BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University scored early and often defeating their Battle of the Border Rivals, 52-27, Saturday afternoon from Provost Umphrey Stadium. The victory marked Lamar's first against McNeese in Beaumont since the 1989 season.
 
LU head coach Pete Rossomando provided Cardinal fans with their first winning season since 2018, as the Cardinals posted a 6-5 overall record and officially finished third in Southland Conference (after being picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll). The Cardinals picked up their sixth win by scoring a season-high 52 points – a high-water mark not only for the season but also the most points scored by a Lamar team in the series with McNeese.
 
Junior running back Khalan Griffin put an exclamation point on another strong year with 22 carries for 123 yards and a touchdown. He paced a ground attack that rushed for 255 yards and four touchdowns on the day. Sophomore Damashja Harris added 16 carries for 81 yards and two scores.
 
Junior quarterback Robert Coleman completed 12-of-17 (.705) passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with five different receivers on the night, while Izaha Jones, Devyn Gibbs and Andre Dennis each hauled in a touchdown pass.
 
The Cardinals held McNeese to 397 yards of total offense. Similar to the Cards, McNeese had a successful ground attack led by Joshon Barbie's 138 yards on 22 carries.
 
Lamar's defense was led by Robert Bonar's seven tackles, including 1.5 for losses. The Cardinals also picked off two passes – one from Kevin Anderson – which he returned 15 yards, and the other came from Canden Grogan, which he return 26 yards. Both interceptions set up Cardinal scores.
 
McNeese took the first lead of the game when Kamden Sixkiller guided the Cowboys down the field on an eight-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 30-yard TD pass. That would be as close to victory as Lamar would allow its guest to get as Big Red rattled off 28 consecutive points to take a 28-7 lead into the locker room.
 
The Cardinals answered McNeese's scoring drive on the ensuing possession. Lamar marched the ball 65-yards down the field on five plays, with the big strike coming on a Griffin 32-yard run up the middle for the score. The Cardinals got one more score in the first quarter and tacked on a Robert Coleman nine-yard run early in the second quarter to build a 14-point lead.
 
McNeese attempted to make a run to get back in the game early in the second half. After forcing a three-and-out, the Cowboys got the ball back and moved it 60 yards down the field on six plays for the touchdown. After creating another stop, the Cardinals were again forced to punt the ball away, but this time the defense made a momentum turning play to get the ball back. Senior Kevin Anderson picked off Sixkiller's pass near midfield and Big Red responded to the takeaway by driving it down and punching it in.
 
The Cards' defense again came up with another momentum play, just two plays later, as this time it was Grogan who came away with the pick. It took LU just two plays to find paydirt as the Cardinals pushed a 14-point advantage back to 28, 42-14, with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
 
McNeese would close out the rest of the game by hanging 13 points on the board while Lamar responded with 10 for the final tally.