Behind big performances by quarterback Bryce Perkins and local product EJ Scott, the nationally-ranked Louisiana Christian University football team scored 16 unanswered points in the second quarter to break a tie and posted a 50-36 non-conference win over the NCAA Division III East Texas Baptist Tigers on Homecoming Saturday at Wildcat Field to retain the Border Claw prize.
Perkins completed 18 of 26 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns while adding 28 rushing yards and a score. Scott caught 10 passes for 121 yards. Datlan Cunningham, a former ASH Trojan like Scott, led the ground attack with 91 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
Cunningham opened the scoring for Louisiana Christian (5-1) with a 5-yard touchdown run, and Perkins connected with Grayson Thibodeaux for a 31-yard score as LCU twice took the lead in a first quarter. East Texas Baptist (2-3) answered both and when the first quarter ended, the score was tied 14-14.
Perkins found Scott for a 24-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. Preston Baker followed with a 45-yard field goal to cap a 15-play, 58-yard drive and Perkins scored on a 13-yard run with 49 seconds remaining before halftime.
After LCU’s lead narrowed to 30-21 with 12 minutes left in the third quarter, Travis Adams returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, restoring the 16-point advantage just 14 seconds after the ETBU’s score. Perkins then connected with Braylon Jackson for a 70-yard touchdown with 2:29 left in the quarter, pushing the Wildcats ahead 43-21 after an unsuccessful two-point attempt.
Kedrian McNeil’s 3-yard TD run with 5:53 to go made it 50-28, icing the game.
Judson Mixon led the defense with six tackles. Jermarian Jackson recorded five tackles, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Jaden Jones intercepted a pass and Kristian Doyle recovered a fumble. The Wildcats allowed 331 passing yards but limited the Tigers to 62 rushing yards and recorded three sacks, five tackles for loss and seven pass breakups.
LCU finished with 489 yards, including 221 on the ground, and controlled possession for more than 34 minutes. The Wildcats produced 26 first downs, converted three of five fourth-down attempts and recovered all three of their own fumbles.
The Wildcats, ranked 17th and 19th in the two major NAIA Top 25 polls, wrap up their three-game homestand next afternoon at 2 in a key Sooner Athletic Conference game against Texas Wesleyan (3-2, 3-0 SAC) at Wildcat Field.