J. EDMUND BARNES

EDGARD – No one but Louisiana Hurricanes head coach Joseph Riley would call a 30-8 victory “disappointing.” But this is Coach Riley, and for him, it was very disappointing, and he did little to disguise his displeasure. “Another disappointing win,” said Riley. “I’ll take it, but I don’t like it.” What was there not to like? It was the return of Hurricanes quarterback Corey Buie, who put on jersey and pads for the first time in two weeks. Buie had one of those first quarters that quarterbacks only dream about, throwing three touchdown strikes to two different receivers. The Hurricanes defense continued their dominance of the other side of the ball, earning eight points through an interception returned for a touchdown and a safety. So what went wrong? The scoring summary says it all. After the first quarter, the Hurricane offense fell asleep. There was simply no more offense. In the fourth quarter, Buie was replaced by former West St. John quarterback, Adair Alexander, but even on his old high school turf, Alexander couldn’t spark the offense into any significant action. Secondly, and more ominously, was the penalty situation. Coach Riley estimated the Hurricanes were called for more than 100 yards of penalties. Again. “We committed stupid penalties all night long,” said line coach Paul Rando. The discipline had “to come from within the players. They have got to cut out the offsides and the blocking in the back penalties. The players need to focus more.” Coach Riley pointed out an interesting paradox between the Hurricanes at home and the Hurricanes on the road. “We don’t (commit all these penalties) on the road.” Apparently the Hurricanes can focus on the road, but let themselves get sloppy at home. The Hurricanes scored on three Buie passes – two to David Johnson for 19 and 56 yards, respectively. The third Buie touchdown throw was a 42-yard strike to Tirrell Cummings. Scott Pepperman was perfect for the evening, making all four extra-point attempts. The Hurricanes also scored on an Eric Williams interception. Williams ran back the pick off for 26 yards and six points. The Hurricanes defense scored again when Gulf Coast Stingrays punter Arvin Hudson was swamped in the end zone for a safety. By contrast, the Stingrays scored only twice, once in the first quarter one a safety, and once in the fourth quarter on a touchdown throw. But during the fourth quarter, the Stingrays threatened to stage a rally, and were only held by the usual stingy Hurricanes defense. “Defense again,” said Coach Riley, referring to the reason why the Hurricanes are now 7-0. “Buie did really good,” said Rando. Buie “jumped on them for 28 points.” “The next three weeks are key,” said Coach Riley. Between the Memphis Blast, the Central Alabama Renegades and the Memphis Samurai, the Hurricanes ought to have plenty of challenging and difficult opponents. The Hurricanes play the Memphis Blast in Memphis at 7 p.m. this Saturday. The Memphis Samurai will take the place of the South Arkansas Jaguars, who have dropped out of the North American Football League.