MONROE, La.
-- UL-Lafayette blocked ULM's game-tying extra point attempt with just under
five minutes to play in the game and defeated the Warhawks 23-22 in the season
finale for both schools at Malone Stadium Saturday afternoon.
ULM
quarterback Kolton Browning scored what would have been the game-tying
touchdown on a 10-yard run, but Cooper Gerami was able to push past the Warhawk
line and block the extra point.
The Ragin' Cajuns
took the ensuing possession down to the Warhawk 3-yard line, but Alex Ibe
intercepted Chris Masson's pass on the 1-foot line. However, four incomplete
passes by the Warhawks turned the ball back over to ULL who was able to kneel
out the clock.
ULL (3-9,
3-5 Sun Belt) scored 13 points in the third quarter as they controlled the ball
for nearly 13 minutes. Brett Baer hit field goals of 31 and 32 yards and Masson
threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Ladarius Green to give the Ragin' Cajuns a
23-13 lead -- Green finished with a game-high 120 yards on six catches.
Browning led
the Warhawks on a 15-play drive that was capped off by a Radi Jabour 28-yard
field goal with just over nine minutes to play in the game to close the gap to
seven, 23-16. After forcing a three-and-out, the Warhawks went 84 yards in just
eight plays capped by Browning's 10-yard run.
The ULM
signal caller finished the game 17-of-37 for 164 yards and a touchdown pass in
addition to running for six yards on 10 carries. Browning finishes the season
second on the ULM single-season total offense list with 2,937 yards; just 29
yards shy of the record. The redshirt freshman also finishes the season ranked
second on the single-season completions list (234), fourth on the single-season
touchdown passes list (18) and seventh on the single-season passing yardage
list (2,502).
The Warhawks
marched down the field with ease on their first possession of the game using
just seven plays and three minutes capped by a Browning 1-yard touchdown pass
to Keavon Milton. Jabour extended the ULM (5-7, 4-4) lead out to 10-0 with a
34-yard field goal five minutes later.
After Baer
and Jabour traded 25 and 40 yard field goals, respectively, Masson threw a
73-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Spikes midway through the second quarter to
pull ULL within three, 13-10, going into the half. Masson finished the game
21-of-43 for 330 yards and two touchdowns.
ULM senior
running back Frank Goodin rushed for a game-high 94 yards on 17 carries, while
Luther Ambrose moved into fourth place on the ULM single-season receptions list
with 65 after catching four passes for 29 yards on Saturday.
Scoring Summary
ULM --
Milton 1-yard pass from Browning (Jabour kick), 12:00, 1st 7-0
ULM --
Jabour 34-yard field goal, 6:50, 1st 10-0
ULL -- Baer
25-yard field goal, 2:07, 1st 10-3
ULM --
Jabour 40-yard field goal, 14:55, 2nd 13-3
ULL --
Spikes 73-yard pass from Masson (Baer kick), 8:15, 2nd 13-10
ULL -- Baer
31-yard field goal, 12:16, 3rd 13-13
ULL -- Baer 32-yard
field goal, 8:55, 3rd 13-16
ULL -- Green
5-yard pass from Masson (Baer kick), 0:35, 3rd 13-23
ULM --
Jabour 28-yard field goal, 9:33, 4th 16-23
ULM --
Browning 10-yard run (Jabour kick blocked), 4:55, 4th 22-23
ULM vs. UL-Lafayette Game Notes
-
ULM team captains; Kolton Browning, Ken Dorsey,
Rodney Lovett, Jyruss Edwards
-
ULM lost the toss; ULM kicked off and defended the
North end zone to open the game
-
Linebacker Theo Smith and offensive lineman
Jonathan Gill extended their team-leading (non-special teams) consecutive games
started streak to 24 games -- place kicker Radi Jabour started his 33rd
consecutive game
-
Cornerback Vincent Eddie made his first career
start; he became the fourth true freshman to start a game for ULM and the 22nd
player to earn his first career start this season
-
The Warhawks have forced a turnover in 21 of 24
games under defensive coordinator Troy Reffett
-
The Warhawks have forced 42 turnovers in 24 games
under defensive coordinator Troy Reffett
-
Keavon Milton's touchdown reception in the first
quarter was the third of his career; today's game was his first at tight end
this season after he played defensive end in the first 11 games
-
Radi Jabour moved into third place on the ULM
career kick scoring list with 166 points; he also moved into sixth place on the
overall ULM career scoring list with 166
-
Quarterback Kolton Browning moved into second place
on the ULM single-season total offense list with 2,937 yards
-
Kolton Browning moved into second place on the ULM
single-season completions list with 234
-
Kolton Browning moved into fourth place on the ULM
single-season pass attempts list with 378
-
Kolton Browning moved into seventh place on the ULM
single-season passing yardage list with 2,502
-
Kolton Browning moved into fourth place on the ULM
single-season touchdown passes list with 18
-
Wide receiver Luther Ambrose moved in fourth place
on the ULM single-season receptions list with 65
-
Radi Jabour's three-made field goals ties his
career high he set against UL-Lafayette in 2008
ULM Quotes
Head coach Todd Berry
On the performance today...
