Wildcatters Take Out Swashbucklers In Saturday Night Scuffle
June 6, 2010 - Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL)
Lafayette Wildcatters News Release
The Lafayette Wildcatters (3-4) brought its undefeated home record to the Cajundome on Saturday, June 5 to face in-state SIFL rival the Louisiana Swashbucklers (4-4).
Lafayette benefited from two offside penalties to start its first possession, and quickly capitalized when quarterback Juan Joseph hit Tim Richmond on a short pass. Richmond's juke move on Seth Adams allowed him to score Lafayette's first touchdown of the game. Kicker Sean Comiskey missed the extra point, but he made up for it when his kick off split the uprights, giving the Wildcatters a quick 7-0 lead.
Louisiana evened it up on its first possession, thanks in part to a misdirection run play to running back Perry that got the Swashbucklers to the Lafayette six-yard line. The defense stiffened at the goal line, but on third down, quarterback Freddie Harrison snuck the ball into the end zone.
On the Wildcatters' second possession, Joseph was picked off at the goal line, but the Wildcatters defense held Louisiana to only two yards. On fourth down, Blake Bercegeay's field goal attempt came up short, and Clarence Pendleton ran it all the way back on a length-of-field touchdown return. This time, Comiskey nailed the point after and put another kick off through the posts to give Lafayette a 15-7 lead.
Louisiana faced a third and long situation on the ensuing drive, and Mitch Craft took advantage, intercepting a Harrison pass. Joseph then hit Richmond again on a nine-yard touchdown strike, and following Comiskey's point after and third uno of the half, Lafayette led 23-7 at the end of the first quarter.
The scoring was a little more subdued in the second quarter, though Comiskey did connect on a big 48-yard field goal.
Time was slipping away in the half when, on third and 14 from the two, Harrison launched a prayer to Marcus Wilridge. Jasper O'Quinn made a diving attempt at the ball, but it floated just past his outstretched hand and Wilridge was left alone to trot to the end zone. After a successful Bercegeay extra point, the score was 26-14 Wildcatters at the half.
The Swashbucklers took only 1:10 to get the first points of the second half on a scoring drive capped off by a Kendrick Perry two-yard touchdown plunge that brought Louisiana to within five points of the lead.
Lafayette, though, answered quickly on the ensuing possession with Joseph hitting former Southern University receiver Gerard Landry on a 14-yard scoring pass.
The seesaw battle continued on Louisiana's next drive, with Harrison and Wilridge connecting again, this time on a 10-yard pass and catch for a touchdown. Bercegeay's extra point made the score 33-28 Wildcatters with 9:31 left in the third quarter.
Lafayette moved quickly into Swashbuckler territory on the next drive when Joseph connected with Landry again to get to the 18. The drive nearly stalled there, but with the Wildcatters facing a third and long, Louisiana's Mike English was flagged for holding, giving Lafayette new life. On the next play, Joseph hit Richmond on a quick out, and Richmond leapt over a defender and into the end zone. A successful Comiskey extra point made it 40-28 Lafayette.
Harrison took matters into his own hands on Louisiana's next drive, taking the ball to the Lafayette 18 yard line on a quarterback keeper. He then hit Damian Henderson on a short pass giving the Swashbucklers first and goal on the seven. Louisiana then showed why they led the SIFL in rushing, with an inside handoff Kendrick Perry who pushed his way in for the score to make it 40-35 Wildcatters.
"They were running the ball about 30-40 percent of the time coming into the game," said head coach Skip Foster. "They didn't quite run it that much tonight, but they still ran it, and ran it very effectively. We did a good job stopping the run in several situations, though."
Bercegeay put his team behind the eight ball on the ensuing kickoff, though, when he booted the ball off the field of play, giving Lafayette a free return. O'Quinn made full use of his now-downfield blockers, forcing his way to the Louisiana 11-yard line. Joseph dropped back to pass on first down, but with the pocket collapsing around him he was forced to scramble to the four. From there, Joseph pitched the ball to Stephen Korte on a sweep, and with blockers in front of him, the bruising 230-pound fullback bulldozed his way in for the touchdown, giving the Wildcatters a 47-35 advantage after three quarters of play.
The Swashbucklers made it to midfield on the first drive of the fourth quarter thanks to a Harrison dump off pass to Jabari Hendricks. True to form, Louisiana tried to run on first down from there, but Walter Thomas and Nate Banks teamed up to stuff the run. Lafayette had Louisiana in third and long after that, but Rudy Johnson was flagged for being offside. Two plays later, Harrison floated a pass over everyone to hit Hendricks again, this time for six points. However, Bercegeay could not connect on the extra point, so the score stood at 47-41 Lafayette.
With Lafayette clinging to a six-point lead, O'Quinn returned Bercegeay's kickoff to the Louisiana 21-yard line. On first down, Louisiana's Bryant Mason was called offside, and Joseph hit Clyde Edwards on the next play for another first down. Lafayette only managed to gain two yards from there, and was looking at fourth and ten, but linebacker Courtney Brooks was flagged for face masking, gifting the Wildcatters a new set of downs. On second and goal, with all of his receivers covered, Joseph scrambled for the touchdown. Comiskey connected on the point after and split the uprights for the uno giving Lafayette a 55-41 lead with 9:55 remaining.
With time ticking down, the Swashbucklers battled all the way to the Lafayette seven-yard line. The Wildcatters defense continued to hang tough though, with a goal line stand highlighted by a gang tackle on second down and a Mitch Craft defended pass on third. On fourth and goal, Harrison threw a strike to Sammy Knight for a touchdown and Louisiana was still alive, down by eight with 5:31 left in the game.
The Swashbucklers only chance was a successful on side kick, but Lafayette's Banks squashed those hopes when he recovered the attempt at the Louisiana nine-yard line. On second and eight, Edwards caught a screen pass from Joseph and thanks to key blocks from Landry and big (6-foot-8-inch, 320 pound) Eric Phillips, was able to dance in for the deal-sealing score. Comiskey followed with the extra point and then with a league record fifth uno in the game to give the Wildcatters a 63-47 victory.
"It felt great," said Comiskey of his effort. "I have to admit, it was a goal I had before the game started, and I got it, and I was happy to get it done."
The win continues the Wildcatters now four-game undefeated streak at home and evens the team's record at 4-4, while the Swashbucklers drop to 4-5 on the season.
"We're happy to be undefeated," said head coach Skip Foster. "We really want to thank the crowd that came out tonight. We had a good environment, good crowd; they did a good job supporting the team. We're getting a bigger crowd and they're really getting into the game.
"We're going to fight everyday to try to get a home playoff game," he continued, "for our fans and for the city."
The Wildcatters will next face the first place Albany Panthers (6-1) on Saturday, June 12 at 7:05 p.m. at the Cajundome.
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Southern Indoor Football League Stories from June 6, 2010
- Wildcatters Take Out Swashbucklers In Saturday Night Scuffle - Lafayette Wildcatters
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