Arena football and the Voodoo returned to Louisiana, this time playing their home games in Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette. Their first opponent of the 2024 season was the Philadelphia Soul and it got out of hand quickly as Louisiana got an early lead and never let it diminish as the Voodoo came out on top 53-18.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Soul received the ball first and it didn’t go as planned. On 2nd & 10, the snap was mishandled and Louisiana defensive lineman Kerry Starks recovered the fumble at the one yard line. Starks then lined up at running back and ran a toss to the right and scored the first touchdown of the season for the Voodoo at the 11:50 mark of the first quarterback.
On the following possession for the Soul, quarterback Jamal Stanfield was intercepted by Kyle Chandler inside their territory. A couple of plays into their second possession, Sheldon Augustine got the handoff but got popped and fumbled the ball into the air as Antwane Grant recovered the ball and was tackled at the Philadelphia four yard line.
The Soul couldn’t move the ball following the turnover and Stanfield threw the ball out of bounds in the endzone for a safety. The Voodoo went up by nine midway through the first quarter.
After the kick hit the raftors, Louisiana started their third drive at their own 10 yard line. Quarterback Chase Fourcade found receiver Carrington Thompson for a pickup of 20 yards, then connected with fullback Devin Jones for the seven yard touchdown last in the opening quarter.
On the first play of the second quarter, Stanfield was sacked in the endzone by Kyle Jarvis for the second safety of the game to give the Voodoo the 18 point lead. Fourcade on the first play of the next possession went deep for the 30 yard touchdown with 13 minutes to go.
Philadelphia put up their first points of the season with eight minutes left in the second quarter. Stanfield completed a couple of passes and scrambled for a first down but running back Demarius Cooksie scored from seven yards out. The point after was blocked with Stanfield recovering the loose ball and trying to score but then he fumbled and the Voodoo fell on the ball. Louisiana was up 25-6.
The Voodoo followed that up by driving down inside the Philly 10 yard line but Fourcade’s arm was hit as he threw the ball and Corey Johnston came down with the interception.
Stanfield tried to buy time but got sacked on third and fourth down to set up Louisiana at the Soul 17 yard line. Fourcade connected with offensive lineman Eric Janeau Jr. to set up a one yard touchdown by Augustine, who got the ball on a reverse with 22 seconds left.
The Voodoo went into the half up 32-6 over the Soul after Stanfield scrambled around to try and make a play but got sacked.
Augustine received the kickoff to open the second half and took it to the house to put the Voodoo up by 33. Following that score, Stanfield’s pass into the endzone was intercepted by Trevon Guano and returned to the 20-yard line. A couple of plays later, Fourcade went across the middle to Thompson for the 15 yard score midway into the third quarter.
Stanfield reached paydirt himself on the next possession as he scrambled right and cut back left for the 16 yard touchdown. The point after was blocked again as the Voodoo were now up by 34 points.
Fourcade tried to hit his receiver deep but Von’traye Henderson intercepted the pass. That led to Stanfield connecting with Matthew Stroud deep to further cut into the lead.
Backup quarterback Andre Sale came in for the remainder of the game and on his first play threw a screen to Jacorey Sullivan who took it 40 yards to the house with two minutes to play.
The Voodoo would end up winning 53-18 to start 1-0 on the season.
BIG NUMBER: 3
The Louisiana Voodoo made an impact on special teams as the team blocked three extra point attempts. The defense also recorded two safeties in the win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Chase Fourcade
Despite a couple of interceptions throw, the starting quarterback for the Voodoo threw three touchdown passes in the 53-18 win over the Philadelphia Soul.
UP NEXT: The Louisiana Voodoo will be back at home next Saturday, May 4th to take on the Georgia Force. Kickoff in Blackham Coliseum is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.