J. EDMUND BARNES

MEMPHIS – The Louisiana Hurricanes continued their dominance over the Memphis Blast this past Saturday, holding the Tennessee team to six points while scoring 32 of their own. The Hurricanes did so with out their starting quarterback Corey Buie. Instead of relying on Buie’s arm, the Canes made due with an excellent performance by Raymond Flemming, who played at Louisiana Tech. Flemming, a defensive back, did his best Deion Sanders impression by returning the opening kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. Then in the third quarter, Flemming intercepted a pass and returned it 53 yards for his second touchdown. But for the eighth straight game it was the Hurricanes defense that dictated the pace of the game. The Blast only scored once. Their scoring drive was capped by a 12 play slugfest inside the five yard line, with the eventual result being a touchdown. But the extra point attempt failed, and the Blast were done scoring. Aside from Flemming’s two touchdowns, the Hurri-canes also scored on a Jean-Paul Batiste run and a 15 yard pass from Derrick Jones(who was sitting in for Buie) to David Johnson. The Hurricanes defense got on the board with a pair of safeties that were the result of blocked punts. The first came in the second quarter, when Charles Mays got past the Blast’s special teams and into the end zone in time to interfere with the kicker. John Chaney got the second safety in the third quarter on a similar play. “Defensively they were tough,” said line coach Paul Rando. “That’s whey we only beat them 25-3 the first time we played them.” Presently the Hurricanes sit atop the Southeastern Gulf Conference. By beating the Blast, the Canes clinched the conference championship. “The next thing we have to do is win the South-eastern Conference Champion-ship to stay in the playoffs,” said Rando. There are three other divisions in the conference: the Southeastern division, the Tennessee Valley Divis-ion, and the Panhandle Division. The Hurricanes have to go through all three divisions to win the championship. The Canes get a taste of the competition on Sat-urday when they play the Central Alabama Renegades at West St. John Stadium at 7p.m. The Renegades are the Panhandle Division champions, and like the Hurri-canes, are undefeated at 7-0. “Even if we lose this game it doesn’t mean take us out of the playoffs,” said Rando. As tough as the Ren-egades promise to be, Rando was confident about the Hurricanes’ chances. “They haven’t played anybody like us, said Rando. “We’re expecting a real battle with this team. It won’t be a high scoring game. They’re very capable of beating us if we make any mistakes.” The mistakes Rando mentioned include the propensity of the Hurricanes to lose focus at home and gather penalties at an unhealthy rate. “What we’re going to have to do is really stay focused on the offensive line,” said Rando. “The offensive line will have to come through and eliminate the mistakes we’ve made in the past.” The Hurricanes will have to do without their starting quarterback for the fourth time this season. “Corey Buie is getting married this weekend,” said Rando. “We’re still effective with the two quarterbacks we have now(Derrick Jones and West St. John Alum Adair Alexander).” Rando’s final comments about the upcoming game were simple. “We’re ready to go to war.”