.0), and 22nd in tackles per game (69.0).
It has been the Logan Brimmer and Andre Reed Show through two contests up front, with the two defenders wreaking havoc from sideline-to-sideline and particularly behind the line of scrimmage. Brimmer has been a terror, racking up 5.5 tackles for loss of resulting in 25 yards in the wrong direction plus a pair of sacks. Reed is doing his best Ray Lewis impression, leading the conference with 17 tackles, 10 solos.
In the secondary, Tyren Young gave Louisiana Christian its second straight SAC Defensive Player of the Week award, following in Reed’s footsteps with a seven-tackle, two-TFL performance vs. Arkansas Baptist, picking off the team’s first pass of 2023 in the process.
The kickoff return team has been efficient, racking up an average of 23 yards per return to rank in the top-25 plus the punts have been booming when needed, averaging 41.2 yards per boot, a top-20 mark.
Taevion Cunningham has been the lone kickoff return man, outside of a squib pickup from Noah James, notching 126 yards on five returns which included the 18th-longest return of the season on a 51-yard scamper.
Mason Ingram returned to the lineup versus ABC and went to work, coffin-cornering all three of his punts inside the Buffaloes red zone with an average of 44.3 a kick, the third highest if he qualified.
Fans can follow the Wildcats’ action through these links:
Watch — https://www.sacsportsnetwork.com/langston/ (SAC Sports Network)
Listen — https://streamdb8web.securenetsystems.net/cirrusencore/kezp& (104.3 The Bridge)
Live Stats — https://langstonsports.com/sidearmstats/football/summary