--- Fresh off our upset victory over Troy last week, it was back to the friendly confines of home as we welcomed Louisiana-Monroe to town. The Warhawks entered the game with a 3-3 record, 1-1 in the Sun Belt Conference, and coming off a 36-13 win against Tulane. One thing of note regarding their record, ULM came into the game 3-0 at home, but 0-3 on the road, which bode well for us. Weather would have a potential effect on the game today as it was a torrential downpour going on at kickoff. We won the coin toss and elected to kick, putting our defense on the spot to get us started off.
From the start, it appeared we might be destined for another shootout. After a 28 yard kickoff return set the Warhawks up at their own 30 yard line, Kolton Browning got the offense moving with a 13 yard pass on second and 10 to Jyruss Edwards, giving ULM a first down at their own 43. After a 7 yard rush by Edwards, Browning found Jeron Jabour for a 14 yard gain, advancing the ball to our own 36 yard line. Our defense started to make a stand, sacking Browning for a 10 yard loss on first down. Browning was able to recover 6 yards on second down to set up third and 14, which was erased with a 16 yard pass to Edwards to give the Warhawks a new set of downs at our 25 yard line. An 8 yard pass to Justin Ginyard and a 1 yard pass to Luke Russell left ULM with third and 1, to which Browning would convert himself with a 5 yard gain for first down at our 11 yard line. A 10 yard rush by Edwards gave Monroe second and inches at our 1 yard line, but they would go backwards from there, as Edwards was tackled for a loss of 4 yards, and then an incomplete pass on third and 4 from the 5 yard line brought the field goal unit out on the field. We would catch a huge break as the 22 yard field goal attempt by Chris Grant was hooked wide, ending the ULM drive with no points.
Starting on our first offensive series of the game on our own 20 yard line, our offense was fired up after the stand by our defense, and that fire proved its worth as we needed just two plays to score. After Storm Johnson got things started off with a 10 yard gain up the middle for a first down, it was Johnson who would put us on the scoreboard first, as he was able to turn the corner off the right tackle, broke through two tackle attempts by the ULM secondary, and outraced the rest of the Warhawks defense 70 yards for a touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 5:39 left to play in the first quarter. That touchdown seemed to break the spirits of the ULM offense early on, as Browning was tackled for a loss of 3 yards on first down, pushing the Warhawks back to their own 16 yard line. After an incomplete pass left ULM facing third and 13, Browning made the first mistake of the game, as corner Derrick Jones intercepted Browning on a misfired pass, giving our offense the ball back at the ULM 23 yard line. We immediately put the ball back into Johnson’s hands, as he picked on gains of 5 and 6 yards to give us a first down at the UL Monroe 11 yard line. An 8 yard rush on first down got the ball down to the 3 yard line, before a 1 yard rush left us facing third and 1 from the 2 yard line. Johnson wouldn’t need the first down, instead squeezing through a gap before the defense could get to him for a 2 yard touchdown run, giving us a 14-0 lead with 3:20 left to play in the first quarter. A 14 point lead on only seven plays of offense, every one of those seven coming via Johnson and the rushing game.
Starting their next drive on the 16 yard line, the Warhawks seemed completely lost on offense now, nothing like the offense that showed up on their first offensive series, as a pass to Devontae McNeal for 1 yard would be all they would gain, as two incomplete passes brought the drive to an end and brought the punt team onto the field. An 8 yard return by Johnson on the 48 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our own 42 yard line for the next series. Living by the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mantra, Johnson again took the ball on the ground, managing to pick up 6 yards after spinning off of two would-be tackles to leave us with second and 4. The Warhawks defense finally managed to find a way to stop Johnson, tackling him for only a gain of one yard, leaving us with third and 3 at the 49 yard line, bringing about our first pass attempt of the game on our tenth offensive play of the game. The Warhawks seemed to believe that we were going to try to run again (after nine straight rushes to start the game, can’t fault them for that logic), but instead were left scrambling to chase down Dominique Rhymes, who caught a pass from Jake Medlock and picked up 42 yards before being tackled at the ULM 9 yard line. The Warhawks were still ready for our running game, as Johnson was tackled on first and goal for no gain, bringing about the return of our passing game. Unfortunately, two incomplete passes would keep us out of the end zone a third time, leaving Yusef Hagen to kick a 26 yard field goal to give us a 17-0 lead with 47 seconds left in the first quarter.
