LAFAYETTE – For the first time in program history, Louisiana Football secured a perfect record in Sun Belt Conference play after it defeated the ULM Warhawks, 21-16, on a dreary Saturday afternoon at Cajun Field.
Now winners of 11-straight games, the Ragin’ Cajuns (11-1, 8-0 Sun Belt) improved to 8-0 in league play and matched the most wins in program history. Additionally, Louisiana improved to 15-1 in the month of November under head coach Billy Napier.
Senior quarterback Levi Lewis drove the offense in the victory, throwing for 163 yards and contributing a 20-yard rushing score early in the contest. Running back Chris Smith showed off his versatility with a 37-yard passing touchdown and also contributed 31 yards rushing on 10 carries.
Fellow running backs Montrell Johnson and Emani Bailey provided a spark in the ground game, adding 62 yards and 61 yards, respectively, with Bailey also scoring a touchdown in the contest, his fifth of the season.
Louisiana’s defense was stiff once again, holding an opponent under 20 points for the seventh time this season and recording 7.0 tackles-for-loss and 2.0 sacks. Safety Kam Pedescleaux was credited with a career-high 10 tackles, seven of which were solo stops, for the first double-digit tackle performance of his career.
Chauncey Manac continued where he left off last week with a sack of his own, while Sonny Hazard and Andre Jones, who finished the game with eight tackles, each contributed a 0.5 sack.
It was a lightning-fast start for the Louisiana offense, which used a 55-yard pass from Lewis to Johnson and then a 20-yard touchdown rush by Lewis to take a 7-0 lead 40 seconds into the game.
After conceding a field goal to the Warhawks, the Ragin’ Cajuns took a 14-3 lead on their next possession with a little trickery as Smith took the direct snap on fourth down and lobbed a pass to Lacy, who caught the pass in stride for the 37-yard score.
ULM (4-8, 2-6 Sun Belt) scored its first touchdown of the game after stopping Louisiana on fourth down when Rhett Rodriguez found Boogie Knight for a 46-yard touchdown pass.
Bailey extended the lead to 21-10 in the third quarter, bursting through the line from two-yards out.
The visitors made things interesting late in the final period with a rushing touchdown from Malik Jackson, but an unsuccessful two-point conversion and onside kick helped the Ragin’ Cajuns secure the 21-16 victory.
Louisiana now turns its attention to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 4, when it hosts App State at Cajun Field. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. and will be broadcast to a national audience on ESPN.
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