Caleb Evans vs Southeastern Louisiana 2018
Jansen A. Nowell/ULM Photo Services
31
SOUTHEASTERN LA SLU 0-1
34
Winner ULM ULM 1-0
SOUTHEASTERN LA SLU
0-1
31
Final
34
ULM ULM
1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
SLU SOUTHEASTERN LA 14 7 0 10 31
ULM ULM 7 9 10 8 34

Game Recap: Football |

ULM Displays Grit in Season-Opening Win Over Southeastern, 34-31

By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist
 
MONROE, La. – The stars finally aligned for ULM football Thursday night in the 2018 season opener at Malone Stadium.

R.J. Turner blocked a 37-yard field-goal attempt as time expired to preserve a 34-31 win over Southeastern Louisiana before 10,137 at JPS Field.
 
"My coaches put me in that position because they believed in me to make a play," Turner said. "I just did what I was taught to do."

ULM trailed by five at halftime, took the lead in the third and fell behind again in the fourth quarter before pulling out the victory in the waning minutes.

"They had a really good scheme," ULM head coach Matt Viator said. "They really frustrated us offensively. We had 31 first downs and ran almost 100 plays, but we just couldn't quite get the knockout punch." 
 
Quarterback Caleb Evans completed 35-of-53 passes for 346 yards and two touchdowns and ran for the game-winning touchdown and two-point conversion with just 37 seconds to play.
  
Derrick Gore rushed 21 times for a career-high 104 yards and one touchdown, Marcus Green caught seven passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns and Turner added seven catches for 95 yards.
 
"Adversity is expected and that's what makes you a good team," Turner said, "When everything is going fine, everything is good. When everything is not going so well, that's when you have to dig deep and have to continue to drive."

Overall, ULM amassed 554 yards and collected 31 first downs but missed out on several scoring opportunities with two turnovers, two missed field goals and a missed extra point.

"There was a frustrating aspect to it," Evans said. "We were moving the ball, but we just didn't finish it and score. We left it in the hands of our field-goal kicker, which I never want to do. Six points is better than three, right?"
 
Defensive end Sam Miller led ULM with two sacks, including a pivotal stop on third-and-8 late in the game with the Lions clinging to a 31-26 lead.
 
"There were other guys who put me in position to make those plays," Miller said.
 
Evans and the offense took over at the ULM 37 with 2:04 to play and the junior quarterback directed the go-ahead drive in seven plays, capped by his 11-yard touchdown run. Evans pushed the lead to three with a two-point conversion run.
 
Southeastern moved the ball 55 yards in six plays to the ULM 20 with head coach Frank Scelfo electing to settle for the field-goal attempt with three seconds showing. The 6-foot-2 Turner skied high to block the attempt by kicker Jonathan Tatum as the relieved Warhawks raced onto the field in celebration.
  
"To be honest, I didn't see the ball until it was right in front of my face," Turner said. "It's really just a timing thing. I timed my jump. But I want to give a shout out to the guys up front. They did a good job getting a good push and let me get deep enough into it to get the angle on the ball."
 
ULM was down 21-16 at halftime but seemed poised to pull away early in the second half.

Green's second touchdown, a 79-yarder on ULM's first second-half possession, helped the Warhawks regain the lead 23-21.
 
The Warhawks (1-0) actually reset the game's tone before that as Andy Becker delivered a big hit on the opening kickoff of the third quarter. The ULM defense followed suit with a three-and-out, handing the ball back to their volatile offense with Evans hitting Green on the big play.
 
Back on defense, sophomore cornerback Corey Straughter continued the upward trend with a leaping interception and 50-yard return back to the Southeastern 21. But ULM wasn't able to turn the takeaway into points as Craig Ford missed a 37-yard field-goal.

Ford redeemed himself with a 28-yard field goal with 1:21 to go in the third for a 26-21 edge that carried over into the final period.
 
The Lions added a 34-yard field goal by Tatum on the first play of the fourth quarter to pull within 26-24.

The Warhawks squandered another scoring opportunity when Ford missed a 34-yard field goal with 11:17 showing in the fourth.
 
Southeastern regained the lead 31-26 with 8:23 remaining in the game on a 34-yard pass from Chason Virgil to Juwan Petit-Frere, who made five catches for 148 yards and two scores. 
 
The game was a rollercoaster throughout. ULM trailed 14-7 at the end of an eventful first quarter.
 
Gore plunged in from 2 yards out for a 7-0 lead as ULM took the opening kickoff and chewed up 77 yards over 13 plays. The Warhawks converted a fourth-and-3 during their 5:19 march and Evans was 6-for-7 passing for 55 yards.
 
Southeastern answered with a scoring drive in its first chance to tie the score at 7-7. The Lions utilized two quarterbacks to move 77 yards in 10 plays. The Fresno State transfer Virgil hit Austin Mitchell on a 9-yard touchdown pass.  Virgil had a big debut with 358 passing yards and four touchdowns.
 
ULM's second offensive series wasn't as successful. Southeastern's Ferlando Jordan picked off Evans on a deep pass and returned the interception 42 yards to ULM's 18. Virgil capitalized with a 15-yard touchdown pass to fellow quarterback Lorenzo Nunez to put the visitors on top 14-7.
 
ULM pulled within 14-10 early in the second quarter as Ford booted a 22-yard field goal to finish a 17-play, 88-yard drive. 
 
The defense came up with a needed spark Miller registered a sack for ULM and Kenderick Marbles broke up a pass on third down with 11:30 left in the second quarter to force a Southeastern punt.

The Warhawks regained the lead 16-14 on the ensuing possession as Evans hit Green on a 3-yard touchdown strike. ULM's scoring drive covered 66 yards in 12 plays but Ford's PAT was blocked.
 
Petit-Frere, Southeastern's All-America return specialist, showed off his receiving skills on a 59-yard touchdown pass from Virgil that put the Lions up 21-16 with 5:56 left in the half.

Evans committed his second turnover of the game with a fumble with 2:38 to go before intermission. Southeastern recovered at its own 32, but the defense made a stand to overcome the miscue.

After forcing ULM's Jared Porter to punt for the first time, the Lions moved into scoring position, but Tatum missed a 44-yard field-goal try.

 "We turned it over twice, gave them a short field and gave up a big play," Viator said as he left the field at halftime. "We've got to make some plays offensively and get some stops defensively."

A couple hours later, Viator was relieved and rewarded as his team did just enough to claim the opening-night victory.

"We made enough to win and that's the most important thing," he said. 

Tail feathers: Former team captain Pat Mitchell was honored on the field during the game as the 2018 Scogin Award winner for his support of ULM Athletics. … ULM freshmen lined up on the field and formed a "Talon Tunnel" for players as they ran onto JPS Field. … Team captains for the Warhawks were Marcus Hubbard, David Griffith, Xavier Brown and Derrick Gore.  … ULM showed off its new color scheme in fine fashion with gold pants, maroon jerseys and white helmets. … First-year Southeastern Louisiana head coach Frank Scelfo was a four-year letterman at catcher at ULM from 1978-81. He still ranks fourth on ULM's career home run list with 36. … ULM's mascot Ace celebrated his 12th birthday with a giant "cupcake" at the 20-yard line prior to the second quarter. … Southeastern cornerback Xavier Lewis, an LSU transfer, was ejected for targeting in the second quarter. Lion linebacker Sean Clavelle was ejected in the third quarter for targeting on a kickoff return in the third quarter.
 
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