LAFAYETTE, La.– Akron sophomore QB Thomas Woodson threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 93 more yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown to propel the Zips (2-2) to a 35-14 victory over Louisiana Lafayette (2-1).
Akron outgained the Rajin' Cajuns in total yards, 458-285, including registering a 220-112 advantage on the ground.
The Zips parlayed a 33:30-26:30 differential in time of possession into scoring 21 second-half points to secure the victory.
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Akron outgained the Rajin' Cajuns in total yards, 458-285, including registering a 220-112 advantage on the ground.
The Zips parlayed a 33:30-26:30 differential in time of possession into scoring 21 second-half points to secure the victory.
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Nine different Akron receivers caught passes for 238 yards led by 72, 70 and 33 total yards, respectively, from sophomore WR Jerome Lane, sophomore WR Austin Wolf and senior RB Conor Hundley.
Woodson led the Zips' ground attack with a game-high 93 yards, while Hundley punished Louisiana for 77 yards on 20 carries, including a pair of touchdowns.
Defensively, Akron forced four turnovers, including a pair of fumble recoveries to hold the Rajin' Cajun offense to 112 yards on the ground and 173 through the air.
Sophomore S Zach Guiser led the Zips with eight tackles, including seven solo stops, while senior DL Rodney Coe added six tackles (all solo). Senior LB's Jatavis Brown, Darryl Monroe and Dylan Evans each finished the contest with five tackles apiece.
Neither team was able to get much offensive tracking in its first drive of the game as the Zips covered 18 yards on seven plays before punting to the Rajin' Cajuns.
The Akron defense forced Louisiana into a three and out before starting its second drive of the Zips' 19-yard line with 10:47 left in the first quarter.
Faced with a 3rd-and-11 play on its own 18-yard line, Woodson scrambled for 24 yards to give the Zips a first down at their 42-yard line.
Hundley followed with a 14-yard run to the Louisiana' 44 before Woodson hit Hundley for a 33-yard completion to the visitor's 11-yard line.
On 2nd-and-15 at the Rajin' Cajun's 16, Woodson ran for seven yards to set the Zips up with a 3rd-and 8 at the nine.
Woodson gave Akron the early advantage firing a slant pass to senior WR Andrew Pratt for the touchdown, his first of the season, with 7:10 remaining in the quarter. The drive used nine plays for 81 yards over 3:37.
The Zips' defense again thwarted the Louisiana attack forcing a second straight three and out.
Akron took over the ball on its own 15-yard line at the 6:06 mark of the first quarter.
Hundley extended the drive with back-to-back third-down conversions on the ground before hitting a pass down the sideline to senior WR Imani Davis at the Zips' 48-yard line.
Woodson again found redshirt junior WR Tyrell Goodman with a sideline completion to the Louisiana' 41 on third down before the Rajin' Cajuns were whistled for an unsportsmanlike penalty setting up the Zips 1st-and-10 on the 26-yard line.
A pass interference call moved the ball to the home 11-yard line. A holding call against Akron backed the ball up for the Zips before a nine-yard rush by senior RB Donnell Alexander set the stage for a 14-yard quarterback draw for the touchdown by Woodson at the 14:54 mark of the second quarter to give Akron a 14-0 lead.
The Rajin' Cajuns responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive over 4:04 to cut the Zips' lead to 14-7 after Elijah McGuire scored a touchdown on a 17-yard run.
Akron opened its next drive, which started on its own 27-yard line, with a 41-yard bomb to Wolf to set up the Zips on Louisiana's 32-yard line.
Hundley rushed the ball to the 18-yard line on second down before the drive stalled out, forcing senior PK Robert Stein to attempt a 42-yard field goal. His kick sailed wide right.
Louisiana took over and mounted a lengthy 14-play, 75-yard drive over the next 5:51. The Rajin' Cajuns moved the ball to the Akron one-yard line before they were flagged for an illegal block, moving the ball back 15 yards.
Back-to-back rushes resulted in nine- and six-yard gains to give Louisiana a 4th-and-1 at the one-yard line. The Zips' defense stonewalled McGuire's rush over left guard as Coe made the drive-stopping tackle short of the goal line.
Akron was forced to punt on its next drive and Torrey Pierce fumbled the kick, with sophomore LS Michael Buddenberg recovering the ball for Akron at the 50-yard line. The Zips were not able to score on the drive as they entered the intermission maintaining a 14-7 lead.
