JOURNAL SPORTS
Louisiana Tech’s long-awaited return to a conference with rivalries unfolds in Ruston Saturday evening, in another appealing Lincoln Parish doubleheader begun a couple hours earlier when Grambling squares off with undefeated Jackson State.
Centenary rides the momentum of its first win into Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference competition on the road Saturday while Northwestern State is open.
LOUISIANA TECH: After over a decade with no in-state rivals and few anywhere near in Conference USA, Sun Belt Conference competition begins for Louisiana Tech in a matchup with Louisiana-Lafayette at Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN+, with Malcolm Butler handling play-by-play and Luke McCown serving as the analyst.
ULL (4-1, 1-0 SBC) and Louisiana Tech (2-2, 0-0 SBC) will meet for the 88th time in a series that dates to 1910. The Cajuns-Bulldogs rivalry is the second-oldest in-state series, trailing only the 98-game series between LSU and Tulane, and it’s the Cajuns’ longest-running rivalry.
They opened SBC play last Saturday with a 23-20 victory over Arkansas State, as Tony Sterner connected on a 37-yard field goal as time expired. The Ragin’ Cajuns controlled the ball for more than 34 minutes and scored on all four of their second-half possessions to secure the win.
Last Saturday in a 31-29 homefield win over Army, the Bulldogs took control midway through the game and piled up 503 yards of total offense, 244 on the ground and 259 through the air, while averaging 8.8 yards per play. Running back Dylone Brooks had 200 total yards, 119 on the ground.
GRAMBLING: The annual Southwestern Athletic Conference clash with Jackson State takes place Saturday afternoon at 4 in Eddie G. Robinson Memorial Stadium, where the G-Men (3-2, 1-1 SWAC) have posted all three of their wins.
They outlasted visiting Alcorn State 63-59 last Saturday, piling up 599 yards after being held to under 300 a week earlier in a 21-14 loss to Prairie View.
Jackson State is out to a 5-0 start that includes a 2-0 league record, beating Southern 35-17 at home and last week edging Alabama State 31-28 on the road.
The game will be carried on the SWACTV livestream.
CENTENARY: The Gents go to Conway, Ark., to Hendrix College in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams with kickoff set for 1 o’clock at Young-Wise Memorial Stadium.
Centenary is riding the crest of its first win, a 37-13 beatdown of Austin College on the road last Saturday. The Gents led 17-0 after the first period and put 17 more on the board in the fourth quarter to romp past the ‘Roos.
The Gents (1-3) and Warriors (3-1) will be meeting for the third time with Hendrix winning the two previous games. Centenary is 1-1 on the road this season while Hendrix is 0-1 at home.
“We are excited about another opportunity to compete against a very good conference opponent on the road,” said head coach Byron Dawson.
“We must learn from the mistakes we made last week and build on the successes we had. It’s going to take our best effort for 60 minutes against a very talented and well-coached Hendrix team. We must be prepared, focused, and ready to bring our A-game,” said Dawson.
Live stats and live video are available at: https://hendrixwarriors.com/
NORTHWESTERN STATE: The Demons are open Saturday and pick up play at home in their next two games, starting with McNeese on Oct. 17.