The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns wrapped up the Sun Belt West Division for the third straight season on Saturday afternoon in resounding fashion with a 38-10 win over the South Alabama Jaguars thanks in large part to a great defensive performance as well as a good game by Levi Lewis.
How It Happened
The Cajuns defense made a statement early with Percy Butler intercepting Desmond Trotter on the fifth play from scrimmage, giving Levi Lewis and crew good field position. Elijah Mitchell set the tone early with six straight runs. A couple plays later, Levi Lewis made it a 7-0 lead with a five-yard pass into the endzone to Jalen Williams.
After a three-and-out by South Alabama, Mobile native Eric Garror returned a punt 40 yards to give the Cajuns the ball deep in enemy territory. Chris Smith then punched it in with a 22-yard run to take a 14-0 lead.
The Jaguars marched down the field with a methodical 15-play drive that took 7:14 off the clock, but only resulted in a chip shot field goal from Diego Guajardo to chip away at the lead. The score remained 14-3 until about halfway through the second quarter when Lewis connected with Errol Rogers Jr. on a three-yard pass to take a 21-3 lead.
South Alabama responded with a good balance of run and pass, resulting in a seven-yard touchdown pass to Kawaan Baker to make it 21-10 with 4:04 left until halftime. However, the Cajuns responded before the first half finished with a quick march down the field that ended with Mitchell running it in from five yards out, making it a 28-10 lead as both teams headed into the locker room. The second half was nearly scoreless until Kenny Almendares booted one from 25 yards out to make it a 31-10 lead.
Lewis put the finishing touches on the victory early in the fourth quarter with a screen pass to Trey Ragas on 4th and 1 that turned into a 25-yard touchdown, making it 38-10.
Big Number: 268
The Cajuns defense looked to be on fire against South Alabama, holding the offense to 268 total yards of offense and limiting the Jags to only 10 points.
Player of the Game: Levi Lewis
The Scotlandville product deserves a lot of praise for his performance on Saturday afternoon, throwing for 252 yards and three touchdowns. It was the performance that many fans had been waiting to see from him all season long.
Up Next: Saturday November 21st vs Central Arkansas; Kickoff at 1 pm