"This one is tough to swallow. You have to give Lafayette
and coach Bustle a lot of credit. He was in a difficult situation today and I
thought his team rose up for him. We didn't play quite as well as we would have
liked, obviously. I mourn for the seniors. I told them that I have been in the
locker room on both sides, one's where you mourn and one's where you
celebrate."
"I think some significant events today were the fact that we
had some penalties that hurt us. I'll get that corrected in the offseason. We
had some turnovers that hurt us. I will get that corrected in the offseason.
And we had some missed assignments. Some of those I will get corrected in the
offseason, some I won't, depending on who they were with. You can't play like
we played today and expect to win."
On the future...
"For our underclassmen, I think there are a lot of reasons
to be excited about next year and like I just told them, I don't even want them
to think about it. I think there is time to get excited about it later on. If
they don't hurt right now and it doesn't sink in for them, then you're asking
for another situation like this to happen to them in the future."
Senior running back Frank Goodin-
On having his best game of his senior season in his final
game...
"I didn't really look at the numbers or think about it, but
the win would have been much better. It would have made us bowl-eligible and
potentially in a bowl game so the numbers are great, but the loss is what
everybody will remember."
On not being able to become bowl eligible...
"I think in previous year we haven't finished, but that
isn't something I can 't say about this year's team. I think the future is
bright for ULM and I will follow them for the rest of my life."
Senior linebacker Theo Smith-
On the team trying to become bowl eligible...
"We've been in this situation a few times since I have been
here and it hurts. You try to give it all you have to win and sometimes you
just can't come up with the victory."
On his leadership in the third quarter...
"We were just trying to get the young guys to keep fighting
and try to control what we can control. We can only control what is happening
when we are on the field."
Freshman quarterback Kolton Browning-
On what he needs to do in the offseason to improve...
"I just need to cut down on those mistakes. We had turnovers
tonight, but as for myself I need to get in the film room, study some of the
things I did wrong and take care of the ball a little better."
On if he thought the offense could score on the last
possession...
"With our offense, I did think we had a shot. We are an
explosive offense and we had been moving the ball quite a bit. We had a cold
period there in the third quarter. W only had one possession, but we needed to
sustain the ball while we were out there. For the most part, I thought our
offense was explosive enough to at least get the ball down there and get into
field goal range."
UL-Lafayette quotes
Head coach Rickey
Bustle
General comments... "It was a great game tonight. The kids
played their hearts out again and finally we found a way to win."
ON the choice to go with the onside kick... "It's something
we've been practicing and we got away with it. It's one of those calls that
work out either good or bad."
On dealing with injuries and it being one of the more
difficult seasons overall... "Oh there's no question. It's been tough and it's
great to see these young guys that are playing. We're playing so many
underclassmen right now and you couldn't give them that kind of experience in
spring ball and fall practice."
On the team's willingness to fight... "I've always said this
team had great character. And the coaches have great character. The kids won't
quit. They're the type of kids we've recruited to represent this university."
On QB Chris Masson's performance... "I thought he played
extremely well. Started off a little bit rough, but he led this football team
when he had to. I thought he made some great throws."
On going down early and fighting back during that 20-odd
point stretch... "Well I think we executed better. We threw the ball better. We
had some guys make some plays. It was just executing everything better."
#38 free safety
Cooper Gerami
On the block... "Our coach always says on the extra points you
can never expect to not get the block. There's always somebody that gets
through clean. This time I ran through and nobody touched me and I was able to
get a hand on the ball. A hand got on me but I was able to move sideways and
get through. It (the ball) hit me directly on my left hand. I usually don't get
through and when I did I was amazed. I didn't really believe it for a second
and I had to turn around and make certain it didn't go in."
#45 defensive end
Emeka Onyenekwu
On the game in general... "We came out here with a fire. We needed to do
it for the fans. This is the last time this group will be together. We just
felt strong that we needed to go out with a bang and set a tone for next season
that we're going to come out and we're never going to stop fighting."
ULM had a good passing attack and it never got going; On what
was done defensively to confuse them... "The coaches stressed all week the
passing attack. Never just wait there and let them hit you, so we came at them
first. We tried to hit them in the mouth so they wouldn't be able to get going
first. Especially the running back (Luther Ambrose), you have to hit him before
he gets started."
#7 quarterback Chris
Masson
Satisfaction with this game... "We knew that's what we had to
play for right now, was to mess someone's season up. We've had it done to us in
the past, so we're just glad we got this win. It's always tough going on the
road, let alone over here against a state rival, but we pulled it off and we
stuck together and we fought the whole entire game. We never gave up."
On finding his rhythm... "I was a little rusty at first and
then I kind of started calming down a bit. My offensive line did a great job
blocking. I barely got touched this game. They fought their butts off, and hats
off to them because without them we wouldn't have been able to do the stuff
that we were able to do because they (ULM) play so much man-to-man coverage and
they blitz so much. They did a great job recognizing everything and we did a
great job executing a game plan.
Personal feelings on the win... "It's huge for us. It's almost
like we've forgotten what it feels like to win. We've been through this slump
this whole entire season, and we stuck with each other and we fought with each
other and I'm proud of my guys for doing that. We did that even in the games
that we lost. We stuck with each other and we fought, and that's the type of
character of this team."
