LAKE CHARLES, La. – James Tabary threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns andJames Pratt ran for two others as McNeese State downed Abilene Christian University during a Southland Conference game Saturday night in Cowboy Stadium.
A 26-0 run by McNeese from late in the first quarter to late in the fourth broke a 7-7 tie and propelled the Cowboys (5-4 overall, 4-3 in the Southland) to the Homecoming win. ACU dropped to 1-8 and 1-6.
A week after throwing for 346 yards and five TDs en route to being named the Southland's Offensive Player of the Week, ACU quarterback
Dallas Sealey was sackedfive times and intercepted once. McNeese's stifling defense limited him to just 154 yards of passing and the Wildcats to 244 yards overall.
McNeese scored on its first drive when James Pratt ran 4 yards for a TD, and ACU matched the Cowboys a little more than four minutes later when Sealey threw a 13-yard TD pass to junior
Troy Grant. The opening Wildcat score was set up two plays earlier when
Sam Denmark recovered a fumble at the McNeese 16-yard line.
But for the next two quarters, McNeese scored 26 unanswered points while the Wildcatsstruggled to move the ball and overcome mistakes. When nine ACU penalties weren't stopping the offense, the Cowboys' defense harassed Sealey and minimized his ability to scramble and make plays.
A 26-yard Gunnar Raborn field goal started the 26-0 McNeese run of scoring plays, followed by a 16-yard pass from Tabary to Lawayne Ross, a 47-yard field goal by Raborn, a 1-yard run by James Pratt and another 16-yard pass from Tabary to Benjamin Jones.
Tracy James added a 1-yard scoring run late in the game for the Wildcats, who were led in rushing by
Adrian Duncan's 47 yards on three carries.
Tabary completed 28 of 41 passes for McNeese, with Kent Shelby catching four for 69 yards and Parker Orgeron with five for 65 yards.
Wildcat linebacker
Sam Denmark, the Southland's second leading tackler, had 10 tackles and a fumble recovery. His teammate and fellow linebacker,
Dylan Douglass, blocked aPAT kick for the second straight game to go along with six tackles and a sack.
The Wildcats have lost all four games they have played to the Cowboys, the defending Southland champions who were 9-0 in league games in 2015 before losing in the first
round of the FCS playoffs to finish 10-1.
After 57 years of home games in Shotwell Stadium, the Wildcats play their final contest there in Abilene next Saturday at 6 p.m. when they host Southland Conference rival
Northwestern State. McNeese is on the road against Sam Houston State. ACU opens on-campus Wildcat Stadium in 2017.
SCORING DRIVES
• 1Q (10:36) – After ACU opened the game with a three-and-out and punt that gave McNeese the ball near midfield, James Tabary completed five of six passes in the Cowboys' first drive, capped by Justin Pratt's 4-yard run. Gunnar Raborn was successful on the PAT kick. McNeese 7, ACU 0 (Drive: 7 plays, 51 yards, 3:31)
• 1Q (6:16) – A
Sam Denmark fumble recovery at the McNeese 16-yard line set up ACU's first score, a 13-yard pass from quarterback
Dallas Sealey to
Troy Grant.
Nik Grau was successful on the PAT kick. McNeese 7, ACU 7 (Drive: 2 plays, 16 yards, 00:38)
• 1Q (1:57) – Gunnar Raborn kicked a 27-yard field goal to put McNeese back on top. The drive included a 33-yard run by Parker Orgeron. McNeese 10, ACU 7 (Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards, 4:19)
• 2Q (5:27) – Lawayne Ross caught a screen pass from James Tabary and took it16 yards for the score.
