The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns packed their bags and headed to Kennesaw State for their season’s first road test. This was the Owls’ first home game after becoming an FBS program. The Kennesaw crowd was electric early on but reality set in quickly as the Cajuns came out on top 34-10 to improve their record to 2-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Kennesaw State received the ball first and began at their 26-yard line. The Owls converted on four third-down opportunities, three of which were from seven yards and farther from the first down line. The opening drive took 8:32 off the clock in 16 plays as senior tight end Preston Daniels scored a three-yard touchdown on 2nd & GOAL.
Louisiana also moved the football 74 yards on its opening drive. Zylan Perry rushed for 28 yards on the first play, and quarterback Ben Wooldridge completed a 15-yard pass to Jacob Bernard to move the chains. The Cajuns got down to the Kennesaw 13-yard line, but Wooldridge’s pass to Harvey Broussard was broken up in the back of the endzone on 3rd & 7. Kenny Almendares lined up and made the 30-yard field goal, making it a 7-3 game 65 seconds into the second quarter.
The Owls on their second drive barely got past midfield before lining up to punt as quarterback Davis Bryson’s second and third down passes fell incomplete. Kennesaw’s punt was ruled as a touchback and the Cajuns drove right down the field.
Elijah “Bill” Davis recorded a bulk of the yards on the possession, carrying the ball on six times for 71 on the 10-play 80-yard drive. Davis ran the ball to the outside and down the sideline for a gain of 49, stiff-arming an Owl defender in the process before being knocked out of bounds at the five-yard line. Two plays later Davis scores from inside a yard to give Louisiana the lead.
After another Kennesaw punt, Wooldridge connected with Bernard on a 52-yard pass play. Zylan Perry then carried the ball twice, once for a pickup of six, then scored on a 19-yard touchdown to extend their lead to 10 points with 1:54 to play in the half.
The Cajuns got the ball one more time late in the quarter and added another three points to the scoreboard as Almendares knocked through the 26-yard attempt. Head coach Michael Desormeaux’s group headed into the locker room with a 20-7 advantage.
After a couple of possessions coming out of the second half, Louisiana made it a three-possession difference. Wooldridge completed passes of 20 and 38 yards to Lance Legendre and Robert Williams. Williams then caught a three-yard touchdown pass as the Cajuns went up by 20 points less than six minutes into the third quarter.
The Vermilion and White drained almost six minutes off the clock on their next drive. On three occasions, Wooldridge escaped the pressure and rushed for positive gains and Perry rushed for 21 yards to set up 1st & GOAL from the Owl six-yard line. Three plays later, Davis punched it in from a yard out to give Louisiana the 34-7 lead with 49 seconds to go in the third quarter.
Kennesaw State had a similar possession to their first as they went 63 yards in 14 plays, converting on a couple of fourth down plays. The Owls however settled for a 30-yard Austin Welch field goal halfway into the fourth.
Chandler Fields and other backups came in for Louisiana on their final possession and ran down the remainder of the clock to secure the 34-10 win over Kennesaw.
BIG NUMBER: 34
Kennesaw State got on the board early, scoring the game’s first touchdown but then it was all Louisiana. The Cajuns scored their first points at the beginning of the second quarter and didn’t let off the gas as they scored 34 straight in the dominant road win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: “Bill” Davis
Davis gets the nod as the player of the game but both he and Zylan Perry were excellent on the ground for the Cajuns on Saturday. Davis’ final stat line was 80 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries while Perry had 104 yards and reached paydirt once in 10 touches as Louisiana moved to 2-0 in a 34-10 win over Kennesaw State.
UP NEXT: The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns will have next week off before hosting the Tulane Greenwave the following weekend. Kickoff inside Cajun Field is set for Saturday, September 21st. The time will be decided at a later date.