LAKE CHARLES – A week after having its original season opener at LSU canceled due to the weather, McNeese got the 2015 season underway with a resounding 43-6 win over Incarnate Word in Cowboy Stadium on Saturday night.
 
McNeese's "Defense With Attitude" played with a chip on its shoulder for the most part, while the offense used the first half to find its rhythm and came out in the second half running on all cylinders as the Cowboys racked up nearly 250 of its 406 total offensive yards in the second half.
 
The Cowboys (1-0) led 9-0 at the half then scored 34 points in the final two quarters, including 20 in the third alone, to run away with the win. Incarnate Word (1-1) got an 11-yard pass from Jordan Scelfo to Kody Edwards with 7:15 to play in the game to get the Cardinals on the board.
 
"Excited to win," said head coach Matt Viator who improves to 4-0 in season openers against non-FBS schools. "It was a little sluggish at the beginning, especially offensively. I give Incarnate Word credit against our defense. They executed very well. Their tight end is the best in our league and I think he showed that tonight.
 
"I'm not disappointed in the way we played but we'll have to start a little bit better and we'll certainly have to cut out some of the mistakes we made in the game."
 
McNeese finished with 406 yards of total offense with 225 coming on the ground. Derrick Milton led the way with 75 yards on eight carries with a touchdown. Ryan Ross ran for 65 yards on 12 carries and David Hamm ran eight times for 60 yards and a score.
 
Daniel Sams completed 12 of 21 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 15 more yards and a score.
 
McNeese's defense held UIW to 215 total offensive yards and just 12 rushing. The Cowboys sacked UIW's quarterbacks a total of four times; forced three fumbles, recovering all three; and held the Cardinals to 2 of 13 in third downs.
 
UIW fumbled the ball away in three of its last four possessions of the game and led to two McNeese touchdowns.
 
Milton opened the scoring with a 36-yard burst up the middle on a first down run to give the Cowboys a 7-0 lead with 3:50 to play in the quarter. It was the longest rushing score from scrimmage since the 2013 season.
 
The Cowboys were closing in on another td right before the half but the defensive front of UIW stuffed back-to-back runs up the middle on third and fourth downs to keep McNeese out of the endzone with 1:46 to play in the second quarter.
 
But on the ensuing play, McNeese linebacker Bo Brown hurried UIW QB Trent Brittain into an intentional grounding that gave the Cowboys a safety and a 9-0 lead.
 
McNeese dominated the third quarter by holding possession 11:43 of the 15 minutes and got a touchdown reception from true freshman tight end Austin Nelson on a 2-yard pass from Sams, a 2-yard td run by Sams, and two field goals by Trent Manuel from 20 and 22 yards.
 
Backup quarterback Grant Ashcraft upped the score to 36-0 on a 2-yard run with 12:01 to play in the game then Hamm scored from 33 yards out with 3:56 to play to make it 43-6.
 
The Cowboys scored on six of their eight possessions of the second half.
 
McNeese will hit the road next week when they visit Stephen F. Austin for a 6 p.m. kickoff. That game will be televised on ESPN3.