Football: TDs come with a Chery on top

Cajun WR’s breakthrough season key part of offense’s explosion

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • October 17, 2008

The words of encouragement went a long way for UL’s Jason Chery.

In practice two days before last Saturday’s game at North Texas, Chery was struggling. The thrill of his career game the previous week against ULM, which included 318 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns and Sun Belt special teams player of the week honors, had worn off.

"I was dropping every ball," Chery said. "I couldn’t catch a ball. I lost focus. But everybody was there to pick me up."

Chery returned the favor in last week’s 59-30 win over UNT as the Cajuns set the program’s modern-day scoring mark.

In arguably the most impressive individual effort by a Cajun, the senior tied school and Sun Belt records for touchdowns (five) and points scored (30) – in the first half. The Florida native scored on catches of 17, 49 and 57 yards, a 97-yard kickoff return and an 81-yard run and finished with 339 all-purpose yards on eight touches.

The performance was the second-best in league history behind Idaho’s Blair Lewis, who gained 347 all-purpose yards against Middle Tennessee in 2001. (Chery’s effort against ULM is good for fourth all-time in the conference.)

UL coach Rickey Bustle was amazed by Chery’s kickoff return. After dropping the ball, Chery picked it up and zigged and zagged his way 97 yards for the score. It was the program’s first kickoff return for a touchdown in four years and second-longest by the school behind Mike McDonald’s 99-yard return against Pensacola Navy in 1968.

"That’s some play he made on the kickoff return," Bustle said. "We were all fussing at him for dropping the ball and then he comes out and takes it to the house."

Chery, the league’s reigning offensive player of the week, offered an instant replay of his electric kickoff return.

"I didn’t catch it right and the ball fell to the ground," said Chery, who committed to attend Oklahoma State out of Florida’s Spanish River High before Les Miles left for LSU. "I thought, ‘Oh, I missed it. I’ve got to make something happen.’ I picked it up, saw a little hole and weaved up field.

"When I saw nobody was in front of me, I saw daylight and hit the afterburners."

The speedy Chery has done his part to help UL (3-3 overall, 2-0 Sun Belt) light up scoreboards all season along with quarterback Mike Desormeaux and running back Tyrell Fenroy. The high-octane Cajuns lead the nation in rushing offense at 332.2 yards per game, rank fifth in total offense and 20th in scoring offense with that trio carrying most of the load.

Chery has been a one-man wrecking crew in the past two weeks, scoring seven times and gaining 657 yards on 23 touches. That’s an average of nearly 29 yards every time he touched the ball.

Of UL’s 11 offensive touchdowns this season covering at least 50 yards, which leads the nation, Chery has accounted for four of them. In addition to his 81-yard run and 57-yard pass for touchdowns against UNT, Chery scored on a 74-yard catch and an 87-yard run against ULM. It was the league’s longest scoring catch of the season and the third-best run in school and conference history.

Chery’s running ability is far from a shocker. He ran for 1,789 yards and scored 28 touchdowns as a prep senior. With a logjam at running back, he moved to wide receiver with the Cajuns. He’s widely considered the team’s fastest player and is a Sun Belt track medalist.

"The ball is getting in the hands of people who can make the big play," Bustle said. "Chery is fast, and now he has confidence to go along with his speed and talent."

Chery’s big numbers have caught the attention of Arkansas State coach Steve Roberts. His Red Wolves (4-2, 2-0) get to see Chery and the Cajuns firsthand at 6 p.m. Saturday at Cajun Field.

"They throw the ball to him, and they find a way to get the ball to him," Roberts said. "Whether it’s on a reverse, throwing the ball to him or on kickoff returns, he’s an explosive player.

"He does a lot of everything."

The numbers prove it.

For the season, Chery has gained 1,133 yards and scored nine times on 56 touches. He’s averaging 20.2 yards every time he touches the ball. He ranks fourth nationally in all-purpose yards per game (188.8) and leads the conference with five touchdown catches.

Those numbers are staggering because Chery entered his senior season with 1,597 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns on 117 touches in his previous three years.

At his current pace, Chery will break the league’s single-season mark for all-purpose yards (1,815 by former North Texas back Jamario Thomas in 2004) and all-purpose yards per game (181.5 by Thomas in 2004).

As he looked back on his career night against UNT, Chery showed tremendous admiration for his coaches and teammates for helping him through the previous week.

"What happened (that night) was because of my teammates," Chery said. "They’ve been behind me all season."

UL’s opponents are familiar with that same view.