The Zips outpaced the Rajin' Cajuns in total yards, 217-146 in the first half, led by Woodson, who was 10-of-20 through the air in the first half for 128 yards, with eight different Akron receivers catching a pass. Woodson rushed for 55 first-half yards on seven rushes, while Hundley collected 29 yards on 10 carries.
A key in the first half was Akron converting 5-of-9 third-down attempts.
Guiser registered six tackles, including five solo stops over the first two quarters to lead the Zips' defense.
On a 1st-and 10 call from the Louisiana 30-yard line on the Rajin' Cajun's opening second-half drive, Brooks Haack fired a deep pass that was intercepted by junior CB DeAndre Scott at the Akron 18-yard line.
After an incomplete pass on first down, Woodson hit Goodman on a slant pass for nine yards before Woodson rushed 38 yards to the Louisiana 35-yard line.
Hundley followed with a five-yard scamper before Woodson delivered a 29-yard strike to Wolf at the one-yard line.
Hundley capped the six-play, 82-yard drive with a one-yard plunge up the middle for his third touchdown of the season to push the Zips' lead to 21-7 with 11:24 left in the third quarter.
After stopping Louisiana on the ensuing drive, Woodson deftly connected with Lane on a 72-yard completion on the Zips' first play of the drive to extend Akron's margin to 28-7 with 7:53 remaining in the third quarter.
Louisiana stalled on its next two drives before Evans intercepted a Jalen Nixon pass at the Rajin' Cajun's 44-yard line and returned the ball for 17 yards.
Three plays later Zachary DeGrange intercepted a Woodson pass at the Louisiana eight-yard line and returned the pick for 12 yards.
The Rajin' Cajuns got first down on the next drive on a 2nd-and-4 play before turning the ball over for the third time when junior DL Se'Von Pittman forced a fumble at the 33-yard line that was recovered and returned for 12 yards by senior DL Cody Grice to the Louisiana 21-yard line.
Four plays later, Hundley collected his second rushing touchdown of the night with an 11-yard push into the end zone to give Akron a 35-7 lead with 10:08 left in the game.
The Rajin' Cajuns answered with a 15-play, 73-yard drive of their own over the next 3:46 capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass from Nixon to Gabe Fuselier.
Evans recovered the ensuing onside kick for Akron at the Louisiana 49-yard line. Alexander then took the handoff on seven of the next eight plays before a team rush ran out the clock at the 13-yard line.
Akron returns to action next Saturday, Oct. 3, with its Mid-American Conference lidlifter versus Ohio. Game time at InfoCision Stadium - Summa Field is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast by ESPN3
(Courtesy of UA Athletics)
Woodson led the Zips' ground attack with a game-high 93 yards, while Hundley punished Louisiana for 77 yards on 20 carries, including a pair of touchdowns.
Defensively, Akron forced four turnovers, including a pair of fumble recoveries to hold the Rajin' Cajun offense to 112 yards on the ground and 173 through the air.
Sophomore S Zach Guiser led the Zips with eight tackles, including seven solo stops, while senior DL Rodney Coe added six tackles (all solo). Senior LB's Jatavis Brown, Darryl Monroe and Dylan Evans each finished the contest with five tackles apiece.
Neither team was able to get much offensive tracking in its first drive of the game as the Zips covered 18 yards on seven plays before punting to the Rajin' Cajuns.
The Akron defense forced Louisiana into a three and out before starting its second drive of the Zips' 19-yard line with 10:47 left in the first quarter.
Faced with a 3rd-and-11 play on its own 18-yard line, Woodson scrambled for 24 yards to give the Zips a first down at their 42-yard line.
Hundley followed with a 14-yard run to the Louisiana' 44 before Woodson hit Hundley for a 33-yard completion to the visitor's 11-yard line.
On 2nd-and-15 at the Rajin' Cajun's 16, Woodson ran for seven yards to set the Zips up with a 3rd-and 8 at the nine.
Woodson gave Akron the early advantage firing a slant pass to senior WR Andrew Pratt for the touchdown, his first of the season, with 7:10 remaining in the quarter. The drive used nine plays for 81 yards over 3:37.
The Zips' defense again thwarted the Louisiana attack forcing a second straight three and out.
Akron took over the ball on its own 15-yard line at the 6:06 mark of the first quarter.
Hundley extended the drive with back-to-back third-down conversions on the ground before hitting a pass down the sideline to senior WR Imani Davis at the Zips' 48-yard line.
