RUSTON – Louisiana Tech delivered a frightfully dominant performance on Halloween night Friday, steamrolling Sam Houston 55-14 behind a relentless rushing attack at Origin Bank Field at Joe Aillet Stadium.
 
LA Tech (5-3, 3-2 CUSA) totaled 646 yards of offense, piled up 425 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground while averaging nearly 11 yards per carry, scoring multiple touchdowns in every quarter.
 
The Bulldogs wasted no time setting the tone.  On the opening drive, Blake Baker connected with Devin Gandy for a 36-yard touchdown to give LA Tech an early 7-0 lead.  Moments later, Clay Thevenin found the end zone from six yards out, capping a 58-yard drive to make it 14-0 after one quarter.
 
Thevenin struck again early in the second with a 50-yard burst, and Baker added a 1-yard keeper later in the frame to push the halftime margin to 27-0.
 
Sam Houston (0-8, 0-5 CUSA) briefly found life after the break with a 28-yard touchdown run by Elijah Green, but LA Tech answered immediately.  Omiri Wiggins punched in a 16-yard score, and Thevenin followed with his third touchdown of the night – a 25-yard sprint that made it 41-7 late in the third quarter.
 
The Bulldogs' defense then joined the fun, as Jacob Fields jumped a route and returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth.  On the next possession, Andrew Burnette provided the exclamation point, racing 66 yards to the house to seal the 55-14 victory.
 
Baker finished 17-of-21 for 221 yards and one passing score, while Thevenin (143 yards), Wiggins (136), and Burnette (72) led a ground game that turned the Joe into a Halloween horror show for the Bearkats.
 
QUOTABLES
DB Jacob Fields
 
Jacob on his pick six:
"First—I just want to shout out Coach Olson, because I give him such a hard time every day. And the one thing he doesn't stop doing is coming to work and just pouring into me. The next person I want to give credit to is Kenyatta McNeese. He stays in my corner, whether his reps go the way they want it to go or if he gets zero snaps or 40 snaps. That's one dude I can always go to and he'll always pick me up. Before the pick, I messed up on a couple of plays and both of those dudes came and talked to me and lifted me up. I knew I was going to have to make a play after that. Then, I performed my job and executed and after that I just took off."
 
Jacob on Coach Olson's 'take-it' mentality:
"I feel like that's perfect for the guys we have on this defense. I've talked about it—the confidence we have and the want-to spreads throughout the whole locker room—whether its offense, defense or special teams. With us being able to have a coach with the same approach, it just makes it easier and elevates us."
 
Jacob on facing a winless team and not overlooking their opponent:
"We talked about it all week—nameless, faceless opponents, it doesn't matter who it is. We're just going to go on that field and do our job, execute, and do what we're supposed to do no matter who we're going against."
 
RB Clay Thevenin
 
Clay on his personal and the team's rushing performance tonight:
"Give credit to the offensive line, of course. It's just a testament of the hard work we've been putting in. We came up short the last two games and we wanted to make a statement on the ground, for sure, and we came out tonight and did that."
 
Clay on what the offense was able to show tonight after the last two games:
"Whatever we wanted to do, I felt like we were able to do it. In the game of football, to win games I feel like you have to run the ball. So, we went out there and showed that we're fully capable of doing that."
 
Clay on a big win like this instilling confidence back in the team:
"I feel like we always have that confidence. Those last two games—they don't define us. We come in and put in the work, day in and day out, and still have a close brotherhood. I feel like those losses don't do anything but just make us better."
 
