The Bearkats suffered their first Southland Conference loss of the season Saturday after a disappointing 31-23 decision on the road against McNeese State.
McNeese quarterback Cody Stroud threw three touchdowns and running back Marcus Wiltz ran for another to lead the Cowboys scoring drives.
Meanwhile, the Kats struggled on both offense and defense after taking a 3-0 lead in the first quarter with Luc Swimberghe's 38-yard field goal. SHSU (5-2, 1-1) traded field goals for touchdowns with McNeese (5-1, 2-0) in the first half and the Cowboys led 14-6 at intermission.
“I thought our guys battled, but we didn't play really smart out there,” SHSU head coach Willie Fritz said. “We made some uncharacteristic errors at times. There some times we got the ball in the red zone. We got field goals, but would've like to have got some touchdowns down there. It would've made it a different ballgame. We're going to have to get better.”
The Kats had some opportunities throughout the game to shift the momentum in their own direction. Holding a 3-0 lead with McNeese punting on 4th and 5, SHSU was hit with a roughing the kicker penalty, which gave the Cowboys new life on what turned out to be their first of five scoring drives.
Stroud threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Damon Gladney in the first quarter, then found Ernest Celestie in the end zone while covered by two SHSU defenders for a 29-yard touchdown toss.
Swimberghe converted on a 21-yard field goal to open the second half scoring, but the Cowboys responded with a five-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a four-yard touchdown run by Marcus Wiltz.
The Kats scored touchdowns in the fourth quarter with a three-yard pass from Brian Bell to tight end Deon Hutchinson and an 18-yard toss to Stephen Williams.
SHSU was largely ineffective in the running game, which had been among the nation's best going into the matchup against McNeese. The Cowboys accounted for 215 yards on the ground, compared to the Kats' 84 rushing yards.
“They played with good leverage,” Fritz said of the McNeese defense. “They just ran the ball right at us. I was disappointed. They were doing the inside zone and the stretch play. We just didn't tackle very well. They made the plays and we didn't.”
