MONROE,
La.?Tyrell Fenroy rushed for a school-record 297 yards and Louisiana-Lafayette
took advantage of the big play in a 44-35 victory over ULM in the Sun Belt opener
for both clubs in front of a crowd of 21,929 in Malone Stadium Saturday night.
The
Ragin' Cajuns had six touchdowns of 52 yards or more and finished the game with
728 yards of total offense. Fenroy had touchdown runs of 89, 80 and 52 yards,
Jason Chery ran for an 89-yard score and caught a 74-yard touchdown pass, and
Michael Desomeaux ran in a 64-yard touchdown.
ULL
(2-3, 1-0 Sun Belt) finished game with 556 yards on the ground on 37 carries for
a 15.0 yards-per-carry average. The Warhawks ran for 241 yards on 40 carries
and finished the game with 383 yards of total offense.
The Warhawks did not turn the ball over in the game and have just three
on the season, which is tops in the nation. ULM entered the game tied
with Florida, Oklahoma and UNLV for the fewest in the NCAA, but all
three other teams had at least one turnover on the day.
The crowd
was the seventh-largest in Malone Stadium history and the largest crowd for a
Sun Belt Conference game in stadium history.
After
falling behind 34-16 midway through the third quarter, ULM mounted a furious
rally to get within two, 37-35, late in the fourth quarter. Greg James jump-started
the charge with a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown ? his second pick
of the game. The junior safety now ranks third on the ULM career list and
fourth on the Sun Belt career chart with 13 picks.
Drew
Edmiston pushed the lead out to 37-29 with a 25-yard field goal two possessions
later.
Frank
Goodin pulled the Warhawks within a two-point conversion of tying the game with
his second touchdown of the game, but Trey Revell's pass to Zeek Zacharie in
the end zone was just out of reach.
On ULL's
next possession, Fenroy went straight up the middle on the first play of the
drive for 80 yards and his third score of the game.
ULM's
Radi Jabour kicked field goals of 42, 19 and 39 yards in the first half and has
now made four consecutive kicks after the Warhawks opened the season just 2-for-7
on field goal attempts.
Chery's
two touchdowns came on ULL's first two drives of the second half after the
Warhawks (1-4, 0-1) seemed to grab a little momentum with a pair of field goals
in the final three minutes of the first half.
Lancaster
took control of the Warhawks next drive rushing three times for 71 times
setting up a three-yard touchdown run by Darrell McNeal.
The
Cajuns responded five plays later as Fenroy popped his 52-yard run straight up
the middle stretching the lead out to 34-16.
ULM
turned the tables on its ensuing drive as Revell kept the ball on an option for
57 yards down to the ULL eight-yard line. A personal foul penalty moved the
ball to the four and Goodin took it in for his first score of the night.
The Warhawks
hit the road next week as they travel to Jonesboro, Ark., for a Sun Belt
contest against Arkansas State on Saturday.
The game kicks off at 6 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN+.
Scoring Summary
ULM ?
Jabour 42-yard FG, 6:48, 1st
ULL ?
Fenroy 89-yard run (Edmiston kick failed), 6:31, 1st
ULL ?
Desomeaux 64-yard run (Edmiston kick), 14:51, 2nd
ULM ?
Jabour 19-yard FG, 2:48, 2nd
ULM ?
Jabour 39-yard FG, 0:07, 2nd
ULL ?
Chery 87-yard run (Edmiston kick), 13:53, 3rd
ULL ?
Chery 74-yard pass from Desomeaux (Edmiston kick), 11:07, 3rd
ULM ?
McNeal 3-yard run (Jabour kick), 9:36, 3rd
ULL ?
Fenroy 52-yard run (Edmiston kick), 7:48, 3rd
ULM ?
Goodin 4-yard run (Jabour kick failed), 1:15, 3rd
ULM ?
James 55-yard interception return (Jabour kick), 14:49, 4th
ULL ?
Edmiston 25-yard FG, 7:36, 4th
ULM ?
