League win No. 200 for McNeese comes in 28-20 upset of No. 16 UIW

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese’s 200th Southland Conference all-time win couldn’t have come at a better time and with a better performance.

The Cowboys won their second consecutive game on Saturday after beating 16th-ranked Incarnate Word, 28-20, on Homecoming while marking the ninth straight win in the special contest.

The victory also marked an end to a recent slide against UIW (5-2, 3-1 SLC) as the Cowboys (3-4, 2-2) now find themselves back in the mix of league contention with their next game coming up against Southeastern, who also entered Saturday at 3-0 in league play.

Just like it was in San Antonio a month ago, one team jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead, but this time, it was the Cowboys who jumped out to the quick lead.

After kicking to start the game, McNeese’s Mason Kinsey picked off UIW quarterback Cam Ward for the first of three Cowboy interceptions. Facing a fourth-and-1 at the UIW 49, Cody Orgeron found tight end Jamal Pettigrew who released off the line, made a catch at the 34-yard line and raced the rest of the way for the first touchdown of the game while the 49-yard score was the longest offensive play from scrimmage this season.

After forcing the Cardinals to a three-and-out on their next possession, Deonta McMahon to a hand-off on third-and-2 from the UIW 27, broke a couple of tackles and sprinted in for a score to put the Cowboys up 14-0- with 5:15 to play in the first quarter.

Colby Richardson gave the Cowboys the ball back with his second interception of the season midway through the second quarter which led to McMahon’s second TD of the game on an 11-yard score to make it a 21-0 lead with 4:04 to play in the half.

UIW was able to get on the board on a 4-yard pass by Ward to Taylor Grimes with no time left on the clock to end the half. The two-point conversion was no good and McNeese carried a 21-6 lead into the half.

McNeese came out with the ball in the second half, and even though it didn’t put up any points, it did run nearly eight minutes off the clock before UIW was able to retake possession.

Facing a third-and-19, Isaiah Chambers sacked Ward for a loss of nine yards, but an unsportsmanlike penalty was called on Chambers for his trademark guitar playing celebration, the first of his 16 career McNeese sacks. That gave UIW the ball back with a first down at the McNeese 46 and on the very next play, Kevin Brown broke through for a 46-yard score. McNeese still led by two possessions at 21-12 after another failed two-point conversion.

Jarrius Wallace picked off the third pass of the third pass of the game for the Cowboys, this one at the UIW 33 and returned it to the 17. On the first play from scrimmage, Orgeron scored from 17 yards out to increase the lead to 28-12 with 10:08 to play in the game.

UIW moved the ball at will on its next possession, moving the ball to the McNeese 17 in just five plays. But the Cowboys defense regrouped and sacked Ward three times over the next four plays, including on a fourth-and-19 at the 26 for a loss of 22 yards that gave the Cowboys the ball back at the 48-yard line and with 6:15 left on the clock.

McNeese was forced to punt the ball away after running just 1:06 off the clock and UIW followed with a 6-play, 80-yard drive that took just 1:29 off the board and closed the gap to 28-20 following a 6-yard Ward touchdown pass to Robert Ferrel then a Brown run for the 2-point conversion with 3:40 remaining.

Walker Wood would come up with an acrobatic grab on UIW’s ensuing onside kick but McNeese would give the ball up after a three-and-out while attempting to run time off the clock.

Callum Eddings booted perhaps his most crucial punt of the season when boomed his kick 43 yards and dropping it at the 2-yard line, forcing UIW to go 98-yards for the tie. But two more sacks by the Cowboys coming in two of the final three plays ended the game with the second coming on fourth-and-6 at the McNeese 41 when Ward was sacked by Williams and Kinsey, fumbled the ball, and was recovered by Masry Mapieu.

Statistically, UIW held a 488-312 advantage in total offense but the Cowboys rolled up 172 yards rushing to UIW’s 33. McNeese was also big in third downs, converting on 7 of 14 and was 1 for 2 on fourth downs while UIW was 8 of 17 on third downs and 1 of 5 on fourth downs.

Orgeron was very efficient on the day, completing 10 of 12 passes for 140 yards and a TD. He completed his first six passes in the game and also rushed for 57 yards and a score.

McMahon led all rushers with 82 yards on 13 carries for a 6.3 yards per carry average while scoring two touchdowns.

Ward completed 39 of 59 passes for 455 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. His top target was Grimes who hauled in 10 passes for 169 yards and a score. Brown led the running attack with 69 yards on seven carries and a TD.

Defensively, Williams led McNeese with 11 tackles as he recorded his fourth double-digit tackle game in the last five. He added a sack, half tackle for a loss and forced a fumble. Chambers recorded four sacks, forced a fumble and broke up a pass and C.J. Semien sacked the quarterback two times and forced a fumble.

McNeese will be back in action next Saturday when it visits Southeastern Louisiana at 6 p.m. in the second matchup of the fall. SLU defeated the Cowboys 38-35 in Cowboy Stadium back on October 2.

Quoting Head Coach Frank Wilson:
“We challenged our team to be physical. At the end of the day, we talked about it last time we played this opponent. You can schematically do all the things you want but the physical toughness, and in this sport and in this volatile sport that we coach and that we play, you still have to block. You still have to tackle. You have to go make a play. And I thought our team did that. I thought we were efficient in the run game moving the chains and getting touchdown runs and first downs as well.

“I thought out defense played lights out. I thought it was a great team effort in all phases of the game.”

Postgame Notes:
• McNeese became the first team, past or present, to win its 200th Southland Conference game.
• Won its ninth straight Homecoming game and improved to 57-19-1 overall.
• The Cowboys snap a three-game losing streak to the Cardinals and improve to 5-3 in the overall series.
• UIW, ranked 16th, was the second straight home opponent the Cowboys have faced who was ranked in the top 25 (Southeastern Louisiana).
• 5-2 vs. ranked teams at home in the last 7 games.
• With 57 yards rushing, Cody Orgeron has now accumulated 1,017 career rushing yards to become just the fifth quarterback in school history to reach the milestone.
• Orgeron recorded 197 total offensive yards in the game, giving him 6,927 in his career and moving him past James Tabary for fourth on the school’s all-time career chart.
• A total of nine players caught 10 passes for the Cowboys with only Josh Matthews catching multiple.
• Pettigrew’s 49-yard catch and run for a score was the longest offensive play from scrimmage this season.
• McNeese has scored 91 points in the last 10 quarters.
• The Cowboys have scored 21 points in the first half in the last two games.
• In both games this season, McNeese has held UIW to season lows in scoring.
• Chambers’ four sacks is a single-game career high.
• McNeese recorded a season-high three interceptions in the game with all three resulting in Cowboy touchdowns.