University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Arkansas State
A-State Continues Cajuns' Road Woes
10/13/2007 5:00:00 AM | Football
A-State (3-3, 1-1 Sun Belt) took a 10-point lead into the second half and extended that edge to 17 points at the 8:43 mark of the third quarter. A five-play, 64-yard drive ended with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Leonard to Vernon Catlin.
The Cajuns had trouble with their bread & butter, as UL couldn't sustain their running game. As a team, the Cajuns ran for just 133 yards, and 64 of those yards came on one run by Michael Desormeaux.
ASU extended their lead to 45-21 following a 14-play, 79-yard drive. Under heavy pressure, Leonard threw a screen pass to Cedric Wilkerson that resulted in a 10-yard touchdown. The touchdown pass was the fifth of the game for Leonard and gave the hosts as 24-point lead.
Desormeaux led the Cajuns with 74 yards rushing, while adding 100 yards passing. Jason Chery led all players with 101 yards receiving.
The Cajuns went three-and-out on their opening drive of the game, and after a 42-yard punt, gave ASU starting field position at their 40-yard line. On third-and-two, Leonard's pitch was errant and it was scooped by Daylon McCoy, who returned the ball 40 yards for a touchdown. It was the first fumble return for a score by the Cajuns since Brad Franklin took a fumble back on Nov. 17, 2001 vs.
Leonard immediately atoned for his earlier miscue by directing an eight-play, 71-yard drive spanning 3:30. He ran five times for 31 yards, including a four-yard touchdown to knot the game at 7-7 near the midway point of the first quarter. ASU took the lead on a 10-play, 74-yard scoring drive. The Indians ran the ball nine consecutive times before using a Josh Arauco 28-yard field goal at 10:18 of the second quarter to take a 10-7 advantage.
The Indians took a 10-point lead on one play. Leonard hit tight end David Johnson with a short pass, but Johnson bulled over a pair of Cajuns, and with the help of a few blocks, raced untouched down the sidelines 84 yards for a score.
The Cajuns countered with a big play of their own. Desormeaux broke a tackle on a draw up the middle and bounced outside, racing past the secondary for a 64-yard touchdown.
Leonard put ASU back in front by 10 points with a 6-play, 62-yard scoring drive. He started the drive with a 16-yard run and then later completed a 25-yard pass. The drive culminated with Leonard hitting Johnson for a four-yard strike in the end zone.
The Cajuns needed just three plays to answer. Desormeaux connected on a 12-yard pass to Derrick Smith. Tyrell Fenroy added a two-yard rush before Desormeaux hit Chery with a play-action pass deep down the middle. Chery did the rest, outrunning everyone for a 64-yard touchdown.
ASU needed nine plays to march 82 yards, scoring on a six-yard fade pass from Leonard to Levi Dejohnette. The score put the hosts in front 31-21 with 30 seconds remaining in the first half.
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