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Football: Twice as nice – links to videos and photos included 12/23/12Football: Twice as nice – links to videos and photos included 12/23/12 Tim Buckley, Daily Advertiser, Dec. 23, 2012 NEW ORLEANS — Up three touchdowns midway through the second quarter of Saturday’s New Orleans Bowl game against East Carolina, the Ragin’ Cajuns blinked. Not long after, UL found itself tied. But the Cajuns seemingly had a response for everything in front of a bowl-record 48,828 at the Superdome, and beat the Pirates 43-34 for their second straight postseason win."When they came back on us and made a game out of it," UL quarterback and bowl MVP Terrance Broadway said, "our team was still upbeat, saying, ‘We’re gonna win this game.’ " "I don’t think nobody even started sweating," senior offensive tackle Leo Bates added. "When they gained that momentum, all we knew was we had to answer. That’s it. No question, or anything."Running back Alonzo Harris rushed for two touchdowns and Broadway produced two for the Cajuns, who finished 2012 at 9-4 — matching their record from a 2011 season capped by a 32-30 New Orleans Bowl victory over San Diego State, and again tying the school Harris wound up with 120 yards on 21 carries, including TD runs of 68 yards — longest in bowl history — and 6 yards.Broadway threw for 316 yards and one touchdown, going 21-of-32 with a scoring toss Javone Lawson juggled and caught after it appeared to have hit off the turf. The UL QB also ran 15 times for 108 yards and one TD, marking the third straight time he and Harris each have rushed for 100-plus in a game in which both played. The Cajuns also got a 10-yard TD run from slot receiver Harry Peoples, 13 points from kicker Brett Baer and 116 yards on six catches from wideout Jamal Robinson as they won for the fourth straight time and the fifth in their last six outings."I just couldn’t be more proud to see the look in their eyes and on their faces after they win a game — especially a bowl game in the Superdome," Cajun coach Mark Hudspeth said.Last year’s visit to the Dome ended in dramatic fashion, with Baer hitting a 50-yard field goal as time expired. This one wasn’t quite as crazy, but it too closed with a Baer field goal in the waning seconds — this one from 39 yards.
"I knew if I could make one more field goal in my career that it would ice that game, and that’s just what I had on my mind," said Baer, who swore he wasn’t reminiscing. "I’m just so happy to be a part of this team and go out like that. That’s awesome. I couldn’t ask for anything better." Nor could the Cajuns ask for a better start, especially on defense.UL forced 8-5 East Carolina of Conference USA to punt on each of its first three drives. "It gave us great confidence," said cornerback Melvin White, who came up with the stop UL needed most late in the game.After Broadway ran in from 12 yards out to cap UL’s opening drive midway through the first quarter, Peoples sprinted to the left corner early in the second to help the Cajuns go up 14-0. ECU cut the UL lead in half with the first of two TD runs by Reggie Bullock, who rushed for 104 on a day 1,000-yard starter Vintavious Cooper struggled.The two Harris TD runs, however, made it 28-7 with just more than seven minutes left before halftime. Harris busted his way down the Cajun sideline on the 68-yard scoring run, and senior quarterback Blaine Gautier — who was directing that particular 98-yard drive — was hot on his trail."I was like, ‘Just get it, man. Just go.’ Because it looked like he (Harris) was kind of slowing up," Gautier said. "He thought he was by himself. But was I just running behind him with so much joy." The Pirates, however, were happy to manage two quick touchdowns — Shane Carden passes of 19 yards to favorite target Justin Hardy and 16 yards to Danny Webster — that helped make it 28-21.Then Baer lined up for a field goal — a 50-yarder, go figure — that sent UL into the break up 10.With that, UL and ECU tied the record for most combined points in a quarter of any bowl at 45 — matching what Nebraska and Northwestern produced in the second quarter of the 2000 Alamo Bowl The Pirates struck first in the second half, however, as Warren Harvey hit a 45-yard field goal, Bullock ran in from 13 yards and Harvey made the extra point to tie the game at 31 with 5:57 left in the third.
Even then, though, the Cajuns did not panic. "There’s not a whole lot now that fazes our football team Do they ever."As a team, we know how to overcome adversity," Harris said. "It actually was just another day at the office as far as I could see." "Us on the sideline, we never felt like we were gonna lose the game," Lawson added. "We feel like we’re always in it. And when they came back — it was close, but we still came out on top."Credit Lawson for what happened next — and for a TD catch that made it 37-31 Cajuns with 3:07 remaining in the third. First he used one hand to pulled in a 29-yard Broadway pass.Then the senior from New Orleans secured a 14-yard throw to the end zone that he even acknowledged hit the ground — play was never stopped for a review, though — before it bounced away from him and was pulled back in as he rolled over. Baer’s PAT was blocked, but the Cajuns did reclaim their lead."They had just seized the momentum," Hudspeth said, "and then we seized it right back. "That was critical."So too were two Baer field goals that followed a Harvey 26-yarder early in the fourth and a trade Two plays after Broadway threw his only interception of the game on a pass intended for Bradley Brown, and with ECU threatening to take the lead, UL cornerback Jemarlous Moten stepped in front of a Pirate receiver and picked off Carden."When I saw J-Mo catch that pick," Brown said, "I was through the roof." "I thought (the receiver) had beat him a little bit," UL defensive coordinator Greg Stewart added, "but then I (saw) J-Mo turned the jets on and I knew as soon as he threw that ball he had an angle on him."The first of Baer’s two late-game field goals followed the pick and came from 25 yards out with 3:11 to go, making it UL 40, ECU 34."It was like a rollercoaster," said Moten, who missed a possible pick-six earlier in the game."We knew they were gonna keep coming, because we had trouble with the pass earlier in the season. But we know we’re good DBs, so we just come back and make another play."The Pirates opened another drive for the win with time to spare at their own 25-yard line, but a short Bullock run — linebacker Le’Marcus Gibson made the stop — between two Carden incompletions left ECU facing 4th-and-5 with 2:40 left.After a timeout, Carden rolled right out. Chased by big lineman Cordian Hagans, he threw to Andrew Bodenheim.But White broke up the sideline pass with perhaps his biggest hit of the season, allowing Baer, four players later, to make his 39-yarder with 10 seconds to go. "Our kids — I can’t say enough," Stewart said, fighting back tears. "I get emotional. Because they play hard." Athletic Network Footnote: videos and photos of activities surrounding the N.O. Bowl. Videos – click on the title to view. Ragin’ Cajuns do it again – Dec. 22 – Cajuns take over the ‘Dome – Dec. 22 – UL postgame interviews – Dec. 22 UL postgame press conference – Dec. 22 Photos – click on the title to view. Kids Visit UL Football Practice Dec. 16 – 28 photos Cajuns Board Buses for Bowl Game Dec. 18 – 26 photos UL Players Arrive in New Orleans Dec. 18 – 25 photos UL Practice in N.O. Wednesday Dec. 19 – 34 photos UL Players Visit Aquarium Dec. 20 – 19 photos N.O. Bowl Media Day Dec. 20 – 29 photos UL Players Practice in the ‘Dome Dec. 20 – 17 photos UL French Quarter Second Line Dec. 20 – UL Fan Fest in New Orleans 1/3 Dec. 21 – 72 photos UL Fan Fest in New Orleans 2/3 Dec. 21 – 28 photos UL Fan Fest in New Orleans 3/3 Dec. 21 – 29 photos New Orleans Bowl 1/4 Dec. 22 – 70 photos New Orleans Bowl 2/4 Dec. 22 – 49 photos
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