The University of Louisiana football team bounced back from last week’s home loss to Appalachian State with an impressive 37-20 road victory over longtime rival Arkansas State. The Ragin’ Cajuns were led with a rejuvenated rushing attack, featuring a pair of former local stars, as the team improved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Sun Belt Conference.
How It Happened:
The two teams traded touchdowns drives in the first quarter with Arkansas State striking first early in the quarter while UL found the end zone late in the opening quarter. The Red Wolves got on the board first with 12-play, 95-yard drive capped by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Layne Hatcher to B. Bowling. The Ragin’ Cajuns responded with a 9-play, 74-yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Trey Ragas with a mere 11 seconds left in the quarter.
Arkansas State retook the lead with a 25-yard field goal by Blake Grupe early in the second quarter. UL though answered with 17 points to close out the half.
Former Erath High star Elijah Mitchell scored first with a 11-yard touchdown run, followed by a sensational 80-yard touchdown run by Raymond Calais — a former star at Cecilia High. The Cajuns closed out the half with a 25-yard field goal by former Lafayette High star Stevie Artigue.
Arkansas State chipped away at the lead with a 46-yard field goal by Grupe in the third quarter and then a 25-yard touchdown pass from Hatcher to Kirk Merritt which cut the lead down to 24-20 with roughly 11 minutes left to play in the fourth quarter.
UL answered right back with a 12-play, 52 yard scoring drive capped by Mitchell scoring his second touchdown of the night — this one from 1 yard out. The ensuing extra point was no good but the Cajuns had a 30-20 lead with a little more than 6 minutes remaining.
UL added another score as Calais found the end zone a second time — this time from 38 yards out.
Big Number: 315
After being held to only 123 yards on the ground last week against Appalachian State, UL’s power run game was running on all cylinders Thursday night. The Ragin’ Cajuns racked up 315 rushing yards and scored all five of their touchdowns on the ground.
Players of the Game: Elijah Mitchell and Raymond Calais
The local products stepped up in a big way for the Ragin’ Cajuns on Thursday night. The duo combined for 234 yards on 28 carries and scored 4 of the team’s 5 touchdowns.
Next Up: Saturday, Nov. 2 versus Texas State at Cajun Field; Kickoff TBD.