ULM Warhawks

By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist
 
MONROE, La. – One of the unsung heroes in ULM's 44-25 win over Georgia Southern never played a down Saturday in Malone Stadium. 

Freshman running back Isaiah Phillips did play a key role in prepping ULM's defense for the Georgia Southern triple-option attack. Phillips stepped in as the scout team quarterback in practice last week and his slippery running style had the Warhawks primed and ready. 

"It was fun," Phillips said. "Being redshirted, you know you're not wasted. You can still help the team out any way you can. I feel like that's what I did, giving them a good look." 

ULM limited the potent Eagles to 138 yards on the ground and just 3.0 yards per attempt. The 216 total offensive yards were the fewest allowed by the Warhawks since Matt Viator became head coach. 

"We had a great game plan from Coach (Mike) Collins and the scout team gave us a great look all week," ULM linebacker Chase Day said. "I told the boys on the sideline after we came off the field from the first drive, 'It's exactly like it was in practice.' It slowed the game down a lot and made it a lot easier."

Georgia Southern quarterback Shai Werts came in with 671 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns but netted just 3 yards rushing on 12 attempts against ULM. Forced into passing mode as ULM jumped ahead early, Werts completed 8-of-15 attempts for 78 yards and was sacked five times. 

"Honestly, I think Isaiah and No. 4 (Werts) were just alike," Day said. "He played his role with that option."

The 5-foot-7, 193-pounder ran for 1,943 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior at Lufkin (Texas) High School. Unleashed again in practice, he exhibited that ability against his college teammates.

 "I'd catch them out of position every now and then," Phillips said. "Get 'em with a juke move or something like that."

But he could also see the defense making quick strides as the week of preparation went on. 

"Toward the end, they started catching on to the things I was doing," Phillips said. "It helped them I guess."

As he watched from the sidelines, Phillips beamed with pride knowing he'd played such a key role behind the scenes. 

"It brought me a smile," he said. "Not only did they stop the offense, but they stopped the quarterback. He didn't have many rushing yards at all." 
 
Pederson in the house: An open date for the Philadelphia Eagles gave Doug Pederson his opportunity to head back to Monroe to watch the Warhawks.  

The NFL head coach and reigning Super Bowl winner kept a low profile during his visit but was part of the victory celebration on the field after the game. Between taking family pictures and selfies with fans who spotted him, Pederson shared his thoughts on the big win with ULMWarhawks.com.  

"All their goals are still in front of them," Pederson said. "That's what you want, to control your destiny. I'm excited for ULM, the coaches and the players. Everything is right there for them. I can't wait for the next couple of weeks." 

ULM now sits alone in first place in the Sun Belt Conference West Division and visits South Alabama next week with the chance to win its sixth game and gain bowl eligibility.

"This is a great opportunity to take another leap forward," Pederson said. "I'm excited for them." 

Big play bonanza: ULM knew one key to beating an option team like Georgia Southern is to jump out to an early lead. 

"We put in a couple of big ball shots that helped us early," ULM head coach Matt Viator said

Reading right off their winning script, the Warhawks bolted to a 20-0 advantage thanks to touchdown passes covering 80 and 69 yards from Caleb Evans to Marcus Green. Evans also connected on a 41-yard strike to Markis McCray on the game's opening drive to set up the first score.  

"It goes back to film study," Green said. "They were a heavy Cover-2, Cover-4 team, which means the middle of the field is going to be open a lot. Coach Kube and the offensive staff did a really good job putting a game plan together. We attacked where they were weak at, which was the middle of the field this game." 

Evans enjoyed a monster game with 439 yards total offense (332 passing yards with two TDs; 102 rushing yards and two TDs). He became the first player to top 400 yards total offense against Georgia Southern since Georgia State's Nick Arbuckle had 408 on Oct. 25, 2014. The only blemishes on Evans' stat line were a pair of interceptions, one which Georgia Southern's Jessie Liptrot returned 57 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter.  

"I'll take some of the blame for a couple of the turnovers because all I kept emphasizing to Coach Kubik was attack, attack, attack," Viator said. "Go get 'em. Because what Georgia Southern does is they limit your possessions. I thought we had some good things. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't."

Running strong: ULM's 573 yards of total offense included 236 yards rushing. 

Derrick Gore enjoyed his third 100-yard rushing game of the season and fourth of his career, with 15 carries for 110 yards and one score. Evans had 102 yards on 15 attempts and scored twice. 
        
ULM also got 23 yards on six carries from Josh Johnson, who scored his first career touchdown late in the second quarter. The former Ole Miss commitment didn't join the team until August. 

"Josh did a really good job," ULM offensive coordinator Matt Kubik said. "We talked about that all week. Fresh legs and a little bit more comfortable with the scheme. He had an extra week to really lock in, and I thought he did a really good job too."