By Mike Rizzuto

Sun Times Editor

There was plenty of football action this past weekend, so let’s don’t waste any time with the introductions.

HOMETOWN HEROES: Both the Lake Arthur High School Tigers and the Gueydan High School Bears had happy Homecoming contests, with each team sending their fans home happy with hard-fought wins.

The Tigers finally had a break go their way in the final quarter, as Brad Armentor pulled in a wounded duck pass with players all around him for a 67-yard completion that led to a winning touchdown run by Aulden Robinson. Lake Arthur won 22-20, and more importantly, are a perfect 1-0 in District 5-2A play. The Tigers will need a victory against either Welsh or Kinder to secure a playoff spot, so they will have to continue to win in order to gain a spot in postseason play.

The Gueydan High School Bears went to 4-1 on the year by spanking North Iberville 29-14 on Homecoming Night at Ed Baker Field in Gueydan. The Bears might be the best team in District 8A this season and can prove it by rolling past district foes Hanson (0-5), Vermilion Catholic (0-6), Central Catholic (1-4), and Delcambre (3-2) the next four weeks. Lake Arthur owns a win against Delcambre this season, so the Bears have a great shot at defeating the “Shrimpsters” for the district crown on their last regular season game come November 7th in Gueydan. Best of luck, Bears!

We called it a few weeks ago after a lackluster win over Mississippi State, as the LSU @Baton Rouge Fighting Tigers fell to the powerful Florida Gators by a 51-21 score in Gainesville this past Saturday night. The Baton Rouge Tigers looked more like an LSU @Eunice flag football team against the Gators, as they were completely dominated in every facet of the contest. It was the worst loss of the Les Miles era at Tigerland, and the most lopsided defeat for a Tiger team since they lost to Alabama 31-0 way back in 2002.

This was the key test for these 2008 Tigers, who had posted wins over “powerhouses” like Appalachian State, North Texas, and Mississippi State earlier. And while the win at Auburn was impressive a few weeks ago, we now know that the War Eagles’ offensive attack is one of the worst in the Southeastern Conference.

This Tiger team, unlike last year’s team that rallied for a National Championship after a pair sordid defeats, does not seem to be a Top 10 ball club. Their quarterback play has been shoddy and erratic, in stark contrast to the signal-callers of past LSU teams. Les Miles has won a lot of close games against top-flight opponents the past few seasons, so Tiger fans might be alarmed about the prospect of things “evening out” this year. It will be interesting to see how the Tigers respond to such a thorough butt-kicking, so we will be watching them closely in the coming weeks.

The Louisiana Ragin Cajuns improved to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the “rugged” Sun Belt Conference by winning again on the road in Denton, Texas against a poor North Texas Mean Green team by a whopping score of 59-30. The Cajuns, who lead the nation in rushing yardage, could have scored even more, but took a knee four consecutive times after reaching the Mean Green one with four minutes left.

UL set the program’s modern-day scoring record as Jason Chery finished with 339 all-purpose yards on eight touches for five touchdowns. That included two kickoff returns for 131 yards, three receptions for 123 yards and three rushes for 85 yards. Chery scored on a 97-yard kickoff return, an 81-yard run and catches of 17, 49 and 57 yards, respectively. Cajun quarterback Mike Desormeaux accounted for 340 yards and four touchdowns. The senior completed 14 of 20 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 123 yards. Teammate Tyrell Fenroy added 92 yards and one touchdown on the ground as the Cajuns ran for 338 yards.

The Cajuns will face Arkansas State (4-2, 2-0) this Saturday in a key conference matchup. The Red Wolves beat Texas A&M on the road this season.