LAKE CHARLES, La. – HCU football fell in Southland Conference play on Saturday night, losing a road matchup to the McNeese Cowboys by a 27-0 final at Navarre Stadium.
The Huskies (2-5, 1-2 SLC) received the opening kickoff and moved the ball 44 yards thanks in large part to a 16-yard rush by
Xai'Shaun Edwards and a 13-yard completion from
Maddox Kopp to
Keith Wheeler but stalled after a penalty left them with a third-and-14 in McNeese territory.
McNeese (2-5, 1-2 SLC) took over at their own 20 after a touchback and moved the ball 80 yards on 14 plays with help from a roughing the kicker on a punt that extended the Cowboys' drive. The next HCU drive ended on an interception but
Tyran Chappell got the ball right back with his third interception of the season on the second play of the Cowboys' possession.
Following a seven-yard gain on a Kopp pass to Edwards the redshirt freshman broke a 46-yard rush to move the Huskies into the red zone. HCU moved the ball down to the McNeese 13 but the
Charlie Weinrich field goal attempt from 31 yards out missed wide right.
The HCU defense forced a three-and-out, including a five-yard sack by
Julius Davis, and took over possession at the 36-yard line. Kopp completed a 39-yard pass downfield to
Ja'Ryan Wallace to move into McNeese territory before again finding Wallace for 12 yards on the next play to the home 13. The Huskies moved the ball just two yards on the next three downs and fourth down pass to
Deuce McMillan in the end zone was incomplete. Fabrizio Pinton closed out the first half with a 47-yard field goal as time expired.
In the second half, McNeese got rushing touchdowns from quarterback Jake Strong on its first two possessions to build its lead to 24-0 in the third quarter. The Cowboys added a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Edwards finished the night with 130 yards on 18 carries for an average of 7.2 yards per carry. The redshirt freshman now has 755 yards rushing through seven games this year for a new single-season rushing record, surpassing B.J. Kelly's 735 yards during the 2014 season. Senior receiver
Deuce McMillan caught two passes to surpass 100 career receptions as he now has 101 as a Husky. Wallace finished with three catches for 63 yards to lead all players in receiving yards.
Senior linebacker
Rodney Dansby reached a big milestone of his own, ending the night with four tackles to surpass 400 career tackles. He now has 401 tackles as a Husky, just 14 away from second on the all-time list.
HCU hosts Southeastern next Saturday, Oct. 25, at Husky Stadium for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff.