Dylan Douglass blocked the PAT. Kent Shelby caught passes of 24, 20 and 16 yards from Tabary on the drive. McNeese 16, ACU 7 (Drive: 11 plays, 71 yards, 6:18)
• 2Q (00:13) – Gunnar Raborn kicked a 47-yard field goal. McNeese 19, ACU 7 (Drive: 4 plays, 4 yards, 1:27)
• 3Q (11:30) – Justin Pratt ran 1 yard for a TD on McNeese's first drive of the second half, which featured a key 20-yard pass from James Tabary to Dariou Crawley. McNeese 26, ACU 7 (Drive: 10 plays, 67 yards, 3:30)
• 4Q (11:30) – Benjamin Jones caught a 16-yard pass from James Tabary to buildMcNeese's lead. An interception of
Dallas Sealey by Jermai Antoine gave the Cowboys' the ball at midfield to begin the drive. McNeese 33, ACU 7 (Drive: 10 plays, 50 yards, 5:40)
• 4Q (4:41) –
Tracy James ran 1 yard to pull ACU to within 19 on the scoreboard after starring on the Wildcats' first scoring drive since the first quarter. James ran five times for 44 yards, including a 29-yarder along the way. McNeese 33, ACU 14 (Drive: 8 plays, 73 yards, 2:56)
PLAYS THAT MATTERED
• ACU standout linebacker
Sam Denmark recovered a fumble by Ryan Ross with 6:54 left in the first quarter, giving the Wildcats the ball at the McNeese 16-yard line. Two plays later,
Dallas Sealey threw his 17th TD pass of the season to
Troy Grant, who caught his fifth of 2016.
• The fumble recovery by Denmark was ACU's 11th turnover forced against McNeese in the past two seasons.
Dylan Douglass caused the drop by McNeese's Ryan Ross after he caught a pass.
• ACU gambled at the McNeese 29-yard line on a fourth-and-3 play with 11:45 left in the second quarter. Sealey's pass bounced off the hands of freshman wide receiver
Josh Fink, however. The five-play drive failed to take advantage of a 34-yard run by senior running back
Adrian Duncan, his second longest of the season.
•
Dylan Douglass' block of Gunnar Raborn's PAT following McNeese's second TD was ACU's fourth block of the season.
• ACU had a rough stretch for nearly four minutes late in the second quarter. After reaching the McNeese 41-yard line, the Wildcats found themselves facing a rare third-and-44 down, thanks to 34 yards of penalties (intentional grounding, ineligible receiver downfield and personal foul).
Austin Kilcullen's 38-yard punt was returned 48 yards by McNeese and three plays later, Gunnar Raborn kicked a 47-yard field goal to extend the Cowboys' lead to 19-7 with just 13 seconds left in the first half. The field goal was Raborn's career best.
• The Wildcats had six penalties in the first half and nine (for 93 yards) overall in a sloppy game for both teams. McNeese had eight penalties for 81 yards.
• Early in the final quarter, on fourth-and-4 on the McNeese 33-yard line, an interception of
Dallas Sealey by Jermai Antoine stopped ACU's best drive, at that point, of the second half. Antoine returned the pick 33 yards to midfield. The Cowboys took 5:40 off the clock on the ensuing drive, increasing their lead to 33-7 and eliminating any hope the Wildcats had of a comeback.
WILDCAT PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Offense
Senior running back
Adrian Duncan only carried the ball just three times but gained 47 yards on the strength of a 34-yard run in the first half.
Defense
Linebacker
Dylan Douglass blocked a PAT for the second week in a row and totaled six tackles and one sack.
Sam Denmark, the Southland's second-leading tackler, recorded10 in the game and recovered one fumble.
NOTABLE
• ACU scored 52 points in each of its two best games this season, a 55-52 loss to Northern Colorado in the second week of the season and a win last week against University of the Incarnate Word at Homecoming.
• The Wildcats' victory last week avoided just the second winless season in ACU's 95-year history. The 1937 team was 0-9, including four shutouts in a season when
it was outscored 118-39.
• The Wildcats gave the Cowboys their closest game last year, when McNeese won the Southland Conference title with a 9-0 league record. A 23-yard field goal by
Trent Manuel with 4:31 left in the fourth quarter gave McNeese a 15-13 win on Oct. 31, at Shotwell Stadium. The Cowboys were 10-1 overall in 2015, losing 34-
29 to Sam Houston State in the first round of the FCS playoffs.
• ACU is now 0-4 all-time in games against McNeese, 0-3 in Lake Charles.
NEXT GAME
Southland Conference play continues for both teams next Saturday. The Wildcats play their final home game after 57 seasons at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene next Saturday at 6 p.m. when they host Northwestern State. McNeese is on the road against Sam HoustonState (starting time TBA)
