— By David Walsh
Lunch Winfield put on quite a show in relief with the capper for the backup quarterback a 10-yard touchdown run in the second overtime to lift Louisiana to a 54-51 win over Marshall in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams Saturday night at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium.
Winfield came into the game after starter Daniel Beale threw two straight interceptions and the Thundering Herd converted them into 10 points. One was a pick six by Herd defensive lineman Paul Hudson III. A field goal after the second pick put the Herd ahead, 34-17, with 6:55 left in the third period.
It was all Winfield and the Ragin’ Cajuns from that point on.
In the second overtime, Marshall went on offense first. A short run and then two incompletions by quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson saw Lorcan Quinn come out for a 40-yard field goal. However, the Herd got a delay of game penalty, then procedure call to back up 10 yards. Quinn missed, but the Ragin’ Cajuns were called for running into the kicker. On the second chance, Quinn connected from 46 yards for a 51-48 lead.
On the ensuing series, Louisiana (2-3, 1-0) called a rollout pass, but Winfield pulled the ball down, headed for the end zone and leaped for the winning TD.
In the first overtime, the Herd (2-3, 0-1) won the toss and chose to play defense, but Louisiana scored immediately on a 25-yard run by Zyland Perry for a 48-41 lead. Back came Marshall and the visitors scored in six plays with the TD a 3-yard pass to Adrian Norton on fourth down to force the second OT.
In the fourth, after the Ragin’ Cajuns tied the game, the Herd countered with a TD on a 28-yard pass from Del Rio-Wilson to Floyd Lacey for a 41-34 lead. The Ragin’ Cajuns took over at their 25 with under a minute left and no timeouts. On a fourth-and-1 at its 44, Louisiana got the Herd to jump offsides. Winfield threw 12 yards to Landon Strother and 15 yards to Perry for a first down at the 24. Winfield then went deep and found tight end Dale Martin open in the back of the end zone for the tying score with 16 seconds left. Lafayette used 7 plays to go 75 yards and force the extra session.
Marshall now has an open date. Its next game is October 11 at home against Old Dominion.
Marshall had 503 total yard to 461 for the host. The Herd got flagged 12 times for 102 yards compared to one for 5 yards for Louisiana.
Del Rio-Wilson completed 24-of-31 passes for 258 yards and three scores. He also rushed for 81 yards. Michael Allen ran 19 times for 138 yards to become the first Herd back to surpass 100 for the season. Floyd Lacey had 10 catches for 146 yards and two scores.
Winfield hit on 7-of-13 passes for 125 yards two TDs. The dual threat carried 13 times for 129 yards and scored three times.
Marshall went 2-for-2 in the red zone while Lafayette finished 5-for-5.
On his first try after he came in, Winfield had a 29-yard run and the home team settled for a field goal to get within 34-20.
In the fourth, Winfield ran for 38 yards and a 2-yard TD to cut the deficit to 34-27 with 10:16 left. The Ragin’ Cajuns got even at 34-34 on their next possession. Charles Robertson caught a 15-yard pass to get the first down by a yard. Later, the Herd’s Jayland Parker got called for targeting after a review and got ejected. Winfield would then toss a 45-yard TD pass to Robertson for a score with 4:27 left to tie the game.
In the first half, the Herd had the edge in total offense thanks to a successful 2-minute drill right before the break, one that Del Rio-Wilson
found Lacey for a 32-yard touchdown on 23 seconds before the break.
The Herd scored first on Quinn’s career-long 53-yard field goal with 6:46 left in the first period.
UL came right back with help when the Herd’s Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw fumbled on a punt return and the home team recovered. Tony Sterner tied it 3-3 on a 26-yard field goal.
The Herd would take the lead in the second on a 9-yard TD run by Allen.
UL again came right back. Perry would score on a 19-yard run to get even at 10.
Prior to the rally, the Ragin’ Cajuns held a short-lived 17-10 lead after a 6-yard TD run by Winfield.