Louisiana-Monroe wasted no time in finding their way onto the scoreboard, as Tavarese Maye took the kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, breaking four tackles along the way, to make it 17-7 with 21 seconds left in the quarter. Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff for 28 yards to set us up at our own 35 yard line with 9 seconds left on the clock. Knowing the Warhawks were finally beginning to anticipate the rush, we went instantly to the air on first down, as Medlock found Rhymes for a 26 yard gain to give us first down at the ULM 39 yard line as the clock ran out, bringing about the end of the first quarter with a 17-7 lead.
The start of the second quarter, we decided to take a chance again on the ground, and see if a couple of consecutive passes would be enough to make the ULM defense back off our run game. The ploy failed as Johnson was tackled for no gain, signaling the end of the mass success our running game had enjoyed for most of the first quarter. Johnson still made himself useful however, as on the next play, a blitz by the safety, and a failed cutback by the covering linebacker left Johnson completely uncovered coming over the middle, allowing him to catch the pass from Medlock and race down to the ULM 7 yard line for a 31 yard gain before finally being brought down. Johnson kept his offensive display going as he caught a 7 yard pass from Medlock at the one yard line, and after being stood up by three ULM defenders, was able to get just enough momentum to fall forward into the end zone for a 7 yard touchdown pass, giving us a 24-7 lead with 8:14 left to play in the first half.
The Warhawks offense seemed to finally find life of its own after a 20 yard kickoff return set them up at their own 26 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Edwards picked up 7 yards on the ground before Browning converted the third down with a 26 yard pass to Russell, giving ULM first down at our own 41 yard line. A 7 yard pass to Kevin Steed was followed up with a 12 yard pass to Maye, and a 17 yard pass to Ginyard to give Louisiana-Monroe first and goal from our 5 yard line. Browning would find Edwards on the next play for a 5 yard touchdown pass to make it 24-14 with 6:37 left in the second quarter. A 26 yard kickoff return set our offense up for its next drive at the 30 yard line. While ULM had been able to adjust to our running game, they had not succeeded in adjusting to our passing game, as Medlock found Rhymes for a 21 yard gain to give us a first down at the ULM 49 yard line. On the next play, Willis Wright got in on the receiving action, hauling in a 29 yard pass along the right hash marks to give us first down at the 20 yard line. An 18 yard pass to Rhymes, threaded perfectly between two of ULM’s linebackers left us with first and goal at the 2 yard line. After two rushes for no gain and 1 yard by Johnson, he was finally able to break into the end zone for his third rushing touchdown of the day, getting enough momentum to run through a tackle and fall forward for a 2 yard touchdown rush, giving us a 31-14 lead with 4:27 left in the second quarter.
The Warhawks meanwhile were not discouraged, as the trotted on the field to begin their next drive at the 22 yard line. Rushes for 9 and 5 yards by Edwards got them off and rolling, followed by a 15 yard pass to Steed to give their offense a first down at the 50 yard line. Another 5 yard rush by Edwards set up Browning for a 14 yard pass to Edwards to gain another first down at our 31 yard line. After an incomplete pass and 3 yard rush by Browning left the ‘Hawks facing third and 7, Edwards picked up another first down with an 8 yard rush down to our 19 yard line. An incomplete pass and 3 yard rush by Edwards left ULM facing third and 7 at our 16 yard line, before the defense got flagged for being offside, leaving third and 2, to which Edwards converted with a 6 yard rush down to our 5 yard line. Browning would need only one more play, running the ball in for a 5 yard touchdown to make it 31-21 with 1:52 left in the half.
After an incomplete pass on first down from our 21 yard line, Medlock found Wright for a 29 yard gain to give us a new set of downs at the ULM 49 yard line with 1:30 left. On the next play, Medlock was able to break free from one tackle attempt, before a blitzing linebacker took him down before he could get the ball released. Medlock fumbled on the play, and replays showed it was a fumble caused by the ground and that Medlock was already down before the fumble, but the attempt by Coach Cristobal to call a coach’s challenge was denied by the referee and ULM kept the ball on an extremely controversial call. After an incomplete pass on first down, Edwards picked up 8 yards on the ground before Browning found Russell for a 5 yard gain to give ULM a first down at our 25 yard line. A 20 yard pass to Centarius Donald left the Warhawks with first and goal at our 5. Browning was sacked for a 2 yard loss on first down, but quickly recovered to throw a 7 yard touchdown pass to Edwards to make it 31-27 with 29 seconds left in the half.
