University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
3-1 , 0-0
Wake Forest
1-3 , 0-1
Louisiana Shows Resiliency In Shaking Demon Deacons, 41-38
9/28/2024 7:32:00 PM | Football
Wooldridge accounts for four scores; Louisiana opens SBC play at Southern Miss
Ben Wooldridge tossed for three touchdowns and rushed for a one while Lance LeGendre set career-highs in receptions (6), yards (123), touchdowns (2) and long reception (48) as Louisiana (3-1) never trailed and earned its first-ever victory over an ACC team in three tries.
Louisiana built a 14-3 lead in the first quarter after Wooldridge connected with Tavion Smith on a 2-yard scoring pass on the Ragin' Cajuns opening drive before bulling his way into the end zone on a 1-yard scoring plunge with :56 remaining in the period.
After Wake Forest (1-3) cut the lead to 14-10 on Tate Carney's 1-yard run, Wooldridge drove Louisiana 75 yards in eight plays and connecting with LeGendre on a 20-yard scoring pass with 1:18 left in the half.
Almendares added a 50-yard field goal to give Louisiana a 24-17 lead with 10:22 left in the third quarter before Wake Forest forged a 24-all tie on Demond Claiborne's 60-yard scoring run on the ensuing possession.
The Ragin' Cajuns would immediately respond with a 4-play, 75-yard drive as Wooldridge would find a wide open LeGendre, who raced down the right sideline for a 48-yard scoring pass and a 31-24 lead.
Carney would score the second of three TDs on the day for the Demon Deacons on a 1-yard scoring plunge and had a chance to take their first lead after forcing Louisiana to punt.
The Ragin' Cajuns would get a defensive stop as Tyree Skipper picked off a deflected pass from Wake Forest quarterback Hank Bachmeier and Bill Davis would score four plays later on a 2-yard run.
Carney, who rushed for 59 yards on 17 carries, tied the game with 1:55 remaining in the game but Louisiana would get a 57-yard kickoff return from Zylan Perry and Louisiana would drive to the Wake 13 before Almendares' go-ahead kick.
Wooldridge completed 20 of 29 passes for 257 yards for Louisiana with Davis gaining a game-high 95 yards on 13 attempts. Harvey Broussard caught four passes for Louisiana while Perry added 78 yards on the ground.
Keyon Martin tied a career-high with nine tackles for the Ragin' Cajuns with Justin Agu adding eight.
Louisiana will return to action on Saturday (October 5) when it opens Sun Belt Conference play at Southern Miss. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the game being streamed live on ESPN+.
Single-game tickets for Louisiana's six home games – which include remaining games against App State (Oct. 12), Arkansas State (Nov. 9), South Alabama (Nov. 16) and Troy (Nov. 23) – are currently on sale now. Tickets start as low as $15 and can be purchased through RaginCajuns.com and its social media platforms (Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram).
Season tickets for Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Football are available for purchase on-line at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685).
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Team Stats
UL 7, WFU 0
UL - Smith,Tavion 2 yd pass from Wooldridge,Ben (Almendares,Kenneth kick) 10 plays, 70 yards, TOP 05:54
UL 7, WFU 3
WFU - Dennis,Matthew 39 yd field goal 13 plays, 54 yards, TOP 05:25
UL 14, WFU 3
UL - Wooldridge,Ben 1 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:35
UL 14, WFU 10
WFU - Carney,Tate 1 yd run (Dennis,Matthew kick), 10 plays, 65 yards, TOP 05:28
UL 21, WFU 10
UL - LeGendre,Lance 20 yd pass from Wooldridge,Ben (Almendares,Kenneth kick) 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:10
UL 21, WFU 17
WFU - Alexander,Deuce 3 yd pass from Bachmeier,Hank (Dennis,Matthew kick) 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:57
UL 24, WFU 17
UL - Almendares,Kenneth 50 yd field goal 11 plays, 42 yards, TOP 04:38
UL 24, WFU 24
WFU - Claiborne,Demond 60 yd run (Dennis,Matthew kick), 5 plays, 82 yards, TOP 01:59
UL 31, WFU 24
UL - LeGendre,Lance 48 yd pass from Wooldridge,Ben (Almendares,Kenneth kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:30
UL 31, WFU 31
WFU - Carney,Tate 1 yd run (Dennis,Matthew kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:10
UL 38, WFU 31
UL - Davis,Bill 2 yd run (Almendares,Kenneth kick), 4 plays, 38 yards, TOP 01:32
UL 38, WFU 38
WFU - Carney,Tate 1 yd run (Dennis,Matthew kick), 13 plays, 80 yards, TOP 06:06
UL 41, WFU 38
UL - Almendares,Kenneth 31 yd field goal 6 plays, 30 yards, TOP 00:55
