The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns opened up conference play with a 28-20 victory over Georgia Southern thanks to a big night from Levi Lewis and some big stops on fourth down by the defense late in the ballgame.
How It Happened:
The Ragin’ Cajuns opened up the contest with the football and got near midfield before Levi Lewis threw an incompletion on third and four intended for John Stephens Jr. Following a Rhys Byrns punt that pinned the Eagles to their own eight-yard line, they had a methodical 16-play drive that ended with an eight-yard run by Gerald Green to take an early 7-0 lead.
Both teams settled for punts on the next two drives, and Louisiana put together an efficient drive that ended with a 48-yard pass from Lewis to Michael Jefferson to even things up at seven.
After forcing a three-and-out on defense, the Cajuns kept rolling but were stopped at the Georgia Southern six-yard line and had to kick a field goal. However, Eldrick Robinson II was called for leaping on the attempt, giving the Cajuns an automatic first down and took full advantage of the second chance with a direct snap to Emani Bailey to put Louisiana up 14-7.
The Eagles responded with a touchdown drive of their own courtesy of a four-yard run by Green. However, the Cajuns special teams blocked the extra point to make it a one-point lead.
Georgia Southern tried to take the lead headed into the half with a 52-yard field goal but Louisiana was able to block the kick to keep it 14-13 as both team headed into the locker room.
The Cajuns fired out of the gates in the second half with Emani Bailey running up the middle for 35 yards followed by a 22-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Lumpkin to take a 21-13 lead.
Louisiana’s defense came up big later in the third quarter with Percy Butler picking off Justin Tomlin deep in their own territory. Lewis then led the Cajuns to another scoring drive that ended with a 46-yard touchdown pass to Dontae Fleming to go up 28-13.
The Eagles weren’t about to go down easily though with Gerald Green running down the field for a 76-yard touchdown to make it 28-20. Louisiana was able to stave off Georgia Southern though, forcing a turnover on downs with 44 seconds left in regulation to open conference play with a 1-0 record.
Big Number: 249
The Cajuns passing game looked great in the victory with Lewis throwing for 249 yards and three touchdowns, all of which were for twenty yards or more,
Player of the Game: Levi Lewis
The Scotlandville product put together a complete performance tonight, going 17-of-28 for three touchdowns leading his team to a win in the Sun Belt Conference
Next Up: Saturday vs South Alabama; Kickoff at 7 pm