Football: Heartbreaker – Cajuns fall victim to big North Texas comeback 10/17/12

Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, October 17, 2012

DENTON, Texas — The UL Ragin’ Cajuns went into their ESPN2-televised visit to North Texas on Tuesday night averaging 38 points per game, with a pair of 40-plus-point performances in their last two outings.

Anyone looking for a scorefest might have scrolled away with the remote had they tuned in during the opening half, and it didn’t get much better for UL in the second half.

Those who stuck with it, however, wound up watching a thriller.Trailing early in the fourth quarter after a 22-yard Zach Olen field goal that helped send North Texas from down 14 to up three, UL — despite several impressive defensive stands, and a 47-yard field by Brett Baer that tied the game with three minutes and one second remaining — ultimately fell 30-23 to the Mean Green.

After Baer tied the game at 23, North Texas quarterback Derek Thompson hit Antoinne Jimmerson with a screen pass that the backup running back took 78 yards for a touchdown with 1:54 to go in front of 17,055 at Apogee Stadium.Jimmerson danced and dodged his way through the Cajun defense, ultimately making a cut to shake Emeka Onyenekwu and adding a burst to beat the reach of Justin Hamilton.

UL’s ensuing drive ended with Terrance Broadway finding running back Effrem Reed on a checkdown to the middle, after only to see Reed fumble after he was hit by cornerback Zac Whitfield.Marcus Trice of the Mean Green made the recovery, knocking UL to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Sun Belt Conference and denying the Cajuns a chance to take an outright league lead.Conference USA-bound North Texas, which improved to 3-4 and 2-1 in the Sun Belt, took a 9-8 lead in the all-time series between the two schools."We were absolutely inept offensively the second half. "» I’m very disappointed there," said coach Mark Hudspeth, whose Cajuns play host to Arkansas State next Tuesday night in another ESPN2-televised game.

"Defensively, I thought we played very well in the first half," Hudspeth added. "Second half, obviously, our staff made some poor adjustments, because they just had their way with us."

Broadway, making his second straight in place of the injured Blaine Gautier, ran 75 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and threw to slot receiver Harry Peoples for another TD in the third quarter.

The University of Houston transfer finished 26-of-41 for 265 yards, but UL was outgained by North Texas 524 yards to 371 in total yards."We beat a really good team," Mean Green coach Dan McCarney said.

"I’m pretty, obviously, terribly disappointed," Hudspeth added. "But I know this: We’re gonna come back to practice and continue getting better, because we’re a lot better football team."UL went 83 yards on 14 plays for its opening drive, capping it with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Reed.

But usually reliable Baer missed the PAT, making it 6-0 UL.It was the first failed point-after attempt of the season by Baer, who had been 22-of-22 this season and was 46-for-50 last season.

After Broadway was picked (his second interception of the season), North Texas cut that lead in half with a 25-yard Olen field goal.But Broadway quickly atoned, going 75 yards on the first play of UL’s ensuing drive.

This time Baer made the PAT, making it UL 13, North Texas 3 with just fewer than seven minutes to go before halftime.Broadway sold a fake handoff to Reed well, then took off left on the keeper.

He cut nicely back across the field, and — boosted by a stiff-arm for the final few yards — outran Whitfield to the right corner of the end zone.Before the half was done, North Texas would drive 78 yards — but after another Cajun stand had to settle for another short field goal from Olen, this one a 24-yarder.

With that, UL led 13-6 at the break.It didn’t take much of the third quarter, though, before the Cajuns would extend it to 20-6.Just 2:25 into the second half, Broadway connected with Peoples on a 10-yard TD pass over the middle and Baer added the PAT.The score was set up by a 55-yard, mostly in-the-air throw down the left sideline from Broadway to star receiver Javone Lawson.

Lawson had exited early in the first half with a bruised left wrist, but the senior returned after X-rays showed no broken bones.

Peoples, also a senior, had to leave himself after sustaining a right shoulder injury his scoring catch. He did not return, and was wearing a sling afterward.

"A couple of our big guys went down — Javone, Harry," Broadway said. "But we didn’t make the plays we normally make. I take the blame for the loss on the offensive side of the ball."North Texas threatened yet again on the Mean Green drive that followed Peoples’ TD catch.

But after McCarney’s club went for it on 4th-and-goal from the 1, UL’s defense came up big yet again.Burly defensive lineman Cordian Hagans made the stop, protecting the Cajuns’ 14-point edge.

The Cajuns got virtually nowhere, however, and after a Baer punt North Texas struck with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to running back Antoinne Jimmerson.Thompson found Jimmerson coming out of the backfield in wide-open field, and a couple moves later the Mean Green had finally cracked UL’s defense.

And after UL’s next drive stalled too, an uncharacteristic 27-yard punt by Baer allowed North Texas to tie the game at 20-20 behind a 34-yard end-around run by receiver Brelan Chancellor.Chancellor broke a Justin Anderson tackle and ran in untouched after that, helping even things up heading into the fourth quarter.

"I told everybody this week: This was a dang-good football team," Hudspeth said of North Texas. "(They) played two teams (LSU and Kansas State) in the Top 10, and there’s no doubt they were a good football team."