Woodson again found redshirt junior WR Tyrell Goodman with a sideline completion to the Louisiana' 41 on third down before the Rajin' Cajuns were whistled for an unsportsmanlike penalty setting up the Zips 1st-and-10 on the 26-yard line.
A pass interference call moved the ball to the home 11-yard line. A holding call against Akron backed the ball up for the Zips before a nine-yard rush by senior RB Donnell Alexander set the stage for a 14-yard quarterback draw for the touchdown by Woodson at the 14:54 mark of the second quarter to give Akron a 14-0 lead.
The Rajin' Cajuns responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive over 4:04 to cut the Zips' lead to 14-7 after Elijah McGuire scored a touchdown on a 17-yard run.
Akron opened its next drive, which started on its own 27-yard line, with a 41-yard bomb to Wolf to set up the Zips on Louisiana's 32-yard line.
Hundley rushed the ball to the 18-yard line on second down before the drive stalled out, forcing senior PK Robert Stein to attempt a 42-yard field goal. His kick sailed wide right.
Louisiana took over and mounted a lengthy 14-play, 75-yard drive over the next 5:51. The Rajin' Cajuns moved the ball to the Akron one-yard line before they were flagged for an illegal block, moving the ball back 15 yards.
Back-to-back rushes resulted in nine- and six-yard gains to give Louisiana a 4th-and-1 at the one-yard line. The Zips' defense stonewalled McGuire's rush over left guard as Coe made the drive-stopping tackle short of the goal line.
Akron was forced to punt on its next drive and Torrey Pierce fumbled the kick, with sophomore LS Michael Buddenberg recovering the ball for Akron at the 50-yard line. The Zips were not able to score on the drive as they entered the intermission maintaining a 14-7 lead.
The Zips outpaced the Rajin' Cajuns in total yards, 217-146 in the first half, led by Woodson, who was 10-of-20 through the air in the first half for 128 yards, with eight different Akron receivers catching a pass. Woodson rushed for 55 first-half yards on seven rushes, while Hundley collected 29 yards on 10 carries.
A key in the first half was Akron converting 5-of-9 third-down attempts.
Guiser registered six tackles, including five solo stops over the first two quarters to lead the Zips' defense.
On a 1st-and 10 call from the Louisiana 30-yard line on the Rajin' Cajun's opening second-half drive, Brooks Haack fired a deep pass that was intercepted by junior CB DeAndre Scott at the Akron 18-yard line.
After an incomplete pass on first down, Woodson hit Goodman on a slant pass for nine yards before Woodson rushed 38 yards to the Louisiana 35-yard line.
Hundley followed with a five-yard scamper before Woodson delivered a 29-yard strike to Wolf at the one-yard line.
Hundley capped the six-play, 82-yard drive with a one-yard plunge up the middle for his third touchdown of the season to push the Zips' lead to 21-7 with 11:24 left in the third quarter.
After stopping Louisiana on the ensuing drive, Woodson deftly connected with Lane on a 72-yard completion on the Zips' first play of the drive to extend Akron's margin to 28-7 with 7:53 remaining in the third quarter.
Louisiana stalled on its next two drives before Evans intercepted a Jalen Nixon pass at the Rajin' Cajun's 44-yard line and returned the ball for 17 yards.
Three plays later Zachary DeGrange intercepted a Woodson pass at the Louisiana eight-yard line and returned the pick for 12 yards.
The Rajin' Cajuns got first down on the next drive on a 2nd-and-4 play before turning the ball over for the third time when junior DL Se'Von Pittman forced a fumble at the 33-yard line that was recovered and returned for 12 yards by senior DL Cody Grice to the Louisiana 21-yard line.
Four plays later, Hundley collected his second rushing touchdown of the night with an 11-yard push into the end zone to give Akron a 35-7 lead with 10:08 left in the game.
The Rajin' Cajuns answered with a 15-play, 73-yard drive of their own over the next 3:46 capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass from Nixon to Gabe Fuselier.
Evans recovered the ensuing onside kick for Akron at the Louisiana 49-yard line. Alexander then took the handoff on seven of the next eight plays before a team rush ran out the clock at the 13-yard line.
Akron returns to action next Saturday, Oct. 3, with its Mid-American Conference lidlifter versus Ohio. Game time at InfoCision Stadium - Summa Field is set for 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast by ESPN3
(Courtesy of UA Athletics)
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