University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Southern Miss
Early Deficit Deepens, Derails Cajuns
8/30/2008 5:00:00 AM | Football
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns were handed a tough 51-21 loss at Southern Miss on Saturday evening. The Cajuns fell into an early hole and could not dig themselves out.
USM's Damion Fletcher won the duel between two of the nation's premier running backs, finishing with 21 carries for 222 yards, adding a pair of touchdowns. Cajuns star Tyrell Fenroy finished with 13 carries for 56 yards ? all in the first half ? and scored a touchdown. Fenroy, who didn't play in the second half because of a head injury, finished the game nine yards shy of Brian Mitchell's career rushing record.
Southern Miss extended its 20-point halftime lead up to 30 points in the third quarter thanks to a 25-yard field goal by Britt Barefoot and a three-yard run by Bubba Kirksey. The score by Kirksey capped a 10-play, 82-yard drive for the Golden Eagles.
Cajuns quarterback Michael Desormeaux paced the offense with 16 carries for 146 yards. It is his eighth career 100-yard rushing performance. He finished the night 9-of-20 passing for 98 yards. Desormeaux moved into sixth place on the Cajuns career rushing list and is 25 yards shy of fifth all-time.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Brad McGuire entered the game midway through the fourth quarter and directed a five-play, 49-yard scoring drive. McGuire hit Pierre Hill with a 21-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone.
It's safe to assume that most people in Louisiana on Saturday afternoon had their focus on the impending arrival of Hurricane Gustav. The same may be true for the Cajuns, who seemed to be collectively focused somewhere other than football.
The Cajuns committed three penalties and had a pair of turnovers in the first quarter en route to a 14-0 deficit.
The Cajuns went deep on the first play of the game. Michael Desormeaux's pass was on target for Jason Chery, who had a step on the defender, but Chery was dragged down from behind for an obvious penalty. Instead of a sure homerun, the Cajuns gained only 15 yards on the pass interference flag.
UL came up empty on the possession as Desormeaux was intercepted near midfield on third-and-17.
Southern Miss wasted no time, quickly moving 56 yards in five plays to take an early 7-0 lead. Fletcher ran three times on the drive for 37 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown.
USM needed two plays to score a touchdown following Desormeaux's second interception. Fletcher started things with a 32-yard run before Austin Davis hit Ed Morgan with a 23-yard scoring pass.
The hosts opened the second quarter by finishing off a 16-play, 68-yard scoring drive that ended with a one-yard jaunt by Davis. USM held a 21-0 lead with 13:51 remaining in the first half.
The Cajuns used their running game to get on the board. Desormeaux sparked a seven-play, 59-yard drive with a 33-yard rush. Fenroy followed with three straight runs for 21 yards. Julian Shankle ended the drive with his first career touchdown, a one-yard plunge, to trim the Cajuns deficit to 21-7.
Less than two minutes later, Fletcher scored his second touchdown to push the USM lead back to 21 points.
UL countered with a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive. The drive's key play came on a 23-yard pass from Desormeaux to Chery into USM territory. Fenroy finished things off with a three-yard scoring run to pull the Cajuns within 14 points.
USM quickly scored again to extend their lead at the half. The Golden Eagles traveled 78 yards in six plays, using only 1:38 off the clock. Barefoot missed the extra point, keeping the USM led at 34-14.
