The battle is on for the 12th Annual Herbert Heymann Classic to feature “Tussle
For The Sabine Shoe.”
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| UL-Lafayette |
After almost a month of preseason drills, Louisiana’s
Ragin’ Cajuns football team will open the 2012 season hosting Lamar on
Saturday, Sept. 1 with kickoff slated for 6:00 p.m. CDT in Cajun Field; the
game, which is sponsored by Sonic Drive-Inn, will be televised by the Ragin’
Cajuns Network with Jeff Palermo, Scott Brazda and Erin Cofiell providing
commentary. . . the contest marks the beginning of the 111th season of
intercollegiate football at UL with Louisiana owning a 62-37-5 record in the
104 previous home openers (UL did not play at home in six seasons) from 1907-18... the game will also serve as the 12th annual Herbert Heymann Classic,
honoring the prominent Acadiana businessman, community pillar and Cajun fan who
passed away in 2001 . . . UL owns a 22-11 lead in the all-time series with
Lamar, but the two teams have not met since 1989. . . after not offering
football from 1990-2009, Lamar reinstated the program in 2010 and has gone 5-6
and 4-7 in the last two years. . . the winner of the game will take home the
Sabine Shoe, a traveling trophy named after the Sabine river, which helps to
form the border between Texas & Louisiana. . . the Cajuns return 13
starters and every specialist return from the 2011 team that went 9-4 and won
the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. . . nine of the starters back are back from
the offense that set the school record with 420 points and was just the second
to total over 5,000 yards of total offense (5,130).
The
Battle For The Sabine Shoe:
The winning team in Saturday’s game will take home the
Sabine Shoe, a traveling trophy that goes to the winner of the UL-Lamar
football game. Awarded for the first time in 1937, there is very little
information available about the bronze trophy origin. It was named after
the Sabine River, the 510-mile estuary of the Gulf of Mexico which helps to
form part of the border between the states of Texas and Louisiana. The
series has been idle since 1989 with UL having possession of the trophy.
It currently sits in the trophy case in the main lobby of the Cox
Communications Athletic Center.
Series vs. Lamar:
Saturday’s
game marks the 34th meeting between UL and Lamar with the Ragin’ Cajuns owning
a 22-11 lead. The series began in 1923 with UL winning eight of the
first nine meetings (seven with Lamar playing as South Park JC). After a
15-year layoff, the series resumed in 1952 with the Cajuns going 2-4 in the
1950’s. The teams played every season from 1965-83 with both schools
being members of the Southland Conference from 1971-83. The schools last
met in 1989 with UL (then USL) claiming a 42-33 victory. After that season,
Lamar dropped football and did not sponsor the sport until 2010.
12th Annual Herbert Heymann Classic:
The
home opener for the Cajuns each year serves as the Herbert Heymann Classic with
Saturday’s game vs. Lamar being the 12th edition. It serves to honor the
prominent Acadiana businessman, community pillar and Cajuns fan who passed away
in 2001. Heymann is credited with having the largest impact on UL athletics
for any non-university employee. He served on the committee that was
responsible for building Cajun Field. His fund-raiser tournament helped
bankroll UL’s golf team for many years while his behind-the-scenes philanthropy
helped the program grow in countless ways. UL is 8-3 in Heymann Classic
games.
Cajuns Have Players
To “Watch”:
After
a 9-4 record in 2011, the college football experts took notice of the talent on
the UL roster with five Cajuns being named to the various Watch Lists for the
2012 major college football awards. The list includes:
Player Award (Honors)
Player Award (Honors)
Brett Baer Lou Groza Award (Kicker)
Blaine Gautier Manning Award (QB)
Andre Huval Rimington Trophy (Center)
Darryl Surgent Paul Hornung Award (All-Around)
Darryl Surgent Jet Award (Returns Specialist)
Melvin White Senior Bowl (All-Star Game)
The Line That Plays
Together, Stays Together:
Blaine
Gautier should feel comfortable under center this year as four of the five starters
on the offensive line return, each of whom played in almost 95-percent of the
snaps last year. The quartet of seniors Leonardo Bates (LT) and Jaron
Odom (RT), junior Andre Huval (C) and sophomore Daniel Quave (RG). The
foursome combine to have made 68 career starts, including all 13 games last
year. Odom and Huval each played 925 of the 936 offensive snaps last year
with Quave (890) and Bates (887) being not far behind. The fifth starter
on the unit this year will be Mykhael Quave, the younger brother of Daniel.
Next Up:
The
Cajuns take to the road for the first time in 2012, opening up Sun Belt
Conference play with a 6:00 p.m. contest at Troy on Saturday, Sept. 8.
The game will be available nationwide on ESPN3.com.
