| NEW ORLEANS - With star running back DeAngelo Williams already out of the lineup with a knee injury, University of Memphis running back Derron Parquet was set to take the stage. |
| He was returning home to New Orleans to play in the Louisiana Superdome against North Texas in Tuesday's New Orleans Bowl on national television. For him, it was a chance to show his skills. |
| But a shot to his right shoulder in the first quarter sent him to the sidelines, dashing his hopes for a triumphant return to the Crescent City after just three carries for nine yards. |
| "It was rough. I got hit real hard in my shoulder," Parquet said. "I told everyone I was coming back in and I came back in for another play and got hit on it again. I really didn't have any strength in it and I didn't trust myself holding the football in my right arm." |
| Enter third-stringer LaKendus Cole, a seldom used walk-on from Germantown, who played at Houston High and had no offers to play collegiately. |
| Cole, who had just 43 carries all year, ran the ball 27 times for 62 yards, and scored his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter to help clinch the Tigers' 27-17 win. |
| "I knew I had to be ready at all times because Parquet gets dinged up sometimes," Cole said. "I had to get in there and keep the offense clicking." |
| Even more important than his stats, Cole did the one thing he was asked to do. In carrying the ball 27 times, he managed to hold onto the football, which impressed coach Tommy West more than anything. |
| "LaKendus has been around all year," West said. "He's another guy that just won't go away. He hung in there. He did not turn the football over, and that's what we knew we couldn't do. I can't say enough." |
| Williams, who wore his No. 20 jersey on the sidelines, found himself in a new role - as an extra assistant coach. |
| First, he had to console Parquet when he went down with his injury. |
| "It hurt me because of the relationship we've got," Williams said. "It tore me to pieces. When they pulled the plug on him, he started crying a little bit. I had to embrace him and I told him, 'It's going to be all right.' I said we're going to make a tremendous run next year. We're going to get ourselves back to a bowl game and we're going to have fun." |
| Then, he had to help Cole have as much success as possible. Like in the second half, when Cole began repeatedly being stuffed by the North Texas defense on his off-tackle runs. |
| "I was telling him they were over-pursuing him, to cut it back," Williams said. "He's so used to running outside so much. Then, once he got that down, he scored a touchdown at the end. He came to me and said, 'I cut it back.' " |
| It was a performance that will stick with Cole forever, regardless of if he ever carries the ball again. |
| "A game like this, on national TV, my first touchdown, it feels great," he said. |
| - Marlon W. Morgan: 529-2792 |