A touchback on the kickoff left us with just 21 seconds and the ball on our 20 yard line. With 3 timeouts still, we decided to take a chance and try to get some points before half. After a dropped pass on first down, Wright was able to get just enough separation from his defender to catch a pass for a gain of 39 yards to give us first down at the ULM 41 yard line with 9 seconds left to play. Another completion to Wright, for 29 yards, left us with first down at the ULM 12 yard line with 4 seconds to play. Coach Cristobal sent the field goal unit onto the field, but the 29 yard field goal attempt from the right hash mark was shanked sharply wide left, sending us into the locker room with a 31-28 lead.
Even though the missed field goal just before halftime ending the first half on a sour note, we still has positive outlooks as we received the ball to start the second half, starting our first second half series at the 22 yard line. Trying to get something going on the ground again, Johnson was able to pick up 9 yards on first down, before gaining another first down with a 3 yard rush out to our 35 yard line. After an 8 yard rush left us with second and 2, ULM came out in what was essentially an 8-1-2 defense, but it still wasn’t enough as Johnson was able to gain 3 yards for another first down at the 46 yard line. After a 3 yard rush on first down, we went back to the passing game. On second and 7, Johnson caught a pass coming immediately out of the backfield, in the process managing to high-step through what would have been a tackle for a 3 yard loss, instead using blocking from our receivers along the right sideline to turn it into a 26 yard gain and give us first down at the ULM 24 yard line. Returning to the ground game, Darrian Mallary picked up 8 yards on first down, before Johnson converted with a 9 yard rush to give us first and goal at the ULM 8 yard line. Johnson kept his plowing routine going, picking up 4 yards on first down to get us down to the 4 yard line. A 1 yard gain by Johnson would leave us with third and goal at the 3 yard line, before a pass attempt to Wayne Times in the right corner of the end zone ended up batted down, forcing us to settle for a 20 yard field goal to make it 34-28 with 4:48 left in the third quarter.
Despite a 24 yard kickoff return out the Warhawks’ 22 yard line, it was nothing be reverse for their offense, as Edwards was twice tackled for a loss of 3 yards, followed by an incomplete pass on third down to bring out the punt team. A 14 yard return by Johnson gave our offense a new series at the ULM 45 yard line. Johnson would only need one play to find the end zone, as another 7 man blitz by ULM was spread outside to our flanks by the offensive line, leaving Johnson with a massive hole up the middle, needing only to break a tackle by the middle linebacker before outrunning the safety for a 45 yard touchdown to give us a 41-28 lead with 3:50 left in the third. It would only get worse for the Warhawks after that. After a 1 yard rush out to their own 18 yard line, Browning fumbled the ball while attempting to release a pass, which was promptly pounced on by defensive tackle Joshua Forney, giving us the ball back at the ULM 15 yard line. Breaking his tenth tackle of the game, Johnson eclipsed the 200 yard plateau with an 8 yard rush to give us second and 2 at the ULM 6 yard line. With some assistance from the Warhawks defense, who dragged and rolled him forward in their tackle attempts, Johnson was able to pick up 4 yards to give us first and goal at the 2 yard line. Johnson would find the end zone for his fifth rushing touchdown the game the very next play, falling forward through a tackle for a 3 yard touchdown to give us a 48-28 lead with 2:38 left in the third quarter. With that touchdown, Johnson set a new school record for most rushing touchdowns in a game, breaking the old record of 4 set by Rashod Smith back in 2004 against Stephen F. Austin. That was also Johnson’s sixth touchdown for the entire game, with him being personally responsible for all six of our touchdowns for the day to this point.
ULM’s offense would again falter with little or no success. After an incomplete pass on first down, Browning would find Steed for an 8 yard gain to get the Warhawks out to their 30 yard line, but a loss of 3 yards by Edwards would force them to punt on fourth and 5. A 5 yard return by Johnson set us up at our own 38 yard line with 1:51 left in the third quarter. The ULM defense seemed all but completely defeated, as Johnson picked up 11 yards on the ground on first down to give us another first at the 48 yard line. We would cross into Louisiana-Monroe territory yet again on the next play as Johnson broke two tackles on a pitch around the left tackle, picking up 33 yards before being tackled at the 19 yard line. A 1 yard rush by Johson, a 4 yard pickup by Mallary and a 3 yard rush by Johnson would bring the final seconds off the clock, ending the third quarter with a 48-28 lead.
