Louisiana College takes advantage of Panther miscues for 30-17 victory
Sept. 29, 2007

Louisiana College took advantage of LaGrange College miscues in the fourth quarter to take a 30-17 win Saturday at Callaway Stadium. The Wildcats evened their season record at 2-2. The Panthers, in their second season of football, fell to 0-5 and still seeking their first ever win.

Quarterback Ben McLaughlin threw for 315 yards and two touchdowns for Louisiana. Running back Bobby Rose added 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns. The Wildcats had 522 yards of total offense, while LaGrange had 229.

Mario Wallace had 164 all-purpose yards for the Panthers. Brandon Crawford rushed for a touchdown and had a touchdown reception.

Trailing 17-10 after a 27-yard field goal by Louisiana's John Michiels, the Panthers responded with a quick drive to tie the game. The Panthers needed only four plays to go 64 yards. Drew Carter hooked up with Crawford out of the backfield for a 26-yard pass and catch touchdown. Josh Stripling's extra point tied the game with 14:28 left in the game.

The Panthers appeared to be driving for the go-ahead score on their next possession. A punt return by Mario Wallace set the Panthers up at the Louisiana 37-yard line. The Panthers move to the 12, but Carter's pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Chaz Kuikahi. Kuikahi returned the interception to the LaGrange 38-yard line.

The Wildcats needed only five plays to take advantage of the Panthers' turnover. Rose ran it in from the 10-yard line to put the Wildcats up 24-17 with 9:50 left in the game.

The Panthers next possession also ended with an interception, as Dominique Taylor picked off Carter's pass. The Wildcats drove 78 yards in 11 plays, as McLaughlin passed 16 yards to Brock Graziadei for the touchdown.

LaGrange had taken a 7-0 lead on its first possession of the game. Aided by a pass interference call, the Panthers went 69 yards in seven plays. Crawford finished the drive with a 3-yard run.

Louisiana tied the game in the second quarter on Rose's first touchdown, a 5-yard run. The Panthers regained the lead on Josh Stripling's 42-yard field goal. The Wildcats came back to take a 14-10 lead at halftime as McLaughlin threw 18 yards to Taylor Huffman.

Jeremy Pickens led the defense, which forced four turnovers in the game. Pickens had 13 total tackles. Josh Britt and Richard Okpani had eight total tackles each.