BATON ROUGE — Louisiana Christian’s no longer unbeaten but you can’t blame the Wildcats if they’re going into the rest of the season undaunted.
Playing their second NCAA Division I opponent in four games, the Wildcats produced almost 350 yards of total offense and created tension in the fourth quarter, but an early deficit was too much to overcome in a 50-31 loss to the Southern Jaguars Saturday night at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
Louisiana Christian (3-1, ranked in both NAIA Top 25 polls) answered an early touchdown by Southern (2-2) by getting one of its own as Bryce Perkins connected with Darius Washington on a 47-yard touchdown strike.
Southern scored the next 20 points before LCU kicker Preston Baker connected from 39 yards out to cut the deficit to 27-10. The Jaguars responded with a field goal right before halftime.
The Wildcats rallied within 37-24, answering a quick Jaguars TD with a 30-yard connection between Phillip Jones II and Leyton Faul three plays later, then scoring early in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard Datlan Cunningham run.
LCU successfully executed an onside kick, but the Jaguars defense locked down and stopped the visitors on a three-and-out.
Southern responded by putting it away, scoring twice in just over three minutes midway through the quarter for a 50-24 advantage.
Third-team quarterback Matthew Cates, Jr. capped LCU’s when he busted loose for a 69-yard touchdown.
Perkins was 12-of-19 for 145 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Jermarian Jackson led the defense with 10 total tackles, 2.5 of which were behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of yardage.
The Wildcats begin a three-game homestand next Saturday as Oklahoma Panhandle State comes to Pineville for a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup. Kickoff against the Aggies (2-2, 0-1 SAC) is 6 p.m. at Wildcat Field.