We started the fourth quarter with fourth and 2 at the ULM 11 yard line and Hagen kicking a 28 yard field goal to give us a 51-28 lead just seconds into the fourth quarter. The Warhawks would finally find life once again on offense. Starting at their own 21 yard line, Browning immediately connected with Steed for a 17 yard gain, followed by a 23 yard pass to Jabour to give them first down at our 38 yard line. Two dropped passes and a 1 yard pass to Edwards left the Warhawks facing fourth and 9 at our 37 yard line, until the defense gave them a free first down with a 12 yard penalty, setting them up at our 25 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Browning found Steed again, this time for 20 yards to make it first and goal at our 5 yard line. Browning would find Russell on the next play for a 5 yard touchdown pass, before rushing in the 2-point conversion himself, making it 51-36 with 7:29 left to play.
Mallary returned the kickoff 23 yards out to the 30 yard line, and even though there was still 7:18 left to play in the game, we went into clock killing mode, trying to run off as much clock as possible while letting our running game continue to run amuck on the ULM defense. After rushes of 2 and 4 yards by Johnson, he was able to pick up the first down with a 5 yard gain on third and 4, until left end Kentarius Caldwell stripped Johnson of the ball, giving the Warhawks the ball back at our 41 yard line with 5:48 left to play. Despite the tough situation, our defense still put up a valiant effort. Edwards got the Warhawks started with rushes of 8, 3 and 5 yards, before Browning added 4 yards to leave ULM facing third and 1 at our 20 yard line. A 13 yard pass to Russell made it first and goal at our 7 yard line. A 7 yard rush by Edwards left ULM with second and goal at our goal line. For whatever reason, the Warhawks went to the air, with Browning throwing two incomplete passes before managing to dump off a 1 yard touchdown pass to Maye on fourth and goal. The 2-point conversion was no good as Browning’s pass attempt to Steed fell incomplete, leaving us with a 51-42 lead with 4:13 left to play.
A touchback on the kickoff left us with the ball on our 20 yard line and 4:05 left on the clock. Despite the fumble last series, we put the ball back into the hands of Johnson as we attempted to run off the remaining time and leave with a 9 point win. The ULM defense was ready to try and stop us, with Johnson only managing two rushes of 2 yards each before Medlock found Johnson on a dump pass for an 11 yard gain, giving us first down at our 35 yard line with 2:38 left to play. A 14 yard rush by Johnson on first down gave us first down at our 49 yard line when ULM used their first timeout with 2:06 left to play. The Warhawks called their second timeout with 2:02 left to play after a 4 yard rush by Johnson, setting up second and 6. The fate of Louisiana-Monroe was sealed when Mallary picked up 8 yards to give us first down at the ULM 39 yard line. The Warhawks called their final timeout with 1:58 left to play, but it wouldn’t be enough. Rushes of 3, 5, and 2 yards by Mallary left us with fourth and 1 at the ULM 29 yard line with 24 seconds left. We would just left the clock run out without calling another play, giving us the 51-42 shootout victory.
With the win, we improve to 4-3 for the season, 4-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. With the loss, UL Monroe drops to 3-4 for the year, 1-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. Up next, it's a second home game, this time against Mid Tennessee State. The Blue Raiders opened up their season with a 12-7 l to Georgia Southern, then recovered with a 31-15 win over Kent State. Then they went into their current 6 game slide, losing 42-7 at #20 Iowa, 31-10 against Western Kentucky, 35-17 at North Carolina, 65-13 against Troy, 21-14 at UL Lafayette and 20-17 at Florida Atlantic coming into our game, the third of a three game road trip for them.
Final Score
51,
42
Stat(s) of the Game:
FIU Offense – About as perfect a game as I have seen yet. With the exception of that bullshit fumble late in the second quarter, Medlock was practically flawless today, with no truly bad passes, racking up 308 yards on 12 passes. Johnson was just a beast. B-E-A-S-T. While he had help from that 70 yard touchdown run, he ended the game with 292 yards rushing on 37 carries for a 7.8 yard average and 5 rushing touchdowns. Add in a receiving touchdown for a 6 touchdown game, to go along with 75 yards on 4 receptions, and what a day. The most telling stats of Johnson's demolishing of ULM, 10 broken tackles and 125 yards rushing after contact.
FIU Defense – They still suck. Allowed ULM to score 3 touchdowns in the second quarter to destroy what were 24-7 and 31-14 leads (with the potential of entering halftime up by 17+) to give us only a 3 point halftime lead. Thankfully, the defense finally showed back up in the third quarter and held ULM scoreless, allowing our 17 third quarter points to be the deciding factor in a 9 point victory. If ULM scores one touchdown, even one field goal, in the third quarter, we potentially lose the game.
FIU Kicking – Hagen was for the most part perfect. 6 for 6 in extra points, 3 for 4 in field goals with a long of 28. Only miss was the 29 yard field goal attempt right before halftime when he shanked the attempt from the right hash mark way to the left and never got close the left upright of the post.
