Tim Buckley, The Advertiser, November 22, 2012 

Quarterback Terrance Broadway’s son, uncertain of the surroundings, held a tight face.

But when Ragin’ Cajuns wide receiver Darryl Surgent broke out into what by all accounts was a moving rendition of "Amazing Grace" at the end of a rather meaningful evening for four UL teammates last Friday, a spirit seemingly filling his voice, Terrance Joseph Broadway II lit up.

That made an already powerful occasion even more uplifting for Broadway, who was joined by three teammates — senior linebacker Le’Marcus Gibson, senior cornerback Melvin White and senior safety Rodney Gillis — in a public water-baptism ritual signifying their faith in Christ.

The ceremony, performed by Chi Alpha campus minister and UL football team chaplain Eric Treuil, took place in the pool at the Cajuns’ team hotel prior to their stirring come-from-behind win over Western Kentucky on Saturday night.

With teammates looking on, the four — leaders of a 6-4 club that has endured its share of trial over the past month or so — felt an already tight group bond even more.

Each offered personal testimony in which Treuil said they were "speaking from their heart."

"The spirituality on the team is something big," Gibson said.

"It just says something about the team, and the character of the team, and how close we’ve grown together. We’ve all got a strong belief in God, so it was just something to show we really want to get on the right track."

The four followed in the footsteps of Surgent and defensive lineman Christian Ringo, who were baptized one week prior in the UL campus pool.

"It’s making us closer, because everybody wants to have the great relationship with the Lord," Gillis said. "So I think that’s humbling everybody "» as we wind it down."

With two regular-season games and a likely bowl appearance remaining, including Saturday’s home finale vs. South Alabama, the Cajuns have had some hurdles of late to overcome.

Two teammates were recently removed from the roster following their arrest for an alleged sexual assault.

Another was dismissed for repeated violation of team rules.

"An old church saying is, ‘A family that prays together stays together,’" Broadway said, "and as a team we’ve grown so much closer in the past four weeks with battling adversity.

"The only way we’ve really done that is though God."

Treuil suspects the missteps of some made others take notice.

"I believe it played a bit into it, from the angle of the reality that anybody can get into trouble — easily," he said. "And unless you make some choices and decisions, it’s easy for anybody to mess up.

"I do think it played a part — (them thinking), ‘I just want to make sure I’m not going to find myself in any situations,’ and instead of just going with the flow "» they stepped over and decided to make some good, strong decisions.

"It’s saying, ‘Hey, I’m telling everybody I’m living out the Christian life,’ " Treuil added. "Now they’ve put themselves out there for some accountability, too."

Gillis suggested he thinks more now about what he does daily.

He suspects he’s not alone.

"It makes guys make better decisions, because you’re gonna think about that next person," Gillis said what faith has done for some. "You know, that ripple effect — what you do, your other teammates are going to have to face those consequences."

But it wasn’t just recent events influencing anyone.

Rather it was a matter of student-athletes from different denominational backgrounds making a conscious call to publicly affirm their choice to live Christian lives.

"They put their faith in Christ and they’re following his example by being water-baptized, as laid out in scripture," said Treuil, who is in his 30th year of campus ministry work, including 26 at UL.

Treuil has baptized numerous UL student-athletes, current Chicago Bears NFL cornerback Charles "Peanut" Tillman among them.

But Friday marked the first time an entire team has watched.

"In all my years of ministry," he said, "that was a really special moment.

"From my angle," Treuil added, "I really did sense the presence of God in the room."

He evidently was not alone.

And being able to share such a personal experience with teammates standing next to them in the pool only heightened the moment’s impact.

"That meant a lot, because I know this a group of guys that care about me," Gillis said. "I love them; I know they love me like a brother, so that was a real touching experience for me."

"Just to have those guys with me — guys that I work either every day, guys that I’m around every day on campus and (in) study hall — it is like getting baptized with your brothers," added Broadway, who learned Gillis, Gibson and White would be joining him only after he had made his decision.

Like Gillis, Gibson and Broadway both said being baptized Friday represented not so much new-found beliefs as much as confirmation of those long-held.

"When I first got baptized, I was young. I didn’t know the meaning of it," Gibson said. "Now, to go through it with guys with I go through things with every day — every day we see each other, every day we’re around each other, and they’re guys that I love — it made the experience even better.

"The more I grew older I learned more about Christ and Jesus, and I just felt it was time for me to just get a new start and start walking by Him," Broadway added. "I’ve always been very religious, but I just thought I need to take that next step — and those other guys did also."

As they celebrate Thanksgiving today, the Cajuns will do so as a team glued like not all are.

Adding a spiritual element only serves to enhance that strength, Treuil believes.

"It takes it from ‘this is just about us playing a game’ to ‘this is us living life,’ " he said, "because these guys are going to have a bond that lasts long beyond their playing days."

Years from now, it won’t only be wins like the one over Western Kentucky — UL came from 10 points down with just under three minutes to go to win 31-27 — that they’ll have to cherish.

It will be their shared faith, too.

Just how much the two may be connected is anyone’s guess.

"We’ve had a little movement on our football team," head coach Mark Hudspeth said shortly after the win over WKU. "Whether you call it a spiritual movement or if you call it a team unity movement, this team has grown a little bit closer in the last few weeks."

Broadway, who threw for one touchdown and ran for another in that final 2:43 last Saturday, is convinced the rally and the victory was "the work of God."

Whether that’s really the case or not may be subject to debate.

What’s not is how Surgent’s God-given voice — Gibson calls it "amazing" — affected a certain young son.

"He was quiet the whole time, just looking around, didn’t know too many people around him," Broadway said of his boy. "And when Surg started singing, that was the first time he started smiling the whole night."