University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
1-2
Texas A&M
2-1
Second Half Helps Aggies Rally Past Louisiana, 45-21
9/16/2017 3:08:00 PM | Football
Louisiana opens SBC play next Saturday against ULM
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Mond threw first-half TD passes to Christian Kirk and Jhamon Ausbon while the Texas A&M defense held Louisiana (1-2) to 82 yards of total offense in the second half after the Ragin' Cajuns took a 21-14 lead heading into the locker room.
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Louisiana trailed 7-0 early in the second quarter when Tracy Walker intercepted a Mond pass and Trey Ragas capped a four-play, 12-yard drive with a 3-yard TD run. The Aggies quickly regained the lead as Mond found Ausbon for a 24-yard TD pass before Louisiana scored twice to quiet the Kyle Field crowd.
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The Ragin' Cajuns benefited from a muffed punt by Kirk and needed six plays to reach the end zone as Jordan Davis connected with Ryheem Malone on an 8-yard scoring pass. Louisiana took the lead with an impressive 13-play, 81-yard drive as Davis found Jordan Wright on a 1-yard scoring pass with seven seconds remaining in the first half.
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A&M capitalized on an interception on Louisiana's opening drive as they drove 81 yards in nine plays to tie the game at 21-21. Mond capped the drive with a 5-yard run off the left side before finding Camron Buckley for a go-ahead 12-yard scoring pass with 6:23 remaining in the third quarter.
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Tyrel Dodson returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter for the Aggies before freshman Jacob Kibodi iced it with a 67-yard TD run with 6:41 remaining.
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Davis was 27-for-43 for 197 yards with a pair of TDs for Louisiana with Keenan Barnes posting career-highs with 12 receptions for 118 yards. Ragas gained 93 yards on 14 carries for the Ragin' Cajuns with Kevon Perry and Damar'ren Mitchell recording nine tackles each.
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Louisiana will return to action next Saturday (Sept. 23) when it opens Sun Belt Conference action against ULM in a 4 p.m. contest at Cajun Field.
GAME NOTES
• Louisiana won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.
• The announced attendance of 98,412 was the largest crowd for a Ragin' Cajuns football game.
• The Ragin' Cajuns helmet design with the scripted "Cajuns" was a throwback to the 1996 team.
• Louisiana's 13-play drive to end the first half was its longest scoring drive of the season
• Senior Tracy Walker's eight tackles moved him over the 200-tackle mark in his career; Walker is now at 205 tackles.
• Keenan Barnes set career-highs in both receptions (12) and yards (118) for Louisiana.
• Calvin Linden's PAT on the Ragin' Cajuns first touchdown of the game was the first of his career.
• Punter Sam Geraci averaged a season-high 43.4 yards on eight attempts. His 53-yard punt in the fourth quarter his longest of the season.Â
• Simeon Thomas and Darius Hoggins each made their 2017 debuts for Louisiana. Thomas finished with three tackles and three pass breakups for the Ragin' Cajuns with Hoggins tossing a 19-yard pass to Jordan Davis on second-and-14 to the A&M 9 that set up Jordan Wright's 1-yard TD reception heading into the half.
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Team Stats
LA 0, TAMU 7
TAMU - Christian Kirk 1 yd pass from Kellen Mond (Daniel LaCamera kick) 4 plays, 51 yards, TOP 1:37
LA 7, TAMU 7
LA - Ragas, Trey 3 yd run (Linden, C. kick), 4 plays, 12 yards, TOP 1:51
LA 7, TAMU 14
TAMU - Jhamon Ausbon 24 yd pass from Kellen Mond (Daniel LaCamera kick) 1 plays, 24 yards, TOP 0:18
LA 14, TAMU 14
LA - Malone, Ryheem 8 yd pass from Davis, Jordan (Artigue, Stevie kick) 6 plays, 37 yards, TOP 3:00
LA 21, TAMU 14
LA - Wright, Jordan 1 yd pass from Davis, Jordan (Artigue, Stevie kick) 13 plays, 81 yards, TOP 2:55
LA 21, TAMU 21
TAMU - Kellen Mond 5 yd run (Daniel LaCamera kick), 9 plays, 81 yards, TOP 2:19
LA 21, TAMU 28
TAMU - Camron Buckley 12 yd pass from Kellen Mond (Daniel LaCamera kick) 10 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:04
LA 21, TAMU 31
TAMU - Daniel LaCamera 28 yd field goal 11 plays, 67 yards, TOP 3:41
LA 21, TAMU 38
TAMU - Tyrel Dodson 40 yd interception (Daniel LaCamera kick)
LA 21, TAMU 45
TAMU - Jacob Kibodi 67 yd run (Daniel LaCamera kick), 2 plays, 61 yards, TOP 0:56
