Cecilia native Raymond Calais surprised the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns fans to start the 2017 season taking the opening kickoff for a touchdown. He surprised them again with another kickoff return for a touchdown later in the first quarter and that was a key factor in the Cajuns 51-48 victory over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions.
The only thing that wasn’t surprising is that Calais was named by the Sun Belt Conference as the Special Teams player of the year. The sophomore averaged 57.2 yards on four kick returns, including a 100-yard return that tied the record for longest return held by Darryl Surgent and Jeryl Brazil.
Calais’ 229 all-purpose yards were the fifth most recorded during the opening weekend of the college football season.
Louisiana (1-0) will return to action on Saturday when it travels to Tulsa (0-1) with kickoff set for 3 pm.
-Clint Domingue