TYLER, Texas – Another Saturday, another win for the unbeaten, 25th-ranked Louisiana Christian University football program
The Wildcats (7-0 overall, 6-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference) found the end zone early and often while nearly posting a goose egg on defense for the second straight game, ruining the Texas College homecoming with a 52-7 blowout Saturday afternoon.
While it wasn’t nearly as dominant overall as last week’s homefield rout of North American, the defense was just as smothering, ceding just 190 total yards and holding the winless opponents (0-6, 0-4) to negative rushing yards once again at minus 49.
Defensive coordinator Tyson Andrus’ troops put together a season-high 10 sacks and a dozen QB hurries plus an additional 14 tackles for loss, to give them 34 TFLs on top of 19 quarterback takedowns in a span of eight quarters.
Saturday, LCU got on top quickly. Sammy Feaster only had one carry, but it was a tone-setter, taking a reverse 86 yards to the house for the longest play of the season to date and the contest’s first score.
On the other side of the ball, it was the reigning SAC Defensive Player of the Week who stole the show as Detavius Eldridge logged a pair of sacks and three tackles for loss, both team highs, on top of two quarterback hurries, a pass breakup and six tackles (two solo).
Jahiem Mitchell led the Cats in tackles (7, 4 solo) and TFLs (3), forcing a fumble and notching a seven-yard sack.
Ernest Simon harassed the Steers’ passers all day, forcing three hurries, knocking down a pass, and registering a half-sack.
The sack list was a long one that was made up of Eldridge, Mitchell, Simon, Logan Brimmer (2), Jayden Davis (1.5), Andre Reed (1), Tyren Young (1), Tyrese Ellis (0.5), and Kelan Bougere (0.5) with Kavin Touriac pitching in half-a-TFL.
A stacked secondary held down a pass-heavy attack as Nate Sullivan snagged his second interception of the season, Pop McGhee broke up two would-be receptions, and Young poked one away as did Kiaron Rudd.
The Wildcats’ running backs were effective with 11 different ball carriers toting the rock 49 times for 305 yards, a 6.2 average.
Daylon Charles found paydirt twice on six carries for 46 yards (7.7 ypc), Devin Briscoe got the most touches with nine for 60 yards (6.7 ypc) and a score, and Glenn White punched it in once.
Sal Palermo III completed 13 passes for a pair of scores and 135 yards, with his primary targets being Ethan Christman (3 catches, 50 yards) and Jacob Ganote (4 catches, 44 yards).
The two touchdowns found the waiting arms of Ganote and Taevion Cunningham.
Jacob Weaver had a career day on special teams, booting his first career field goal attempt through the uprights from 25 yards out, and blasting a punt 62 yards down to the Texas College one-yard line for a new career-long. Both of his punts pinned the Steers inside their own 14, and he went 3-for-3 on PAT tries.
Mason Ingram shared duties with Weaver most of the afternoon, also coffin-cornering a punt, going a perfect 4-of-4 during extra point attempts, and handling all of the kickoff duties.
An unenviable task is ahead as the Wildcats must travel 20 hours and nearly 1,400 miles across Texas and New Mexico to reach Surprise, Arizona, for a date with the 24th-ranked Ottawa Spirit at 6 p.m. central time on Saturday.
The two teams were picked to finish second and third in the conference behind 17th-ranked Texas Wesleyan, who already has beaten Ottawa. The Wildcats could all but eliminate the Spirit from SAC contention with a win.
Photo courtesy LCU Athletics