The opener at the newly renovated Cajun Field proved unfortunately challenging and disappointing for Louisiana (Lafayette).
The Ragin’ Cajuns fell behind Rice early and struggled to find offensive consistency much of the night en route to a 14-12 loss.
And when the home team had a chance to salvage the game late, starting quarterback Walker Howard was abruptly sidelined from his debut by an apparent leg injury early in a potential go-ahead possession in the fourth quarter.
“It was kind of the nightmare offensively that you were hoping to avoid a little bit,” coach Michael Desormeaux said. “Turned it over, self-inflicted penalties. You know, the second half, couldn’t get good field position to start, started backed up and really felt like we kinda killed ourselves on a lot of these drives. It was just one of those deals where everything was just a little bit off. Everything was a little out of reach, a little off the mark, a little too far.”
Quinton Jackson and Aaron Turner capped long Rice drives that combined to eat 10:23 of the second quarter and build a 14-3 lead that proved difficult for the Cajuns to overcome.
Those two scores were all the Louisiana (Lafayette) defense — led by Jaden Dugger‘s and Terrence Williams‘ 10 and eight tackles, respectively — would allow.
“Our defense, was really proud of them,” Desormeaux said. “I thought they settled in and played really hard. You know, we missed a bunch of tackles early. That was kinda where the points and all that stuff came from, but, you know, the reality of it is the second half the bowed their neck and gave us a chance the whole way through.
But Howard and company couldn’t quite seem to get (or stay) in sync.
The Cajuns could only muster a pair of Tony Sterner field goals on the scoreboard for the first two and a half quarters before the offense managed to piece together a 98-yard drive in the back half of the third to pull within 14-12.
But a potential game-tying two-point attempt failed.
“It’s one that we’ve had for a while,” Desormeaux said of the play-call. “It’s an unbalanced deal that they jumped out there and matched it. I didn’t really get to see that one. I know they matched the first read in the options. I didn’t see if we got the back line open or not. So I can’t speak to if I thought we had one there or not. But that was kind of the first one that we had up, was just a play that we felt good.”
The next three Louisiana (Lafayette) possessions netted just one first down and ended with a pair of quick punts and a turnover on downs.
And, after a 25-yard completion to LSU transfer Shelton Sampson Jr. (Catholic-B.R.) to open the next drive, Howard was forced to exit, and the Owls managed the final stop and then ran out the clock.
“I don’t have an update on it,” Desormeaux said. “I mean, he couldn’t move. He was trying to go in there, but that’s not a great spot for (redshirt freshman) Daniel (Beale) to be in, it’s not a great spot for him to be in. At least Daniel’s healthy and can move around out there and protect himself. And I’m not gonna put a kid out there in a situation where he might get hurt because he wants to play. I mean, (Howard) would’ve stayed in there if we would’ve let him. The trainers didn’t think it was the right thing to do, and I’m gonna err on the side of caution. It’s not worth getting a kid really hurt for the long-term. So hopefully we’ll get him back.
“He did some good things tonight, made some mistakes, like you’d expect in your first start, but we weren’t gonna put him in a situation where he couldn’t protect himself.
Howard, the former state championship St. Thomas More quarterback, transferred from Ole Miss this past winter and was announced as the Cajuns’ starter 10 days prior to the opener.
He finished 10-for-22 for 88 yards and an interception before the injury and rushed nine times for 47 yards and the team’s lone touchdown.
The star running back duo of Elijah “Bill” Davis (Riverside Academy) and Zylan Perry (Franklin) each carried 11 times for 58 and 46 yards, respectively — including a combined 57 on the scoring drive.
“I feel like we ran the ball pretty well,” Davis said. “I just feel like we’ve just all got to execute better all together, you know what I mean? I had some mistakes, Walker had some mistakes, Zylan as well. We all had our collective mistakes, man.”
Sampson led all receivers with four catches for 59 yards in his debut for the program.
The Cajuns will have another opportunity at home next week to try to get their first win of the season against nearby McNeese State.
“I knew our team was gonna be tested at some point,” Desormeaux said. “I knew at some point we were gonna have to find out what kind of team we have and the resolve that we’ve got and the grit on this team, but I didn’t think it was gonna be Week 1. But here we are. So I told the team today: This is gonna define our season one way or the other. We’re either gonna come together, look at this tape and we’re gonna approach it head-on and find a way to get better, or we’re gonna let it break us a little bit. And I know what I expect.”