Head Coach Sonny Cumbie
 
Opening Statement:
"I'm excited about how our football team played tonight. I think that the guys have continued to progressively get better each week that we've been out. I think tonight was really an accumulation of that. I thought we played our best first quarter all season, and possibly the best first half we've played this season. I think there were a lot of parties involved when it comes to that in terms of the offense—when you rush the ball like we were able to do it tonight, especially with a really good plan—our players made that happen tonight. Our offensive line, tight ends, obviously our backs ran extremely well. Receivers blocked well down field. I was just proud of how we were able to move the football, and the turnover was the only time tonight that we stopped ourselves. Defensively, we had great red zone stops in the first half. We had the pick six with Jacob Fields to score again on the defensive side. I think the second half there were some missed fits and missed tackles that allowed Sam Houston to have some explosive runs, which we've got to get corrected. I think on special teams, we played one of our more complete games there to affect the game in a positive way. Whether it was Dedrick Latulas getting a fair catch and not letting the ball roll or getting a return, so I was proud of our guys there. John Hoyet Chance came up big with a kickoff from the 20 and knocking it through the end zone. I'm just really excited about our football team. I thought the student section and the crowd in the first half was unbelievable. There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm that our kids fed off of, and so I'm really appreciative of the turnout from that standpoint. I hope the Alumni, fans and former players here saw a team that they were proud of in terms of how hard they played and how well they executed, and obviously also getting the win."
 
NOTABLES

• With the win, LA Tech now leads the all-time series against Sam Houston, 3-2-1.  The Bulldogs snapped a two-game losing streak to the Bearkats. 
• The 55 points was the most points scored by the Bulldogs since Sept. 26, 2020, when they put up 66 against Houston Baptist (most in Sonny Cumbie era).  It tied for the sixth-most points scored by LA Tech in a CUSA game (most since 2016) and tied for the most scored by the 'Dogs against Sam Houston (1999). 
• LA Tech scored multiple touchdowns in all four quarters (first time since Sept. 26, 2020, against Houston Baptist).
• LA Tech scored a touchdown on its opening drive for the fourth straight game.
• The Bulldogs scored 27 points in the first half, marking the third time this season LA Tech has put up 27+ points in the first stanza.
• The LA Tech offense put up 646 total yards, the third most ever by the Bulldogs in a CUSA game.  It was the most in a single game since Oct. 12, 2019 versus UMass.
• The Bulldogs rushed for 425 yards, the third most in a single game in program history (most since 1991).  The team also totaled six rushing touchdowns, tied for the fourth most in program history (most since 2015).
• The Bulldogs had two running backs – Omiri Wiggins and Clay Thevenin – rush for over 100 yards, marking the first time since Nov. 18, 2017 versus UTEP that two Bulldogs eclipsed 100 yards on the ground in the same game.  Thevenin (143) and Wiggins (136) both tallied career highs.
• Clay Thevenin scored three times on the ground, the first Bulldog to do so since Omiri Wiggins ran for three TDs last season against Kennesaw State.
• Blake Baker registered a touchdown throwing and rushing, the second time this season he has done so.    
• Andrew Burnette took a rush 66 yards for a touchdown, marking the longest rush of the season by a Bulldog. 
• Devin Gandy posted a team-high and season-high 78 receiving yards on just two carries.  One of those went for a touchdown, his second receiving TD of the season.
• Jacob Fields registered an 85-yard pick-six, the sixth longest defensive return in program history (longest since 2009).  It was LA Tech's sixth defensive touchdown of the season, which leads the country. 

UP NEXT
LA Tech is on the road Saturday, Nov. 8 to battle Delaware at Delaware Stadium.  Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
 
SUPPORT LA TECH ATHLETICS
Championships require championship resources.  Fans can make a direct impact on the success of LA Tech Athletics through LTAC, Aillet Society, T-Club, and Young Alumni program as well as the CHAMP fund, a revenue-sharing initiative designed to directly support LA Tech Athletics through NIL and marketing opportunities for Bulldog and Lady Techster student-athletes.  Visit BuildTheLegacy.com today.   
 
BARK LOUDER
Our mission is to engage, develop, and advance the Louisiana Tech Athletics brand.  You can do that by spending time consuming our content and by investing your talents.  By barking louder with your time and talent, you can affect progress and brand advancement in a meaningful way.  Visit LATechSports.com/BarkLouder today.  You bark.  We bark.  Louder together.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For all the latest in Bulldog Football, follow us on X (@LATechFB), Instagram (@LATechFB), and Facebook (LATechFootball).