By Kane McGuire, Louisiana Tech Associate Athletic Director/Strategic Communications and Digital Marketing; featured photo by Josh McDaniel
RUSTON — Louisiana Tech’s Omiri Wiggins found the end zone three times while the entire Kennesaw State team never found it, resulting in a 33-0 shutout win for the Bulldogs on Saturday at Joe Aillet Stadium.
Wiggins led a LA Tech (5-7, 4-4 CUSA) ground game that rushed for 210 yards. Meanwhile, the Bulldog defense allowed just 146 yards of offense by KSU (2-10, 2-6 CUSA), pitching the program’s first shutout since the 2019 Independence Bowl.
It was special teams that provided an early spark as Solo Lewis returned a punt 49 yards to set LA Tech up at the KSU 21-yard line. Following an 8-yard completion from Evan Bullock to Tru Edwards, Wiggins ran the ball three times, the third one being a pitch option for a 4-yard touchdown.
That would be the only scoring of the first quarter as the Owls did not pick up a single first down in the stanza. After ending the first with back-to-back runs of 21 and 11 yards, Wiggins needed just two more carries to net his second rushing TD of the game, this one he broke off tackle for a 6-yard score.
KSU produced its longest drive of the game midway through the second, getting the ball down to the LA Tech 26-yard line. However, a 43-yard field goal attempt by Austin Welch went wide right.
An 11-yard loss on a sack of Bullock seemed to put LA Tech out of field goal range themselves. However, Buck Buchanan was up to the task, line-driving a 55-yard field goal to give the ‘Dogs a 17-0 advantage right before halftime.
Another special teams highlight came in the third quarter when Patrick Rea pinned the Owls at the 2-yard line with a perfectly-placed 42-yard punt. Following a false start that put the ball at the one, a bad snap exchange resulted in a safety for the Bulldogs.
LA Tech needed just three plays to score again when receiving the ball again. Bullock’s 30-yard connection with Jimmy Holiday was followed by Wiggins escaping a bottled-up middle and breaking it outside for a 35-yard rushing TD, his third of the game.
It was Amani Givens’ turn in the fourth quarter, opening the drive with a 20-yard run and then capping it off with a 2-yard rush up the middle for the TD to give LA Tech a 33-0 lead with 10:50 to play.
Wanting to preserve the shutout, David Blayprovided the sack on 4th-and-2 when KSU entered the red zone for the only time tonight.
Wiggins finished with 129 yards on the ground while Bullock was 23-of-30 passing for 233 yards. The majority of that went to Holiday (seven catches for a season-high 103 yards) and Edwards (season-high 10 receptions for 78 yards).
Zach Zimos anchored the LA Tech defense with nine tackles, followed by Sifa Leota who had seven tackles and one sack.
QUOTABLES
Head coach Sonny Cumbie
Opening statement …
“I am extremely proud for our players. I am happy with the way they finished. Really proud of our coaching staff, finishing the season in the manner of which we won. It has been a long time since this program had a goose egg up there. Offensively, our guys did a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage. I want to use this game as a springboard. Our goal is to win conference championships and bowl games. That is where our focus is always been, we have had a hard time getting to that moment. We were able to finish this conference season 4-4 but that is not what we are after. We have to turn our mindset to finishing the football games.”
On the way the defense played …
“Our defense is difficult to play against. The secret and the edge is they believe in one another. Coach Johnson and the staff came in here and poured into our players. They built trust. That is why they play as hard as they do. They do it with a tenacity, they fly around and play physical. I am glad they got the shutout tonight.”
On the running game …
“I think you saw Omiri Wiggins grow in his confidence. Both [Wiggins and Amani Givens] came from junior college and the more they played, the more confident they got. I love the way they run. They broke tackles. Your offensive line controls the line of scrimmage. I am excited about those guys.”
Defensive lineman Mykol Clark
On going out with a win …
“It is amazing. This is a together group. The whole unit, the whole team, we wanted to go out there and do it for each other. We fought for each other. It was a great way to go out.”
On the difference tonight …
“We were all on the same page. This was our last time together. We had an emotional week. We all put it together. Barbecue chicken from there.”
Running back Omiri Wiggins
On the run game …
“Everybody was doing their job. The whole 11 did what we were supposed to do. We wanted to start off fast and we did that.”
On his improvement in the second half of the season …
“I feel like I improved in being patient, letting everything develop in front of me.”
NOTABLES
- With the 33-0 victory, LA Tech now leads the all-time series versus Kennesaw State, 1-0.
- The Bulldogs recorded their first shutout since the 2019 Independence Bowl versus Miami (Fla.). It is just the third shutout by LA Tech in the last 15 years.
- The LA Tech defense allowed a season-low 146 yards. It is the fewest yards allowed by the Bulldogs since 2009.
- The Bulldogs rushed for 210 yards, the third time this season going over 200 for the game.
- Omiri Wiggins set season highs in rush attempts (17), rushing yards (129), and rushing touchdowns (3). He is the first Bulldog to rush for three touchdowns in a single game since Marquis Crosby did it in 2022.
- Tru Edwards caught a career-high 10 receptions, extending his streak of 5+ receptions to 10 games. He finished the season with a team-high 77 grabs.
- Jimmy Holiday recorded seven receptions for a season-high 103 yards.
- Evan Bullock completed 77 percent of his passes (23-of-30). It marked the sixth time this season the quarterback has completed at least 70 percent of his throws.
- Zach Zimos led the Bulldogs in tackles with nine.
- David Blay and Sifa Leota each registered a sack.