By RICHARD THIBERVILLE JR., LSU Sports Information Director
Stormy weather stalled kickoff of Louisiana Christian’s home and Sooner Athletic Conference opener Saturday night, but it was worth the wait as the Wildcats blasted Langston for nearly 400 yards rushing and 10 total touchdowns in a 70-14 win over the Lions at Wildcat Field in Pineville.
LCU (2-0, 1-0 in SAC) topped Langston 31-24 last season, but there was little drama in this year’s meeting, the sixth straight Wildcats win in the series. Louisiana Christian scored on its first four chances. The first possession required only three running plays to move 37 yards, the last a 5-yard Datlan Cunningham TD for a 7-0 lead.
It took just two plays for the Wildcats to get into the end zone again. Bryce Perkins found E.J. Scott behind the Langston defense for a 66-yard touchdown strike and a 14-0 lead.
Langston used a long kick return and one big pass play to cut the Wildcat lead down to 14-7.
LCU answered on its next drive with some Lion help as a Langston running into the punter penalty extended the drive. Two plays after the penalty, Perkins found Omarius Davis behind the defense for a 47-yard scoring strike.
Following another Langston punt, the Wildcats again motored right down the field and Jaterrius Johnson punched the ball in from seven yards out to make it 28-7 early in the second quarter.
The Wildcat offense hit a bit of a snag to end the first half as a couple of turnovers stopped promising drives, one of which Langston took advantage of to get its only other score of the game to make it 28-14 LCU at halftime.
But the second half was all Wildcats as LCU blanked Langston over the last 30 minutes, outscoring the Lions 42-0. That included Amir Franklin-Sanders’ 38-yard interception return for a touchdown, the fourth consecutive game dating back to the 2025 season in which the Wildcat defense picked off the opposing team’s quarterback and brought it back for a score.
Perkins was efficient in the win, going 12-of-18 for 250 yards and three touchdowns and an interception. He also ran four times for 25 yards.
His favorite target was Scott who had four catches for 102 yards and a score. Davis had three catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Cunningham and Johnson were almost equal on the ground. Cunningham had 115 yards on 19 carries with two scores while Johnson also got to the end zone twice, picking up 114 yards on 13 carries.
LCU had 640 yards of total offense while holding Langston to just 230 total.
The Wildcats go on the road for two straight games, starting with the trip to Plainview, Texas for a date with Wayland Baptist. Kickoff of next Saturday’s contest against the Pioneers (1-1, 0-1 SAC) is set for 6 p.m. at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium.