It took awhile for the Louisiana Swashbucklers to get it going, but the Bucs found their offense in the second quarter with defensive stops playing key to Louisiana getting back in the game. Then in the second half, the Bucs held the momentum and took the 60-43 win over the Austin Turfcats on Monday.

“We came out with a good, tough win,” said Louisiana head coach Darnell Lee. “I think the fans enjoyed it.”

With the win, the Swashbucklers avenged a Week 3 (56-53) loss to the Turfcats, their first since the 2007 season. That loss was a road loss to the Odessa Roughnecks in the Intense Football League.

In a game that would determine who would take first place in the Southern Indoor Football League and home field advantage in the playoffs, the Turfcats (5-2) took an early 16-7 lead through the first five minutes of the game.

“That was a lot of Austin,” said Lee on the Turfcats early lead. “They are a good team, and you can’t choose how you are going to start and how you are going to finish.

“I think we came out a little flat.”

The Swashbucklers (7-1) trailed for most of the first half until a key defensive play brought them back into the game.

Bucs’ defensive back Brandon Thomas picked off a pass from Austin quarterback Deron Ellis and returned the ball to the end zone to bring the Bucs within three with a score of 30-27 with just over four minutes left in the second quarter.

The Turfcats answered back with a field goal with just under a minute to play in the first half to extend their lead to 33-27.

But the Bucs answered before the half expired with a  30-yard touchdown pass from Freddie Harrison to Marcus Wilridge to give Louisiana their first lead of the game, 34-33.

Wilridge finished the game with three receptions, two of which were touchdowns, for 73 yards.

The Bucs and Austin traded field goals before the half ended with a halftime score of 37-36 Louisiana.

Harrison took the reigns of the offense early in the second quarter and threw for 54 yards in the first half with a touchdown.

“He got a couple days of practice in,” Lee said on Harrison. “Bartie struggled early, and Freddie came in and did it. He took care of business.”

Harrison finished the game going 9-for-23 passing with 175 yards with three touchdowns and a one-yard rushing touchdown.

“Everybody plays a role,” Harrison said. “You sit on the bench and see everything and there comes a point in time your number is called. It just so happened tonight, I got hot.

“Bartie is going to come back next week and do what he is told to do. He’s here to be the starter and I’m here to be the backup. It was just a little curveball because they have been seeing him for seven or eight weeks now.”

The second half was all Swashbucklers with the Bucs outscoring the Turfcats 23-7 to get the 60-43 victory.

Tommy Herbert converted on three field goals down the stretch including a 33 yarder and 22 yarder in the fourth quarter, while a long 45-yard pass from Harrison to Raymond Harris sealed the deal for the Swashbucklers.

“Austin did a good job on defense and made it hard for us,” Lee said on the fourth quarter. “Tom Herbert came through with some big field goals to help us stretch it out and the big play to Raymond Harris was the nail in the coffin.”

Austin’s Ellis went 16-for-33 with two interceptions and three touchdowns for 157 yards. Robert Quiroga led the Turfcats receiving with four catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

The Swashbucklers will travel to Houma to take on the Conquerors next Monday. Then the Bucs will return home on June 29 to take on the Texas Pirates.