JOURNAL SPORTS
North Louisiana’s college football teams have a busy Saturday, highlighted by the first meeting between I-20 rivals Louisiana Tech and ULM in 26 years.
LOUISIANA TECH AT ULM: Coming off a big win over one in-state rival, Louisiana Tech hits the road for Monroe on Saturday for the first edition of the Radiance Technologies I-20 Showdown, taking on the ULM Warhawks for the first time since the 2000 season.
Kickoff of the Sun Belt Conference contest is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ at FMOL Health | St. Francis Stadium.
Saturday will be the first road test in conference play for the Bulldogs (3-2, 1-0 SBC), who are coming off a 32-31 fourth-quarter comeback victory over UL-Lafayette. The Warhawks are 0-5 overall, 0-1 in the league after falling 52-35 two weeks ago at South Alabama.
The matchup will also play a part in the inaugural Governor’s Cup between Tech, ULM and UL-Lafayette, which is awarded to the team with the best record among the three programs.
MCNEESE AT NORTHWESTERN STATE: The Cowboys are coming to Natchitoches Saturday at noon for a Southland Conference contest at Turpin Stadium, and nearby for the two-day Top of the Boot Music Festival behind the Demon Soccer Complex.
Ten musical acts will perform starting at 4 o’clock today and Saturday, with headliners including Flatland Cavalry along with Lee Brice, Dylan Scott, Ian Munsick and Rodney Atkins. Tickets are available at topofthebootmusicfest.com online.
The football matchup (ESPN+ coverage) sends NSU (0-6, 0-3) back into action for the second half of its schedule after an open date. McNeese comes in 2-4 overall, 1-2 in the SLC, also coming off an open date following a lucrative visit to play LSU (a 63-14 loss Oct. 3).
GRAMBLING AT ALABAMA A&M: The Tigers (4-2, 2-1) jumped into the thick of the Southwestern Athletic Conference race with a 45-38 upset of previously unbeaten Jackson State last Saturday. They face another stiff test Saturday at 2 visiting Alabama A&M (5-2, 2-1), which lost 31-28 to Jackson State two weeks ago and rolled 55-12 last Saturday over Bethune-Cookman.
Grambling has scored 108 points in its last two wins after only 21 in the previous two games, both losses.
CENTENARY: The Gents play Austin College for the second time in three weeks on Saturday in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference competition for Centenary’s annual homecoming game with kickoff set for 6 at Atkins Field.
The Gents (1-4) lost their conference opener 41-20 to Hendrix College last Saturday in Conway, Ark. The ‘Roos (1-5, 0-1 SCAC) lost at home to Lyon College 38-31 last weekend.
Centenary beat AC soundly, 37-13 on Oct. 3 in Sherman, Texas. That was not a designated SCAC contest, but Saturday’s counts in league standings.
“We’re excited to be back home at Atkins Field and have another opportunity to compete against a talented and well-coached Austin College team,” said head coach Byron Dawson.
“We’ve got to continue building on the things we’re doing well, learn from our mistakes, and keep getting better every week. We know we have to bring great effort, discipline, and energy for all four quarters. We’re looking forward to being back in front of our home crowd,” he said.
Centenary trailed Hendrix by just two points, 14-12, at halftime but was outscored 27-8 in the second half.
Ticket link, and links to both live stats and live video are available for the game at: https://www.gocentenary.com/