Bringing up Dale Martin’s game-tying touchdown catch that forced overtime in UL’s 54-48 double overtime win over Marshall on Saturday, also forced UL coach Michael Desormeaux to pause to maintain his composure.
When Desormeaux first became the head coach four years ago, Martin was a walk-on quarterback from North Vermilion just hoping to get a chance one day.
“We had seven quarterbacks, and he wasn’t going to get reps, and we asked him to move to receiver,” Desormeaux said. “It felt like maybe that was where he could help us. From the day he moved there, he worked his tail off in everything he does. He’s a great teammate. He shows up every day, takes every rep you ask him to take – doesn’t matter what it is.”
After the injuries to receiver Shelton Sampson and Robert Williams, the staff asked Martin to move to a different receiver slot this past week in practice.
“We really just kind of moved him to X as a depth piece, and all week at practice, he just kept making plays. He kept catching the ball, so I told him, ‘You’re going to start on Saturday.’”
Martin’s first catch in the win was an 11-yard grab from Daniel Beale to ignite UL’s touchdown drive.
The big one, though, came from Lunch Winfield – a 24-yard scoring strike with 16 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
“My goodness, I mean, he played really well … made the game tying catch down there in the end zone,” Desormeaux said. “There’s just guys like that are what this thing is built on. You talk about culture, and you talk about team and it’ still matters, you have people like him. It’s just a testament to that, and then when he got his moment, he made a count.”
In addition to Martin, former St. Thomas More wide receiver Landon Strother collected three catches for 27 yards and replaced Williams as the punt returner.
Jacob’s big shot
Pulling starting quarterback Daniel Beale for Lunch Winfield down 34-17 midway through the third quarter wasn’t the only tough decision Desormeaux was forced to make during Saturday’s win.
He also decided to replace senior team leader Tyree Skipper in favor of redshirt junior Collin Jacob from Loreauville.
“Yes, Skip is fine,” Desormeaux explained. “We just didn’t feel like he was playing great. He’s owned it, you know what I mean? He’s good and he’s going to be fine. He’ll be better from it.”
The best part of the tough decision for Desormeaux was Jacob responded in a big way with the game of his life, collecting 14 tackles, a half a sack and four stops behind the line.
“It’s a great feeling,” Jacob said. “I waited for my opportunity and when my opportunity came, I took advantage of it. That’s the way I tell myself, because you don’t know when you’re going to get another opportunity.”
The biggest of all plays for Jacob on the night was a sack with 8:28 left in the fourth quarter to force a punt and set up one of Winfield’s touchdown drives.
“The blitz on third down when you got the sack was you. Just talk about capitalizing on this opportunity,” Jacob insisted.
Desormeaux wasn’t surprised Jacob was ready when called upon.
“He’s another guy that all he does is work, and all he does is go out there and try to do his job for our football team,” Desormeaux said. “Tonight, he got an opportunity to go play, and he played really well. He was prepared, played fast, he played physical and he played really smart.”
Penalty free
One week after getting 10 penalties for 85 yards to play a big role in losing to Eastern Michigan 34-31, the Ragin’ Cajuns almost went through an entire double overtime game without a flag being thrown on them.
The only flag was a 5-yarder for running into the kicker when Marshall kicker Larcan Quinn missed a 51-yard field goal in the second overtime.
“For the lack of a better explanation, we just we just got to execute,” Desormeaux said.
It was the latest reminder of how frustrating this season has been for UL’s coaching staff. In their mind, this year’s team was the most disciplined team on and off the field, suggesting penalties would have been rare all season.
“Some of the issues that we’ve had are just not things that I would have ever predicted or saw coming, including the penalties,” said Desormeaux, who insisted this team has next to zero off-the-field issues.
“I think it’s a discipline group of kids. They work really hard, like, they care a whole lot. They accountability matters to them. They want to do their job for their team. the whole, some of the issues we’ve had have just been out of what I ever thought was going to happen.”
On the flip side, it was Marshall having the penalty issue Saturday. The Thunderin’ Herd was flagged 12 times for 102 yards.