Goodin 11-yard run, 5:42, 4th
ULL ?
Fenroy 80-yard run, 5:20, 4th
Quotes
ULM Sophomore Frank Goodin
On the game
Coach (Weatherbie) said before the game that there would be 10 or 12
plays to determine the outcome of the game. It is obvious that they made more
of them.
On where the team
goes from here
We are going to continue fighting. That is all we can do ?
just forget about this one and move on. We have to take it as a stepping stone.
I don't think its anything that this team can't overcome.
ULM head coach Charlie Weatherbie
On the game
Hard fought ballgame. They made more big plays then we
did and my hat is off to them. They out played us tonight. I'd love to play
them again tomorrow or next week. They are a good football team, but so are we.
On the defense
I think we probably had a few missed tackles and that they
broke a few tackles. Any time you get three takeaways from a team and a defensive
touchdown and don't beat them, it is there night.
On chances at
winning a conference championship
I really believe that this conference champion will have
one loss. There is too much parody in this conference for it to not be that
way. I still think we have a great opportunity to win this conference. We have
the team to do it.
On the play of the
quarterbacks
Trey (Revell) played real well. I thought Kinsmon (Lancaster) played real well
all game long. Both of them fought their tails off and led the team very well.
They threw the ball well, ran the ball well and led the team well. We have to
find a way to score touchdowns instead of field goals.
Junior safety Greg James
On the takeaways
When you get three takeaways and one for a touchdown and
don't win, it just isn't your night. The defense did a good job of getting the
turnovers, but also made a lot of mistakes.
On the mindset
after allowing the big plays
It is tough to rally from, but when you are constantly
letting them do it that makes it even harder. You just have to battle. The
offense did a good job of battling, but we hurt ourselves by allowing the big
runs.
ULM junior quarterback Trey Revell
On entering the
game
Kinsmon (Lancaster) is one of the leaders on our team. He has been a
staple on this team for so long. All you want to do is get in the game and
carry on what he was doing. I have been here long enough that I know the
offense and what I am capable of. Those guys, they were right there with me and
we were going to claw back. They (ULL) just kept getting big plays.
On the missed
2-point conversion
That is a play we practice a thousand times a day. I had Zeek (Zacharie)
in the back of the end zone and I just overshot him a little bit. It is one of those
plays we expect to make. It is a go-to play and we have to make it happen.
ULL head coach Ricky Bustle
On the number of
big plays
Every time I looked up there for a while Tyrell or
Michael was running down the field. I would like to say that is what we coach
them to do, but I would be lying. Those guys are special players.
On the play of
Tyrell Fenroy
I'm so happy for him. The best drive of the night was
that last one where they couldn't get the ball back.
On the team spirit
I am really proud of this football team because it believes
so much in each other. It is about them being together. That is what they
talked about in the locker room. They locked arms in there and talked about
being together. I don't know what the film will look like tomorrow, but there
were some big plays in there.
On the win
It is a big game. We have put together three great games.
I believe our players understand that we flip the page on the game tonight and
that gauge focuses on the next one. It doesn't matter who you play. You have
got to come out here and bring your best game.
ULL quarterback Michael Desormeaux
On winning against
ULM
It is great. Our guys have been working so hard. We
started the season on a real poor note and recommitted ourselves to doing the
little things. To come in here tonight and get a win against a quality opponent
like ULM is big.
On rebounding
after the Southern Miss loss
We believed that wasn't us. That is not the way we play
football. We were embarrassed. You can't make excuses, we just played terrible.
ULL running back Tyrell Fenroy
On beating ULM
Last year they came in and beat us. For this senior group
this was our last chance to play ULM. We had to come in with the mindset that
we were going to dominate. As far as team-wise, senior-wise and
recruiting-wise, this is a big win for us.
On how the win
effects the team
We lost a lot of close conference games last year. We
know we can pull it off and we came here and played all four quarters. It built
our confidence to come here to Monroe and get the win.