Scoring Summary
| Team |
1st Quarter |
2nd Quarter |
3rd Quarter |
4th Quarter |
Final Score |
|
7 |
21 |
0 |
14 |
42 |
|
17 |
14 |
17 |
3 |
51 |
| Time |
Team |
Result |
Play |
Score |
| First Quarter |
| 5:39 |
|
Touchdown |
S. Johnson, 70 yard run (Y. Hagen kick) |
7-0 |
| 3:20 |
|
Touchdown |
S. Johnson, 2 yard run (Y. Hagen kick) |
14-0 |
| 0:49 |
|
Field Goal |
Y. Hagen, 25 yard field goal |
17-0 |
| 0:21 |
|
Touchdown |
T. Maye, returned kickoff 97 yards (C. Grant kick) |
17-7 |
|
| Second Quarter |
| 8:14 |
|
Touchdown |
S. Johnson, 7 yard pass from J. Medlock (Y. Hagen kick) |
24-7 |
| 6:37 |
|
Touchdown |
J. Edwards, 5 yard pass from K. Browning (C. Grant kick) |
24-14 |
| 4:27 |
|
Touchdown |
S. Johnson, 24 yard run (Y. Hagen kick) |
31-14 |
| 1:52 |
|
Touchdown |
K. Browning, 4 yard run (C. Grant kick) |
31-21 |
| 0:29 |
|
Touchdown |
J. Edwards, 6 yard pass from K. Browning (C. Grant) |
31-28 |
|
| Third Quarter |
| 4:48 |
|
Field Goal |
Y. Hagen, 20 yard field goal |
34-28 |
| 3:50 |
|
Touchdown |
S. Johnson, 45 yard run (Y. Hagen kick) |
41-28 |
| 2:38 |
|
Touchdown |
S. Johnson, 3 yard run (Y. Hagen kick) |
48-28 |
|
| Fourth Quarter |
| 8:57 |
|
Field Goal |
Y. Hagen, 28 yard field goal |
51-28 |
| 7:29 |
|
Touchdown |
L. Russell, 5 yard pass from K. Browning (2-Point Conversion) |
51-36 |
| 4:13 |
|
Touchdown |
T. Maye, 1 yard pass from K. Browning (2-Point failed) |
51-42 |
| UL Monroe |
Stat |
Florida International |
| 42 |
Score |
51 |
| 19 |
First Downs |
21 |
| 362 |
Total Offense |
618 |
| 26 - 94 - 1 |
Rushes - Yards - TD |
44 - 310 - 5 |
| 24 - 42 - 4 |
Comp - Att - TD |
12 - 17 - 1 |
| 268 |
Passing Yards |
308 |
| 2 |
Times Sacked |
1 |
| 8 - 15 (53%) |
3rd Down Conversion |
4 - 9 (44%) |
| 1 - 1 (100%) |
4th Down Conversion |
0 - 0 (0%) |
| 1 - 2 (50%) |
2-Point Conv |
0 - 0 (0%) |
| 6 - 5 - 0 (83%) |
Red Zone - TD - FG |
8 - 4 - 3 (87%) |
| 2 |
Turnovers |
2 |
| 1 |
Fumbles Lost |
2 |
| 1 |
Intercepted |
0 |
| 0 |
Punt Return Yards |
27 |
| 282 |
Kick Return Yards |
124 |
| 644 |
Total Yards |
769 |
| 3 – 44.0 |
Punts - Average |
0 - 0.0 |
| 0 - 0 |
Penalties |
3 - 32 |
| 13:53 |
Time of Possession |
22:07 |
| Fail Impact |
Goal |
Progress |
Pass Impact |
 |
500+ rushing yards in each season |
 |
 |
|
Win 8 games in one season |
|
|
|
2000+ total offensive yards in each season |
|
|
|
7+ passing TD in one season |
|
|
|
10+ points per game in each season |
29 PPG |
|
|
2400+ total offensive yards in one season |
|
|
 |
Win 4 games in one season |
|
 |
 |
2000+ total offensive yards in one season |
|
|
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by morsdraconis
I just lost someone I was going after, Jon Newsome, a 
DT, #9 DT in the nation, 
of 66.00, just hard committed to Florida, after I fought to get within -1 of Florida. While Florida at least offered a scholarship, the guy apparently didn't need to visit as I was the only one he made a visit to, and still signed with Florida over me and Florida State (all three of us offering a scholarship).
, 
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