Morris Rousse
March 23, 2007Harold Fuselier
March 30, 2007
Matt Flynn threw for 135 yards and one touchdown and Early Doucet caught nine passes for 115 yards and score as the Purple posted a 20-14 win over the White in the Super Tiger Bowl Saturday before 14,375 fans in Tiger Stadium.
The game marked the 15th and final workout of the spring for the Tigers, who open up their season on Aug. 30 at Mississippi State.
“We had a great crowd and a lot of enthusiasm for the game. I think we got a lot accomplished. We got 50 snaps for one team and just under 50 for the other so we got out of the day what we needed,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “The spring ended in a positive way. We had a number of guys make big plays. I think it gives the coaching staff a great piece to evaluate going into the summer. Overall, spring was a good for us and I feel like it ended the way it should have.”
Flynn, who started at quarterback for the Purple team, connected on 11-of-22 passes for 135 yards and an 8-yard TD pass to Doucet in the second quarter. Ryan Perrilloux quarterbacked the White team and completed 8 of 23 passes for 155 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Perrilloux’s touchdown was a 23-yard strike to Brandon LaFell in the fourth quarter.
The Purple took a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter when Colt David drilled a 42-yard field goal at the 10:02 mark. The White responded on its next possession, going 70 yards on 10 plays, capped with a 4-yard TD run by Alley Broussard at the 6:05 mark to take its only lead of the game at 7-3. Key plays on that scoring drive for the White was a 14-yard completion by Perrilloux to Ricky Dixon and runs of 13 and 11 yards by Perrilloux.
The Purple team regained the lead for good early in the second quarter as Flynn guided his team on a 10-play, 91-yard drive capped by an 18-yard TD run by Richard Murphy. Murphy, who led all rushers with 85 yards on 11 carries in the game, accounted for 63 yards rushing on that drive alone as he busted loose with runs of 28, 11, and 18 yards.
The Purple team stretched the lead to 17-7 on its next possession when Flynn connected with Doucet for an 8-yard score with 10:49 left to play in the second quarter. The Purple’s score was set up by a Troy Giddens interception of a Perrilloux pass that gave the Tigers the ball at the White 17-yard line. The Purple squad scored three plays later.
The scored remained 17-7 at halftime and stayed that way until the fourth quarter when David kicked a 37-yard field goal with 3:45 to go in the contest. Perrilloux pulled the White to within 20-17 after connecting with LaFell on a 23-yard TD pass but that was as close as they would get as Miles called the contest with 38 seconds left to play.
Other standouts during the spring game included LaFell with three catches for 50 yards; Trindon Holliday with two receptions for 65 yards; Keiland Williams with 46 yards rushing on eight carries and Broussard with 32 yards and one score on eight attempts.
Doucet also added a 64-yard punt return and he returned a pair of kickoffs a total of 44 yards. For the game, Doucet finished with 229 all-purpose yards.
Defensively, linebacker Darry Beckwith lead the White team with eight tackles, while Tremaine Johnson had three tackles for losses, including a pair of sacks totaling 18-yards in losses.
The Purple defense was paced by Harry Coleman, who registered seven tackles, two of which went for losses. Coleman also broke up a pass. Al Woods, Caleb Angelle and Tyson Jackson all had sacks for the Purple team.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM EYING FOURTH STRAIGHT FINAL FOUR
Quianna Chaney scored eight of her 22 points in a 10-0 run to start the second half, as the LSU women’s basketball team ran away from Florida State, 55-43, on Saturday. With a win over Connecticut on Monday, the Lady Tigers will make their fourth consecutive Final Four appearance.
LSU (29-7) held FSU to season-low 18 points in the first half. On Feb. 11, UConn used a clutch three pointer in the waning moments to upend LSU and end the Lady Tigers’ 43-game home winning streak — a streak that dated preceded all of the current roster’s playing time at LSU. UConn leads the all-time series against LSU, 3-0.
Against FSU, Sylvia Fowles scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
SOFTBALL TEAM WINS SERIES AGAINST NO. 2 ALABAMA
The eighth-ranked LSU softball team took over first place in the Southeastern Conference Western Division standings with a 3-0 shutout of second-ranked Alabama on Sunday afternoon at Tiger Park, completing the series win by taking 2-of-3 from the Crimson Tide. The Tigers now sit at 31-5 overall and 7-2 in SEC action, just ahead of Alabama in percentage points in the conference standings. The loss dropped the Crimson Tide to 31-3 on the year and 10-3 in league play.
LSU was also able to accomplish something no other team had done in over a year as the Tigers recorded the first shutout against Alabama since the Crimson Tide fell to No. 1 Arizona, 2-0, on March 18, 2006. It also marked the first SEC shutout against Alabama since April 2, 2005, when Ole Miss topped the Crimson Tide, 3-0.
After taking the 3-0 lead on RBI singles by Leslie Klein and Andrea Smith and an Alabama error, the Crimson Tide put the tying run at the plate in the top of the seventh. Dani Hofer came on in relief of Emily Turner with two on and no outs and proceeded to retire the final three Alabama batters in order, including a strikeout to end the game and preserve the win. It marked Hofer’s first save of the season as she retired all three batters she faced. Turner started and earned the win for LSU to improve to 11-4 on the year. She scattered 10 hits but did not give up a run for her fourth shutout of the season. Turner also walked one and struck out four in six innings. Working with runners on base most of the game, the senior All-American came through with timely pitches as she kept Alabama off the scoreboard, stranding runners in 12 total runners, including the bases loaded twice and nine in scoring position.
On Saturday, the teams split a doubleheader as LSU fell in the first game, 6-0 and then rebounded with a 5-4 victory in eight innings.
The Lady Tigers will play at McNeese State in Lake Charles on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. and then travel to Auburn for a weekend series (doubleheader on Saturday at 1p.m. and single game Sunday at 1 p.m.).
BASEBALL TEAM AVOIDS SWEEP WITH TIE ON SUNDAY
No. 11 Kentucky plated two runs in the top of the eighth inning and before a 2 p.m. time limit took effect as the Wildcats and LSU ended in a 9-9 tie after eight innings on Sunday at Alex Box Stadium. The game was stopped after eight innings due to Southeastern Conference travel regulations. No new inning was to start after 2 p.m. Kentucky was scheduled to leave for a return flight to Lexington out of New Orleans.
The Wildcats (23-2-1, 3-2-1 SEC) had already secured the series with a 16-2 victory Friday and a dramatic 6-5 win Saturday.
The Tigers (14-11-1, 1-4-1) suffered a heartbreaking ending for the second straight day. LSU looked to have won in dramatic fashion on Saturday when first baseman Sean Ochinko belted what would have been a walk-off, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. However, Ochinko’s shot down the left field line was later ruled a foul ball.
On Sunday, LSU was up 9-7 after a six-run sixth inning but could not hold on to the lead.
LSU plays host to UNO at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Alex Box Stadium. This weekend, the Tigers will travel to Alabama for a series with the Tide on Friday (6:30 p.m.), Saturday (6 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.). All three games will be broadcast by the Jumbo Sports Network.
