PINEVILLE, La. - A week after surrendering 21 fourth quarter points to cross-state rival Mississippi College in a heartbreaking 27-26 loss, Millsaps' defense held Louisiana College to only 159 total yards and 10 points while the offense racked up 241 yards through the air and 204 on the ground en route to a 44-10 drubbing over the Wildcats in their home opener on Saturday at D.C. "Bill" Bates Stadium.

For the second consecutive week, the Majors offense and defense has been in rhythm in the first half, with quarterback Juan Joseph completing 37-of-58 passes (64 percent) for 407 yards and five TDs and a stingy defense allowing just 241 total yards and only six points in a 44-6 halftime edge.

Playing against Louisiana College in their season-opener at nearby Pineville High School, Millsaps jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead midway through the first quarter over a span of 44 seconds and never looked back. 

The opening possessions for both teams resulted in a pair of punts, with William Lawrimore and the Majors pinning the Wildcats at their own 7-yardline on the third possession of the opening quarter.

The ensuing three-and-out for LC resulted in a Josh Foster punt five yards deep in his own endzone.  Foster's spiraling punt traveled about 40 yards out to the Wildcats' 35 yardline before taking a Millsaps bounce backwards all the way inside the red zone to the 14 yardline.

From there, Joseph connected with fellow junior Donnie Epps to cap off a 4-play, 1:31 drive to put the Majors up 7-0, his first of four touchdown passes on the afternoon.

Two plays after the touchdown, a swarming Millsaps defense forced an LC fumble on their own 23 yardline.  It was unclear who caused the fumble but senior Canaan Farris picked up the loose ball for the third fumble
recovery of his career and put the Majors in business.

A 6-play drive stalled and sophomore Sam Herman tacked on a career-long 37 yard field goal to put Millsaps up 10-0 with 6:24 remaining in the first.

After back-to-back red zone appearances to open the second quarter, the Majors erased a failed attempt on a lost fumble by way of a 9-yard touchdown strike from Joseph to Louis Conley for a 17-0 cushion.     

The Wildcats' next possession ended abruptly with linebacker Lee Klein's second blocked punt in as many weeks. Klein sprung through the LC line to get all of the Foster punt and freshman Kevin Peters scooped up the football for a 25-yard return down to the LC 12 yardline.

On the first play from scrimmage after the turnover, Joseph hooked up with a streaking Eric McCarty in the back right corner of the end zone and freshman Taylor Russolino tacked on the extra point for a 24-0 lead.

John Babineaux would cap off a struggling first half of offense for the Wildcats and give them their first points of the game and season, knocking home a 43-yard field goal to make the halftime margin 24-3.

Things didn't get any easier for LC as they brought in a new starting quarterback to start the second half. 

Derek Lewis replaced Ben McLaughlin who completed 11-of-22 passes for 72 yards, helping guide the Wildcats to just one first down on three possessions in the quarter, completing just 1-of-8 passes and surrendering a 21-yard interception return by senior Ronnie Wheat.

The Majors took advantage of their defense on the second drive of the half, driving 78 yards in 11 plays over a 4:12 span.  A balanced attack with five running plays and six passing plays ended with yet another Joseph touchdown pass, connecting with Epps for the second time from 8 yards out. 

A 34-yard reception from Joseph to McCarty highlighted the drive, with McCarty breaking a tackle on first down and scampering 32 yards after the catch.

After Wheat's interception, Kenneth Metzger pushed the Majors down to the LC 11 yard line with three tough carries for 18 yards before Burt Pereira scrambled to his right to find Josh Maharrey from 5 yards out for a 37-3 lead and Maharrey's first touchdown as a Major.

The Wildcats finally crossed the goal line for the first time with 13:07 left in the game to cut the lead to 37-10, using a 53-yard, 6-play drive that was kept alive by a roughing the passer call and a personal foul penalty.  Bobby Rose tip-toed in for a 2-yard touchdown run after the offensive line opened up a nice hole.

Pereira's 2-yard strike to freshman J.R. Burnett with 8:36 in the fourth made the final margin 44-10 after Pereira picked up 26 yards rushing and completed two passes on the drive.

The Majors' front line paved the way for the offense the entire game, surrendering no sacks and helping the unit draw 455 yards of total offense, led by Joseph's four touchdown passes and 226 yards through the air and Pereira's two touchdown passes and 66 yards on the ground.

On defense, the Majors were led by Marcus Harris with six tackles (five solo) and a pair of pass breakups, Shawn Gillenwater with five tackles (1.5 for loss) and a sack, Wheat with four tackles (1.5 for loss) and an interception and Klein with a forced fumble and a blocked punt. 

On offense, McCarty led all receivers with three catches for 47 yards and a score while Epps had four catches for 31 yards and two scores.  Raymece Savage also hauled in four catches for 41 yards and Conley had three catches for 28 yards and a score.

Millsaps will close out a string of three-straight road games Saturday, traveling to Sherman, Texas, to face off with Austin College at 1 p.m. in its SCAC opener.