BEAUMONT — By Gabriel Pruett

Southeast Texas News Group

    BEAUMONT — Orange County fans remember how good of a quarterback Andre Bevil is on a football field.

    It did not take long for the rest of Southeast Texas to find out.

    Bevil set a Lamar University passing record this past Saturday in the Cardinals’ first game in 21 years.

His 426 yards surpassed the previous high mark of 412 yards set by Shad Smith against Louisiana-Monroe in 1987.

    “We had a good time,” Bevil said of the Cardinals exciting play in a 30-27 opening loss at McNeese St.  “We were disappointed in the loss yet we played really well.”

     The Lamar signal caller is a 2007 graduate of West Orange-Stark High School. Bevil was a star under long-time head coach Dan Hooks. He passed for 2,069 yards his senior year with the Mustangs on 125-for-195 passing with 25 touchdowns.

    After playing under LU Coach Ray Woodard at Navarro Junior College, Bevil turned his eyes to the Cardinals.

    He was 24-of-41 in his record-setting performance with three touchdowns. The first touchdown in 21 years for Lamar came when Bevil threw a 26-yard pass to Marcus Jackson with 3:05 left in the first quarter against the Cowboys.

    “It was a great accomplishment,” Bevil said. “I would have loved to have done it in a win. I am happy with it but now a goal is to keep on breaking that record. I want to break it until I cannot break it anymore.”

    Bevil was the first player to commit to play for Lamar under Woodard.

    “It feels real good to be back in the Golden Triangle,” Bevil said. “You know the fans are going to back you and they know what to expect from you. It gives you an extra backbone to rest on. People were dying for college football in our area and they were ready for some good football.”

    Bevil may have been the least surprised of anyone at Lamar’s explosiveness. Here’s what he had to say two days before the McNeese game.

    “I think we’re going to have a pretty good passing game. Our outside receivers — Marcus Jackson and J.J. Hayes in particular — have been going up and getting the ball in our practices and our scrimmages. Our inside receivers — guys like Josh Powdrill — have also been playing great.

    “The receivers have been making big-time plays and making me look good.”

    The words were prophetic. Against McNeese, Jackson had six catches for 123 yards and a 26-yard TD, Hayes grabbed 9 for 90 and a 4-yard score and Powdrill hauled in 4 for 120, including a 12-yard payoff.

    Never mind the soaring start for Bevil, offensive coordinator Todd Whitten thinks the best is yet to come for his junior QB.

    “After he gets a couple of games under his belt, I think you’ll see him making even more progress,” Whitten said last week. “His physical skills are valuable to our team and his leadership skills are just as valuable. The other players have a lot of confidence in him.”

    After last week, that confidence has to be soaring.