University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Arkansas State
Louisiana Tops ASU in Sun Belt Opener
9/12/2010 12:38:00 AM | Football
The game marked the Sun Belt Conference opener for both squads.
The Cajuns offense collected 242 yards rushing and 214 yards passing, for a 456 yard output. Four different players rushed for 40-plus yards and quarterback Chris Masson was 14-of-25 passing for 142 yards.
UL (1-1, 1-0 Sun Belt) withstood an ASU passing attack led by Ryan Aplin who completed 25-of-45 passes for 438 yards.
The Cajuns capitalized early. On their first offensive play, Kevis Streeter busted up the middle for a 69 yard touchdown.
A Tyler Albrecht field goal from 27 yards out at the 3:09 mark of the first quarter increased the lead to 10-0.
Arkansas State cut into UL's lead late in the first quarter on a 65-yard touchdown pass from Aplin to Taylor Stockemer 18 seconds later.
The Cajuns created distance from the Red Wolves (0-2, 0-1 Sun Belt) midway through the second quarter.
Masson found Ladarius Green in the endzone on a six yard pass at the 7:11 mark. The six-play, 32-yard scoring drive was set up after the Red Wolves botched a punt and UL's Daylon McCoy was able to come up with the fumble.
In their next offensive possession, UL effectively moved down the field 80 yards in just four plays to go up 24-7 in the final minutes of the half. A 47-yard option pass from Javone Lawson found Andrew Joseph wide open for the third score with 4:03 remaining.
Coming out of the break, neither team could get things going on the offensive side of the ball.
The teams would trade possessions back-and-forth for most of the quarter until Masson broke free on a 60-yard run with 37 seconds remaining in the third. The career-long run capped off the Cajuns' second four-play, 80-yard drive on the afternoon and upped the lead to 31-7.
Arkansas State scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter capped off by an 11-yard touchdown strike from Aplin to Anthony Robinson with 3:27 remaining. That drew the visitors within one score.
The Cajuns were forced to give the ball back to ASU with 2:22 remaining, after stalling near midfield on the ensuing possession.
Three plays later, Maurice Rolle, Jr., intercepted an Aplin pass at the ASU 40-yard line to seal the victory.
The Ragin' Cajuns' open date is next weekend. The squad's next game is set for Saturday, Sept. 25 against Middle Tennessee at Cajun Field. Game time is set for 2:30 p.m., in a Sun Belt Network broadcast.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
