By Malcolm Butler
Louisiana Tech opened its 2026 season in dominating, record-breaking fashion Saturday night, defeating Northwestern State 80-6 at Joe Aillet Stadium.
The Bulldogs’ win had a Bearcat flavor as a handful of former Ruston High standouts played prominent roles for Tech.
The Bulldogs (1-0) scored 63 first-half points, rolled up 528 yards of total offense and limited the Demons (0-2) to 129 yards while winning their fourth straight game dating back to last season.
The 80 points were the most scored by Tech since becoming a Division I program and the most ever scored by the Bulldogs at Joe Aillet Stadium. The 63 first-half points were also the most in a half in program history.
“I’m really proud of how our team opened our season, really proud of how they worked this week,” Tech coach Sonny Cumbie said. “Football rewards hard work, it rewards preparation and it rewards execution.
“I think our guys were really great about their approach. I think that they worked extremely hard, and I think they were a prepared football team.”
Former Ruston High standouts Dylone Brooks, Joshua Brantley, Zheric Hill and Jadon Mayfield all made their presence felt.
Brooks rushed six times for 48 yards and a touchdown, while Brantley, a tight end, threw a 16-yard touchdown pass on a trick play. Defensively, Hill recorded six tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, while Mayfield added five tackles and a tackle for loss.
Northwestern State actually struck first, taking more than six minutes off the clock on its opening possession before Payne Williams III connected on a 33-yard field goal.
But the lead lasted only 11 seconds.
On Tech’s first offensive snap of the season, quarterback Blake Baker connected with Jalen Mickens for a 75-yard touchdown that gave the Bulldogs a 7-3 advantage and opened the floodgates.
“These games can get sideways on you in a hurry,” Northwestern State coach Blaine McCorkle said. “Man-for-man they’re a much better football team than we are. When you play these FBS money games that’s sometimes what you get.”
Following an Alonzo Jackson Jr. interception on Northwestern State’s next play, Baker found Jay Wilkerson for a 27-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead.
Brantley provided one of the more memorable plays of the opening quarter. On a trick play, the former Bearcat tight end connected with Talyn Shettron for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 4:04 remaining in the period, pushing Tech’s lead to 21-3.
Brooks got into the act early in the second quarter, bursting through the Northwestern State defense for a 28-yard touchdown run that made it 28-3.
The rout was on.
Shettron added a 37-yard touchdown run, Baker found Eli Finley for a 9-yard score and Dedrick Latulas returned a punt 58 yards for another touchdown. Sergio Snider and Jaden Miller added touchdown runs as Tech erupted for 42 points in the second quarter and carried a 63-3 lead into halftime.
The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on their first 11 offensive possessions, another program record.
Baker’s night was finished by halftime. The sophomore completed 10 of 14 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
Mickens caught three passes for 133 yards, while Tech showed plenty of offensive depth throughout the night. Trey Kukuk completed all four of his passes for 45 yards and two touchdowns after halftime, finding Luke Watkins for a 35-yard score and Latulas for a 6-yard touchdown.
Brantley’s trick-play scoring toss gave Tech six touchdown passes from three different players.
The Bulldogs were equally dominant defensively.
Northwestern State managed only seven first downs and averaged 2.1 yards per play. The Demons rushed for 86 yards on 45 attempts and completed just 5 of 16 passes for 43 yards.
After its opening scoring drive, Northwestern State went three-and-out on its final eight possessions of the first half.
“We made some plays on that first drive, and the guys came out and executed,” McCorkle said. “We just never could really recreate that offensive momentum after that.”
Hill was in the middle of the defensive effort, tying for second on the team with six tackles while recording a team-high 2.5 tackles for loss. Mayfield was right behind him with five stops, including one for loss.
Tech finished with 296 yards through the air and 232 on the ground while averaging 8.9 yards per play.
“At the end of the day, it was really a credit to our players because they’re the ones that make everything come to life,” Cumbie said. “They are the ones that execute the calls. They had a great approach this week in terms of their preparation, so very proud of our team being 1-0.”
The Bulldogs will face a much different challenge next Saturday when they travel to Baton Rouge to take on LSU at Tiger Stadium.
