RUSTON, La. – The up-tempo nature of the LA Tech offense outpaced the defense to the tune of a 41-20 tally determined by a special scoring system for the 2022 Spring Game presented by Origin Bank.
 
Tech wrapped up their 15-practice slate for the Spring in front of fans, students, and alumni who were treated to beautiful weather, fast-paced action, and a post-game autograph session with players and coaches Saturday inside Joe Aillet stadium.
 
"It was a lot of fun to see the fans in the stands and see the amount of support we received from everyone today," said Head Coach Sonny Cumbie. "Today was about our players, the fans, and the alumni having a great experience and getting to enjoy the day. We as coaches have had 14 practices to work, coach, and prepare so we've had a chance to do our thing. Today was about the players getting to do theirs and the fans taking in the work we've put in so far."
 
The game began with the offense taking possession at their 30-yard line with TCU transfer Matthew Downing under center. Downing led the Bulldogs down the field after a couple first-down completions and a 15-yard keeper, but the drive stalled as Jaiden Cole collected a sack on a 4^th-and-8 play. 
 
Downing continued to work under center for the second drive and connected with Matthew McCallister for 11 yards followed by Harlan Dixon for 13 yards before finding Bud Holloway on a 30-yard touchdown pass with 5:23 to go in the first half. The extra point from Caleb Philips was good. Downing finished his day 9-for-12 for 110 yards and the touchdown.
 
On the third possession of the game, Texas Tech transfer Parker McNeil checked into to the game at QB for the Bulldog's offense. McNeil's first drive was a quick three-and-out forced by the defense thanks to a Myles Brooks pass breakup on third down. 
 
McNeil continued at QB on the fourth drive and found Ivan Thomas for pair of receptions. McNeil then converted a fourth-down play with an 11-yard pass to McCallister which ended the first 15 minutes of action.
 
The drive picked up where it left off to start the second half, and after a short run, a flea flicker worked to perfection as McNeil tossed the ball to Marquis Crosby who tossed it back to McNeil and found Holloway streaking across the middle of the end zone for a 24-yard score with 12:53 to play. Philips again connected on the point after.
 
"Air Bud", as Cumbie calls him, finished the day with three receptions for 58 yards and the two scores. "Bud is an example of a guy being ready when their time comes," said Cumbie. "He did a great job today and took advantage of those opportunities." 

McNeil completed 6-of-10 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.
 
The action resumed with freshman quarterback Landry Lyddy under center and after a couple of short pass completions to Jude Ardoin and Charvis Thornton, the defense did as they had done before on a quarterback's first drive and forced another three-and-out. 
 
McNeil came back in on the ensuing drive and despite first-down passes to Julien Lewis and Carson Rieder, Keivie Rose and Rasheed Lyles collected sacks to help stop the drive. 
 
On the final drive of the game, Lyddy came back in and put together a drive that started with the offense's back against the wall after the only holding call of the day. The offense picked up the drive with a 1^st-and-20 from their own 10-yard line.
 
Lyddy and Harlan Dixon were able to generate a few first downs and moved the ball into field goal range with just seconds remaining where Jacob Barnes connected on a 37-yard field goal to give the Offense the 41-20 win. Lyddy ended his day 7-of-10 passing for 47 yards. 

The game ended with one final situational drive where redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Brister got his first snap of the spring game, but one of his passes was intercepted by Jakobe Brock to end the game. Brock led the defense with six tackles and the interception along with Jaiden Cole who also had six tackles and one of Tech's four sacks.

Marquise Crosby led the Bulldogs' rushing attack with 30 yards on five carries while Harlan Dixon added 22 yards on three carries.

"Today was like it has been all Spring, highly competitive," said Cumbie. "I love the way our defense came out at the beginning of those drives and made stops. Coach Power and his staff have done a great job preparing our guys on that side of the ball and they were able to generate some pressure with a few sacks, had some pass breakups, and then forced the turnover there at the end."
 
"We have grown a lot and improved. We obviously want to see what we can do well, but we also want to see what we don't do well and where our areas for growth are. Now is the time to find those so we can work on fixing them through the summer so be ready come September. We need to continue to build and develop depth on both sides of the ball." 
 
The Bulldogs will open the 2022 season against the Missouri Tigers in Columbus, MO on September 1 at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
 
Season tickets for the 2022 Louisiana Tech football season are on sale now. Fans can purchase season tickets online at LATechSports.com/tickets or by calling the LA Tech Ticket Office at (318) 257-3631.
 
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