McNeese State Downs Savannah State 56-0

McNeese's Kentrell Bulter scores on a 44-yard interception return with 14 seconds left in the third quarter. (Photo by Darla Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography, Copyright 2009, All Right Reserved)

By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2009 TexSport Publications

LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA (September 19, 2009) Jumping out to a 28 point lead in the first quarter, number 8 McNeese State totally dominated a weak Savannah State squad, defeating the Tigers 56-0in the first game ever between the two schools.

Lead by running back Todd Pendland and quarterback Derrick Fourroux, the Cowboys raced out to a 42-0 lead at the half.

Pendland (Newton High School, Newton, Texas) gained 109 yards on offense and Fourroux (Erath High School, Erath, Louisiana) threw for three touchdowns; all in the first half, before head coach Matt Viator pulled them.

McNeese first got on the board on a fumble recovery by defensive end Desmun Lighten (Ouachita High School, Monroe, Louisiana) to take the score to 7-0, with the Matt Polansky kick.

The Cowboys followed up with a touchdown runs by Pendland; Fourroux 68-yard touchdown pass to Chris Royal and a second passing touchdown to Friddle to close out the first quarter.

Pendland added a 41-yard run to score his second touchdown with 5:33 left in the half. Fourroux flicked a four-yard pass to tight end Corday Clark (Glen Oaks High School, Baton Rouge, Louisiana) to close out the first half.

In the second half, tight end Elrick Jones (Clear Lake High School, Houston, Texas) got in on the scoring with a 4-yard run, followed 1:18 later with a 44-yard interception touchdown by linebacker Kentrel Butler (Patterson High School, Patterson, Louisiana).

Placekicker Josh Lewis (Denham Springs, High School, Denham, Louisiana) was 6-6 on PATs and Matt Polansky (Barbe High School, Lake Charles, Louisiana) went 2-2.

The Cowboys dominated almost every statistic, with 21 first downs to nine for Savannah State.

McNeese had 489 yards of total offense (288 rushing and 201 passing) while limiting Savannah State to 138 total yards.

The Cowboys are now 3-0 on the season while Savannah State falls to 1-2. McNeese will next face Tulane University in New Orleans, while Savannah State travels to Concordia College on October 3.

Attendance for the game was 13,912.