MCNeese Comes up short against SFA, 38-27

Smiley Edwards drags SFA into the endzone.

Cohen Charles on the goalline pick.

Curtis Deville goes up for a big catch.

Coming into the season, there was a lot of talk about how the season opener at Navarre Stadium in Lake Charles, Louisiana, might very well be a preview of Southland Conference championship teams. If that were the case, there might need to be a little more light thrown out for the search party as neither of these teams looked especially imposing.

The night started strong enough for the Cowboys, as Elisha Edwards took a Jake Strong pass 45 yards to the house to put McNeese up 7-0 early. But there was no momentum to hold after that, as SFA came right back down the field 82 yards in 4 plays to tie the game up. The McNeese offense wouldn’t be seen again in the first half, though the defense did everything they could to keep the Cowboys in the game.

It’s hard to say when QB Strong got hurt with a shoulder injury, but it was never more evident than after McNeese seemed to turn the tides with a Cohen Charles interception of Rutherford at the 1. 

But five plays later, an injured Strong tried to heave a pass to the sideline and couldn’t make it, instead landing in the hands of Makai Frisby, who ended up taking it 35 yards back to the house and put SFA up 24-7 at the half.

The second half saw the Cowboys start Devin Lippold, and with it, came a spark of offense. Lippold looks to have a good command of the ball and maybe a little gunslinger in him, as his ball was more of a dart than a lob, and he wasn’t afraid to throw into tight spaces.

Omari Wiggins broke off a 75 yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter to cut into the lead, 31-13. He finished with 12 carries for 126 yards and the TD as well as catching 3 for 10 and another touchdown.

McNeese tried a late push, getting the score to 38-27 before turning the ball over on downs late in the 4th quarter that ended any comeback talk. 

Both teams were sloppy with the football in the first game of the season with three turnovers each, but with defenses giving up nearly 30 on both sides, it’s hard to say what the bright spots might be going forward.

If Lippold is the starter for the time being, the passing offense may take a boost, but it’s hard to say as Strong may have been hurt earlier than believed and stayed in. Curtis Deville finished as the leading receiver for the Cowboys, with 4 for 71.

In the post-game conference, Viator said Strong was medically cleared for the 2nd half, but he kept him out. 

Interesting to see if we’ll have a quarterback controversy going into next week’s game against Texas Wesleyan.

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