JOURNAL SPORTS
RUSTON – Louisiana Tech battled back from a 13-point deficit, taking the lead in overtime but visiting Western Kentucky answered with a walk-off two-point conversion to edge the Bulldogs, 28-27, on Tuesday night inside Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium.
“There’s a lot of bright spots tonight, but we just could not quite overcome some of the mistakes that we made against a good football team,” said Bulldogs coach Sonny Cumbie. “I thought there were situations where we were able to overcome some of those mistakes throughout the night, but at the end of the day we just didn’t make enough plays.
“I think our defense played a great second half—shutting them out until we got to overtime. There’s a lot of bright spots from tonight, but ultimately, we want to win the football game, and we were not able to do that.”
Tech (4-3, 2-2 CUSA) got off to a quick start as usual, scoring a touchdown on its opening drive for the fourth straight game. However, WKU (6-2, 4-1 CUSA) scored 17 unanswered points to take a 20-7 advantage at halftime.
Devin Gandy’s 85-yard kickoff return off a crossfield lateral to open the second half ignited the comeback, trimming the deficit to six just 15 seconds into the third quarter.
Tech’s defense stiffened from there, holding the Hilltoppers scoreless. Captain Shreve redshirt freshman John Hoyet Chance connected on back-to-back 24-yard field goals in the fourth quarter to erase the deficit and ultimately send the game to overtime tied 20-20.
The Bulldogs got the ball first and running back Andrew Burnette proceeded to cap a five-play, 25-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run up the middle to give Tech its first lead since the opening quarter.
However, WKU’s George Hart III responded with a four-yard score, and the Hilltoppers elected to go for the win – converting a gutsy two-point pass from quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr. to K.D. Hutchinson for the 28-27 final.
Blake Baker had a career night at quarterback for the Bulldogs, completing 31-of-45 passes for 340 yards and a touchdown, spreading the ball to 10 different receivers. He also had a team-high 49 yards rushing. Marlon Jackson led the pass-catching group with 76 receiving yards, while running back Clay Thevenin added 52 through the air and 35 on the ground.
Defensively, the Bulldogs were led by Jacob Fields (11 tackles) and Jakari Foster (10 tackles) while Sifa Leota had eight tackles, including three tackles-for-loss and two pass breakups. Kameron Carter provided the lone turnover for Tech with an interception in the fourth quarter.
Tech outgained WKU 449-340 in total offense and converted 10-of-19 third downs.
“I’m proud of how the guys rebounded in the second half after struggling through the first two quarters. Guys made plays; guys competed,” said Cumbie.