LAKE CHARLES – McNeese will put a cap on the 2016 football season on Saturday night in the playing of the annual "Battle of the Border" game against Lamar but just because the Cowboys will not repeat as Southland Conference champions or claim a spot in the playoffs doesn't mean this game has no meaning.
 
The Cowboys (5-5, 4-4 SLC) will be looking to lock up their 12th consecutive winning season with a win, a streak that'll rank as the fourth-longest among all FCS teams. McNeese would also like to send off nine seniors with a win.
 
"That's what is most important," said sophomore quarterback James Tabary. "Getting a win for these seniors is what we want to do."
 
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Cowboy Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on the McNeese Radio Network (92.9 FM The Lake and 929thelake.com). A live stream will be available on McNeeseSports.com for a small fee.
 
Tabary has a chance to make history as well for the Cowboy program. He needs 268 passing yards to pass Blake Prejean as the school's single-season passing yards record holder. He already holds the record for most completions and pass attempts in a season. He'll enter Saturday's game with 2,801 yards, third-most in a single season.
 
Tabary and the rest of the offense will be going up against the league's best pass defense.
 
The Cardinals (3-7, 3-5) are allowing just 178.8 passing yards per game, an average that ranks them 15^th in the FCS.
 
"They have some good guys on the back end against the pass," said head coach Lance Guidry who is wrapping up his first season at the helm. "Hopefully we can establish the run like we did at Sam Houston State, then that should open up the passing game."
 
The Cowboys tied a season-high with 217 yards on the ground two weeks ago at SHSU. That allowed Tabary's targets to open up more as he threw for 357 yards and tied a single-game school record with five td passes.
 
The Cardinals started out he conference season 3-1 but have since lost four straight games, and that's not all.
 
A barrage of injuries has thinned Lamar's roster, now down to its fourth-string quarterback while reigning SLC player of the year running back Kade Harrington, has also been lost to injury.
 
"They're beat up a bit," said Guidry. "They're starting a freshman at quarterback and running back. But they're doing a good job on the defensive side of the ball and had three returns for touchdowns last week against Incarnate Word (one kickoff and two punt returns).
 
"We're looking forward to this game. It's senior night for us."
 
McNeese leads the all-time series by a 25-13-1 margin and has won five of six since Lamar brought the program back in 2010.
 
The Cowboys defeated the Cardinals 20-14 last year in Beaumont to clinch an undefeated regular season. The year prior, Lamar hit a field goal in the final seconds to beat McNeese in Cowboy Stadium. The last three games have been decided by 6 points or less.
 
Seniors being recognized on Saturday are: Thor Miller, Mason Martin, Khalil Thomas, Damon Gladney, Zach Hetrick, Jake Grode, Dylan Long, D.J. Gatlin, and Nesley Ovincy.