LAFAYETTE, La. — South Alabama football scored touchdowns on its first three possessions and then held on in the final minutes, stopping a two-point conversion attempt with 1:16 left to beat Louisiana-Lafayette 24-22 on Saturday at Cajun Field.
The Jaguars (5-5, 4-2 Sun Belt Conference) scored all of their points in the first half and led 24-3 at halftime. The Ragin’ Cajuns (8-2, 5-1) rallied to within two in the closing minutes, but Wy’Kevious Thomas stopped quarterback Chandler Fields short of the goal line on the conversion try. Louisiana-Lafayette’s onside kick then bounced out of bounds, allowing South Alabama to run out the clock.
Fast Start
Gio Lopez scored South Alabama’s first two touchdowns on short runs, and Kentrel Bullock added the third. Laith Marjan kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
“We were just executing the offense,” Lopez said. “We weren’t trying to do too much. If the hole was open, we took it. We game-planned for two weeks and we just executed it.”
Cajuns Rally in Second Half
Louisiana-Lafayette controlled the second half despite losing starting quarterback Ben Wooldridge to a shoulder injury early in the third quarter.
The Ragin’ Cajuns drove deep into South Alabama territory twice but were held to field goals, making it 24-9 in the fourth quarter. After a Jaguar punt with 9:30 remaining, Fields hit Dre’Lyn Washington for a 66-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 24-16 with 8:28 left.
Lopez was intercepted on a deep pass with 5:30 to play. Aided by offside and pass interference penalties, Louisiana-Lafayette drove 85 yards and scored on Fields’ 2-yard keeper off left tackle with 1:16 left. Fields tried the same play on the two-point attempt, and Thomas stopped him.
“The first half was really beautiful. In the second half, we made our mistakes,” South Alabama head coach Major Applewhite said. “We had a special teams error that resulted in a field goal. We have a bust on the defensive call that ended up in a big touchdown, bringing it within eight. But we also did some good things. After the issue on the punt, we held them to a field goal.”
“Obviously we need to sustain drives better in the second half; put points up on the board,” Applewhite said. “But when it mattered, we got some first downs and took some time off the clock.”
South Alabama Statistics
Lopez completed 24 of 34 passes for 285 yards with an interception and ran for 34 yards and two touchdowns.
Jamaal Pritchett caught 11 passes for 170 yards. Shamar Sandgren had three catches for 41 yards, and Jeremiah Webb had four catches for 31 yards.
Fluff Bothwell ran for 38 yards on nine carries, and Bullock had 24 yards on nine carries.
Jaden Voisin led the defense with 10 tackles, six solo, and intercepted a pass, giving him the South Alabama program record for career interceptions.
Louisiana-Lafayette Statistics
Wooldridge completed 8 of 13 passes for 91 yards with an interception before leaving the game. Fields went 14-of-17 for 185 yards and a touchdown and ran for 28 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
Harvey Broussard caught six passes for 84 yards, and Lance LeGendre had seven catches for 75 yards. Washington had one catch for 66 yards and a touchdown and ran for 41 yards on five carries. Terrance Carter caught five passes for 41 yards. Bill Davis led the Ragin’ Cajuns with 50 rushing yards on 16 carries.
Up Next
South Alabama plays at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Miss., next Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. A win would make the Jaguars bowl eligible for the third consecutive season, a first for the program. South Alabama remains in contention for the Sun Belt West Division title, but would need to win out and get help.
