University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, September 2
Lafayette
7:30 p.m.
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
1-0 , 0-0
38
vs
13
Northwestern State
0-1 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Northwestern St.
3
3
0
7
13
Louisiana
7
14
7
10
38
Wooldridge, New Look Cajuns Roll Past Demons, 38-13
9/3/2023 1:39:00 AM | Football
Cajuns defense gets five sacks, holds NSU to 187 yards total offense
LAFAYETTE – Ben Wooldridge, making his return to the lineup nearly 10 months after a season-ending injury, threw for three touchdowns and rushed for one and the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns used a smothering defensive effort to claim a 38-13 win over in-state opponent Northwestern State on Saturday night at Cajun Field.
Dre'lyn Washington, who rushed for career-high 88 yards on eight carries, scored on Louisiana's second play from scrimmage with a 62-yard race down the left sideline while Robert Williams and Tavion Smith each caught their touchdown passes in a Ragin' Cajuns uniform.
All five touchdowns scored for Louisiana (1-0) were 20 yards or greater with Wooldridge connecting with Peter LeBlanc on a 50-yard strike in the third quarter before finding Smith for a 21-yard scoring pass with 4:59 remaining.
Wooldridge completed 14 of 32 passes for 223 yards while adding 29 yards more on the ground in his first game back after missing Louisiana's final three games in 2022. The redshirt senior connected with nine players in the game with Neal Johnson grabbing a team-high three passes for the Ragin' Cajuns.
LeBlanc, Williams and Terrance Carter each caught a pair of passes for Louisiana, which finished with 429 yards of total offense including 206 on the ground. Jacob Kibodi added 49 yards on the ground for the Ragin' Cajuns with redshirt freshman Kendrell Williams gaining 23 yards on three carries late in the contest.
Tyree Skipper, Kendré Gant, Jordan Lawson and K.C. Ossai had six stops each for the Ragin' Cajuns, which limited Northwestern State (0-1) to 187 yards of total offense including 77 yards on the ground in 40 attempts. Lawson collected two of Louisiana's five sacks in the game with Ossai, Antoine Baylis and Tyler Guidry each recording one.
Louisiana forced the first of seven three-and-outs on the night on the Demons' opening drive and needed 53 seconds to find the end zone with Washington going around the left side and scoring on a career-long, 62-yard run for a quick 7-0 lead.
The Ragin' Cajuns would stretch their lead to 14-3 in the second quarter after forcing the Demons to punt for one of their school-record tying 11 times on the night and starting at the NSU 41.
Wooldridge opened the drive with an 11-yard pass to Pearse Migl before scoring three plays later on a run around the right end and scoring from 24 yards out.
Louisiana scored on its next possession after Wooldridge connected with LeBlanc for an 8-yard pass on third-and-8 from the NSU 40 before hitting a wide open Williams on the next play and a 21-3 lead.
Wooldridge tossed his second TD of the night on Louisiana's second drive of the third quarter when he found LeBlanc on a 50-yard strike and a 28-6 lead.
Kenneth Almendares added a 33-yard field goal for a 31-6 Louisiana lead with 14:55 remaining before Wooldridge hit Smith for a 21-yard scoring pass to cap a 10-play, 68-yard drive.
Northwestern State's Tyler Vander Waal completed 12 of 28 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in his debut with Scooter Adams gaining a team-high 33 yards on eight carries and hauling in a 47-yard pass with 2:01 remaining.
Louisiana returns to play on Saturday (Sept. 9) when it opens Sun Belt Conference play with a first-ever meeting against Old Dominion (0-1). Northwestern State will visit in-state opponent Louisiana Tech.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (@RaginCajuns) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Athletics.
Dre'lyn Washington, who rushed for career-high 88 yards on eight carries, scored on Louisiana's second play from scrimmage with a 62-yard race down the left sideline while Robert Williams and Tavion Smith each caught their touchdown passes in a Ragin' Cajuns uniform.
All five touchdowns scored for Louisiana (1-0) were 20 yards or greater with Wooldridge connecting with Peter LeBlanc on a 50-yard strike in the third quarter before finding Smith for a 21-yard scoring pass with 4:59 remaining.
