Game Stats

LAKE CHARLES – Daniel Sams became the first quarterback in McNeese history to not only rush for his third 100-yard game of the season, but also in his third straight game as his 112 yards on the ground helped lead the No. 11/10 Cowboys to a 31-20 win over Abilene Christian on homecoming night in Cowboy Stadium.
 
The win moved the Cowboys to 4-2 on the season and 2-1 in Southland Conference play while ACU fell to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the league.
 
McNeese's No. 1 rushing offense in the Southland had its way with Abilene Christian's defense – ranked atop the league against the run coming into the game – as the Cowboys racked up 304 yards on the ground. In addition to Sams' rushing yardage, Derrick Milton clipped the 100-yard mark for the second time this season with 107 yards on 16 carries with a touchdown. Ryan Ross ran for 74 yards and Kelvin Bennett 24 yards in limited action.
 
Sams also completed 10 of 16 passes for 184 yards with a season-high three touchdown passes as he combined with Tyler Bolfing to throw for 203 for the game.
 
For the night, the Cowboys rolled up 507 offensive yards marking the third time this season McNeese has gained 500 or more yards in a game.
 
"I thought we bounced back really good," said head coach Matt Viator referring to last week's loss at Sam Houston State. "I thought we came out offensively and look really, really sharp. The defense was really sharp. Obviously you can't turn the ball over six times, but I thought we played really good."
 
The one glaring negative in the game for the Cowboys were six turnovers – two interceptions and four fumbles. That's the most since turning it over six times against Texas State in 2006.
 
"A turnover is a turnover," said Viator. "But I thought we played a really good game."
 
ACU, playing in its first year back in the Southland Conference after leaving following the 1972 season, came into the game with the league's top-ranked passing offensive unit with an average of 311.1 yards per game and quarterback Parker McKenzie being the SLC's top passer with 293.4 ypg. McNeese's defense held the Wildcat offense in check for much of the game and stifled them to 141 passing yards and 255 total offensive yards – both season lows.
 
McKenzie also entered the night as the league's most accurate passer at 68 percent on the season, completed just 15 of 30 with an interception. Nine of his passes were broken up, three alone by Gabe Hamner and Jermaine Antoine.
 
Sams ignited the Cowboys' first score on the opening drive of the game with a 20-yard run on a third-and-7. The run actually went for 51 yards but a holding penalty at the ACU 40 brought the ball back to midfield for a 40-yard gain.
 
Sams and Kelvin Bennett combined to move the ball down the field to set up a 25-yard Alex Kjellsten field goal with 9:07 to play in the quarter to give McNeese a 3-0 lead.
 
After a three-and-out by the Wildcats on their ensuing possession, Sams found David Bush from seven yards out to cap a 6-play, 68-yard drive to build the lead to 10-0 with 4:39 to play in the first quarter.
 
A second straight three-and-out forced by the McNeese defense resulted in a 33-yard Derrick Milton touchdown run to make it 17-0 at the end of the first.
 
ACU got on the board after a 37-yard field goal from Nik Grau, then after Tyler Bolfing threw a pass under pressure, the Wildcats got another 37-yard field goal to make it 17-6 with 8:00 to play in the first half.
 
McNeese made it 24-6 after Sams found Jereon McGilvery for a 40-yard score then had a chance to get another score right before the end of the half but on a first-and-goal with six seconds to play, Sams' quick pass was intercepted at the 1-yard line and ACU ran out the clock.
 
A 37-yard pass from Sams to Zach Hetrick opened the game up to 31-6 with 10:45 to play in the third quarter before ACU took advantage of four straight McNeese fumbles – the last two possession in the third quarter and first two in the fourth – with two scores in the fourth quarter to cut the margin to 31-20 but the Cowboys' defense locked down ACU's offense on its final possession and Milton's last 13 yards rushing allowed the Cowboys to take a knee the final two plays to run the clock out.
 
Hetrick led the McNeese receivers with four catches for 84 yards while McGilvery added three grabs for 48 yards.
 
ACU's De'Andre Brown ran for a team-high 109 yards on 13 carries to mark his third 100-yard rushing game of the season while Cedric Gilbert pulled in four passes for 74 yards.
 
The Cowboys will hit the road for two straight weeks beginning next Saturday at Incarnate Word.
 
Postgame Notes:
• Head coach Matt Viator improved to 66-29 in his career.
• The Cowboys have won their last 15 games when leading at the half.
• McNeese is 57-5 when leading at the half under Viator.
• Won 23 straight when scoring 30 or more and the team's last 20 wins overall.
• With four sacks on the night, the Cowboys now have 18 on the season. The Cowboys had 23 total last year.
• McNeese is 4-0 at home this year and 22-6 in home conference games under Viator.