LCU pulls another Top 25 upset with romp at Langston

LANGSTON, OK – The Louisiana Christian University Wildcats have been on fire as of late and have taken on the role of the spoiler after their upset of then-No. 20 Texas Wesleyan last week. The Wildcats continued to embrace that role with a 39-14 mauling of the No. 22 Langston Lions, extending their winning streak to four games in a row.

The Wildcats were able to start with a peculiar 5-0 lead at the end of the first quarter following a 42-yard field goal by freshman kicker Levi Hilborn and a sack-safety by junior linebacker Andre Reed. Hilborn added a 39-yard field goal early in the second quarter to extend the Wildcat lead to 8-0 with 14:06 left until halftime.

The Wildcat offense got on the board for the first time with 10:16 until half on a 41-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Sal Palermo III to senior receiver Micah Dunn, with Hilborn adding the point-after-touchdown to give LCU a two touchdown lead.

With just over a minute left until halftime, Palermo used his feet to produce points on a one yard touchdown run, giving Louisiana Christian a 21-0 halftime lead over the conference-leading Lions.

The men in orange and blue really broke the dam for scoring in the third quarter, starting with another safety just three minutes into the third quarter.

Senior running back Devin Briscoe broke into the endzone on a 21-yard touchdown run, but the PAT failed and LCU held a 29-0 lead mid-third quarter. Junior Jacob Ganote added a 3-yard touchdown run of his own just minutes later to give LCU a commanding 36-0 lead.

Louisiana Christian concluded their scoring display for the evening on a 31-yard field goal by junior kicker Hunter Martensson to extend their lead to 39-0 at the end of the third quarter.

With many of the Wildcat starters pulled from the game, Langston scored two touchdowns in the last five minutes of the game. The first on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Larry Harrington to Ivory Wilwright and the second touchdown pass to Wilwright, this one from 16-yards out from Jalen Knight.

Louisiana Christian held on to their lead and made another statement against Langston, toppling the No. 22 team in the nation and SAC leader 39-14, further adding chaos to the chase for the Sooner Athletic Conference title.

Palermo and the Wildcat offense put on another fantastic performance this week, totaling 451 yards of offensive production and averaging nearly six yards per play. Palermo was 5/16 passing and rushed 20 times, producing 271 total yards, one passing touchdown, and one rushing touchdown. Micah Dunn finished with 107 yards and a touchdown on only three receptions.

The defense of Louisiana Christian held a top-25 team in the NAIA to less than 200 yards of offense for the second consecutive week, only allowing the Lions 178 yards of offense while forcing two turnovers and two safeties.

Andre Reed led all Wildcat defenders with five total tackles and a sack-safety. Logan Brimmer also had five total tackles along with two tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a sack.

Brimmer’s sack against Langston now ties him with teammate Micah Latin for the season lead and LCU single-season sack record with 10.5 sacks on the year with two games still left to go. D’Mario Weathersby claimed responsibility for an interception on the day.

Next week, the Wildcats (5-4, 4-3 SAC) will look to extend their winning streak to five games when they host the Lyon College Scots (1-7, 0-7 SAC) for the home finale and senior night in what is likely the final meeting between the two for the foreseeable future as Lyon College begins their transition to NCAA Division III next season.