Wooldridge completed 14 of 32 passes for 223 yards while adding 29 yards more on the ground in his first game back after missing Louisiana's final three games in 2022. The redshirt senior connected with nine players in the game with Neal Johnson grabbing a team-high three passes for the Ragin' Cajuns.
LeBlanc, Williams and Terrance Carter each caught a pair of passes for Louisiana, which finished with 429 yards of total offense including 206 on the ground. Jacob Kibodi added 49 yards on the ground for the Ragin' Cajuns with redshirt freshman Kendrell Williams gaining 23 yards on three carries late in the contest.
Tyree Skipper, Kendré Gant, Jordan Lawson and K.C. Ossai had six stops each for the Ragin' Cajuns, which limited Northwestern State (0-1) to 187 yards of total offense including 77 yards on the ground in 40 attempts. Lawson collected two of Louisiana's five sacks in the game with Ossai, Antoine Baylis and Tyler Guidry each recording one.
Louisiana forced the first of seven three-and-outs on the night on the Demons' opening drive and needed 53 seconds to find the end zone with Washington going around the left side and scoring on a career-long, 62-yard run for a quick 7-0 lead.
The Ragin' Cajuns would stretch their lead to 14-3 in the second quarter after forcing the Demons to punt for one of their school-record tying 11 times on the night and starting at the NSU 41.
Wooldridge opened the drive with an 11-yard pass to Pearse Migl before scoring three plays later on a run around the right end and scoring from 24 yards out.
Louisiana scored on its next possession after Wooldridge connected with LeBlanc for an 8-yard pass on third-and-8 from the NSU 40 before hitting a wide open Williams on the next play and a 21-3 lead.
Wooldridge tossed his second TD of the night on Louisiana's second drive of the third quarter when he found LeBlanc on a 50-yard strike and a 28-6 lead.
Kenneth Almendares added a 33-yard field goal for a 31-6 Louisiana lead with 14:55 remaining before Wooldridge hit Smith for a 21-yard scoring pass to cap a 10-play, 68-yard drive.
Northwestern State's Tyler Vander Waal completed 12 of 28 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in his debut with Scooter Adams gaining a team-high 33 yards on eight carries and hauling in a 47-yard pass with 2:01 remaining.
Louisiana returns to play on Saturday (Sept. 9) when it opens Sun Belt Conference play with a first-ever meeting against Old Dominion (0-1). Northwestern State will visit in-state opponent Louisiana Tech.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (@RaginCajuns) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Athletics.
Team Stats
NSU
LA
Total Yards
187
429
Pass Yards
110
223
Rushing Yards
77
206
Penalty Yards
70
20
1st Downs
8
20
3rd Downs
2
4
4th Downs
3
2
TOP
32:58
27:02
1st Quarter
NSU 0, LA 7
LA - Washington,Dre'lyn 62 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 2 plays, 67 yards, TOP 00:53
NSU 3, LA 7
NSU - Money,Brett 37 yd field goal 4 plays, -6 yards, TOP 01:47
2nd Quarter
NSU 3, LA 14
LA - Wooldridge,Ben 24 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 4 plays, 41 yards, TOP 01:19
NSU 3, LA 21
LA - Williams,Robert 32 yd pass from Wooldridge,Ben (Almendares,Kenneth kick) 4 plays, 42 yards, TOP 01:37
NSU 6, LA 21
NSU - Money,Brett 41 yd field goal 8 plays, 17 yards, TOP 03:10
3rd Quarter
NSU 6, LA 28
LA - LeBlanc,Peter 50 yd pass from Wooldridge,Ben (Almendares,Kenneth kick) 4 plays, 77 yards, TOP 01:48
4th Quarter
NSU 6, LA 31
LA - Almendares,Kenneth 33 yd field goal 7 plays, 48 yards, TOP 03:15
NSU 6, LA 38
LA - Smith,Tavion 21 yd pass from Wooldridge,Ben (Guerrieri,Alan kick) 10 plays, 68 yards, TOP 05:23
NSU 13, LA 38
NSU - Adams,Scooter 47 yd pass from Vander Waal,Tyler (Money,Brett kick) 6 plays, 65 yards, TOP 02:58
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
14
TD
3
YDS
223
INT
1
Players Mentioned
K
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DL
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TE
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LB
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TE
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RB
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DL
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TE
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LB
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S
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RB
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WR
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