Caleb Evans run vs. Coastal Carolina 2019
Nicolas Galindo/The News-Star
42
COASTAL CAROLINA CCU 4-7 , 1-6
45
Winner ULM ULM 5-6 , 4-3
COASTAL CAROLINA CCU
4-7 , 1-6
42
Final
45
ULM ULM
5-6 , 4-3
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
CCU COASTAL CAROLINA 14 0 14 14 42
ULM ULM 14 7 10 14 45

Game Recap: Football |

ULM Fires Back in Home Finale with 45-42 Win Over Coastal

By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist
 
MONROE, La. – Fireworks are fun, but it pays to have a fire extinguisher around too when things get out of hand.
 
On a night when the offenses ran hot at Malone Stadium, ULM's defense made two key stands late to preserve a 45-42 win over Coastal Carolina.
 
"It was really a crazy game," ULM coach Matt Viator said. "There was some stuff that happened but give our guys credit. We had a hard time stopping them, but we came up with a couple of big stops at the end of the game."
 
ULM (5-6, 4-3 Sun Belt) kept alive its chances to reach bowl eligibility with a satisfying finish in their final home game of 2019.
 
Caleb Evans passed for 346 yards and two touchdowns, including a 98-yard strike to Markis McCray that is the longest in school history. Evans also ran nine times for 69 yards and a touchdown while directing an offense that gained 563 yards.
 
"I told the defense that we got them and they were going to get us," Evans said. "We came through for the defense today, and they came through for us when I threw the interception."
 
ULM's offense claimed the lead for good when Evans hit Zach Jackson for a 34-yard touchdown strike that put the home team ahead 45-42 with 6:47 remaining. The Warhawks went 75 yards in three plays, burning just 43 seconds for the game's eighth lead change.
  
A pivotal defensive stop by ULM, including a third-down sack by Ty Shelby, forced a Chanticleers punt and gave the Warhawks' possession with 5:13 left in the game.
  
Coastal regained possession as Evans was intercepted by Chandler Kryst at the CCU 24 with 3:26 to go. Again the defense responded as Larance Shaw sacked Fred Payton on first down for a loss of 3. After a false start by the Chanticleers, Payton ran for 5 yards and CCU faced third-and-13. On the next play, Ivin White Jr. recovered a muffed snap by the quarterback at the CCU 15.
  
"We made those key plays," Shaw said. "Now, we're one more game from being bowl eligible and hopefully making it to a bowl game. That's the most important thing, being 1-0."
 
With another big night, Evans became the second ULM player to reach 11,000 yards of total offense and moved past Steven Jyles into second place for career passing yards (9,180). He also extended his school record for rushing touchdowns to 35.
 
McCray had three catches for 114 yards, recording his first 100-yard receiving game in his last home performance. Running back Josh Johnson added to his gaudy numbers with 129 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
 
Linebacker Cortez Sisco Jr. recorded 19 total tackles and became the first player to go over 100 tackles since Hunter Kissinger's 133 in 2015. Sisco now has 102 stops this season.  
 
"It's just believing in the play calling," Sisco said. "What we strike to do is, whatever the coach tells you to do, make sure you do exactly that and try to be perfect. Don't try to do the next man's job. Just do your job."
 
CJ Marable led Coastal Carolina (4-7, 1-6) with 172 rushing yards and two scores. The Chanticleers gained 452 yards with 230 on the ground and 222 passing.
 
The two offenses came out trading blows from the start.
 
CCU's opening drive covered 75 yards in five plays and ended with Marable's 3-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.
 
The Warhawks answered quickly with a rapid-fire march of their own. Johnson rambled 12 yards for his 10th touchdown to close out a five-play, 67-yard drive for a 7-7 tie at the 11:11 mark.
 
ULM needed one explosive play to take its first lead as Evans fired a 98-yard touchdown pass to McCray with 5:55 left in the first quarter. The reception was the longest in ULM history, surpassing Wendal Lowrey's 96-yard pass to future L Club Hall of Famer Vincent Brisby at Stephen F. Austin in 1991.
 
The Chanticleers steered right back into a 14-14 tie as Payton tossed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jaivon Heiligh with 57 seconds to go in the first quarter. CCU's drive was 75 yards in nine plays.    
 
ULM regained the lead when Austin Vaughn barreled into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown, his fourth. The Warhawks went 74 yards in six plays to go ahead 21-14 with 8:52 remaining in the half and that remained the score until halftime.  
 
Sisco posted a monster first half with 17 total tackles and an interception late in the second quarter. His tackle for loss was his first of the year.
 
The Warhawks added a season-long 37-yard field goal from Jared Porter on their series to open the third quarter and led 24-14. The 12-play drive gained 58 yards.
   
Coastal converted on a fake punt on fourth-and-3 at the CCU 44 to keep its first third-quarter drive alive and scored three plays later on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Payton to Ky'Jon Tyler. ULM led 24-21 with 7:35 left in the period.
 
"I thought we had the fake punt defended about as good as you can have it," Viator said. "The guy just runs over us. It was just one of those games."
 
Tyler terrorized ULM again minutes later as he returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown that gave CCU its first lead since the opening quarter at 28-24 with 5:38 remaining.
 
ULM regained the edge at 31-28 as Evans scored on a 32-yard run with 1:52 to go. The Warhawks needed six plays to go 67 yards and Evans scored his 11th rushing TD of the year.   
 
The fourth quarter brought another lead change when Payton tossed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Reese White to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive. With 12:17 to play, CCU led 35-31.
 
The Warhawks countered with their own 75-yard drive over 12 plays and regained the lead at 38-35. ULM converted on third down three times, including a determined 14-yard run by Evans on third-and-9 to the CCU 12. One play later, Johnson powered through for a 12-yard touchdown run with 7:44 left in the game.
 
CCU needed one play to go ahead 42-38 as Marable streaked up the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown with 7:30 to go.
 
The final touchdown from Evans to Jackson was the answer that ULM needed to take the lead for good and the defense helped seal the deal.
 
"We continued to come back," Viator said. "We had a couple of really big-time answers by our offense I thought in the fourth quarter to answer the scores when we were going down four points."
 
Up next: ULM closes out the regular season at Louisiana-Lafayette. Following the game, the Sun Belt announced next Saturday's kickoff is 6:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPU.
 
Tail feathers: Senior Day brought pregame recognition for the 19 players making their final appearance at Malone Stadium. … ULM game-day captains were SN Walker Easton, QB Caleb Evans, DL Donald Louis Jr. and C Bobby Reynolds. … CB Corey Straughter hadn't allowed a pass completed over 20 yards this season until CCU's Bryce Carpenter hit a 51-yard connection to Larry Collins Jr. against him on the first drive of the game. … The first quarter saw the teams combine for 353 total yards. … Evans recorded his first 300-yard passing game of the year and ninth of his career. … ULM's Louis Jr. was ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter for a hit on the quarterback Payton. 
 
 
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