Warhawks Fall in Close Game to Idaho

Monroe, LA: The ULM Warhawks had another conference game this weekend as they hosted the Idaho Vandals in Monroe. The waarhawks were looking to add a conference win to their resume this season but unfortunately for Coach Viator and his team, the warhawks fell short of Idaho by a score of 34-31. This was a game that was very competitive for both teams and was a good game until the last seconds.

Things were back and forth throughout the game that kept fans on the edge of their seats to see who would come out victorious, but in the last seconds of the game, Idaho’s Rehkow landed a field goal to give the Vandals the 3 point lead they needed to avoid overtime and end the game. Things looked bleak for Louisiana Monroe as Idaho played to a 16-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. The first 9 points of the game came all from Idaho’s kicker Austin Rehkow. At the end of the first quarter, ULM was punting the ball when it was blocked by Idaho and taken in for a score by Trotter.

When the second quarter began is when the Warhawks improved their play. There were two running touchdowns made in the second quarter by Louisiana Monroe, one by Ben Luckett and the other by quarterback Garrett Smith. There was also a score made by Idaho in this quarter but the majority of the points were made by ULM this included a touchdown in the final minutes of the half when Garrett Smith threw a 44 yard strike to Xavier Brown. When the teams went into the locker room at halftime, the warhawks were coming back in the game at a score of 24-21.

ULM tied the game in the third quarter but shortly after a 71 yard touchdown pass was made by the Vandals to take the lead once again. The ULM defense held strong for the fourth quarter as well as the rest of the game, then with a few minutes left in the game Smith threw a 30 touchdown pass to Holley to tie the game. As time winded down in this game it was beginning to look like this would have to be settled in overtime, until Idaho made the field goal which would win the game for the Vandals.

ULM did have more first downs in this game with 27, and also had more than 100 more total yards than Idaho despite the loss. A difference maker in this game was a 4 turnovers from the Warhawks, many of those came from interceptions. ULM looks for a conference win next week when they take on Texas State next week.