Friday Night Lights - Week 11

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LET'S DANCE LOCALS STORM INTO THE PLAYOFFS THE TIMES • NOVEMBER 11, 2019 • WEEK 11 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

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PUBLISHER

Brian Rushing

EDITORIAL

Bonnie Rushing Editorial Director Casey Gisclair Managing Editor Mary Ditch Managing Editor Drew Miller Associate Editor

CREATIVE

Amber Duplantis Senior Designer Nicholas Boutte Graphic Designer

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY Drew Miller

EDITOR’S NOTE IN, THEN OUT, THEN BACK AGAIN High school football gets crazy this time of the year.

The season ends on Friday for most teams — a few stragglers play on Saturday.

From there, it’s a 24-48-hour mad dash to get scores reported and math done so that we can seed teams into their playoff brackets to start the next phase of the season.

Coaches are stir crazy and going nuts.

Their routine is completely shaken. They want to know their next opponent, but are helpless because it’s not 100 percent officially official until Sunday, and even then, it still might not be official.

The playoff brackets were released at 11 a.m. on Sunday morning.

This magazine hits your hands on Monday morning.

In between now and then, there could be some possible changes in matchups and who goes where.

The big issue concerning us surrounds Landry-Walker. They were slated to make the Class 4A State Playoffs, but a skirmish at the end of their game Friday could leave them out via suspension.

South Lafourche is in the crosshairs directly. If Landry-Walker is in, South Lafourche is out. If Landry-Walker is out,

TABLE OF

CONTENTS 05 06 08 12 14 16 20

Drew Miller Jared Shanklin Wendy Bergeron

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GOOD LUCK TO LOCAL TEAMS Locals make the playoffs

SOME LOCALS MISS PLAYOFFS Teams looking forward to 2020

TERREBONNE DEFEATS CENTRAL LAFOURCHE Tigers taking momentum to postseason

THE FINAL SCOREBOARD The final regular season scoreboard

THE FIELD IS SET Locals punch tickets to playoffs

TERRIERS DEFEAT TIGERS

Deanne Ratliff Sales Manager Elise Falgout, David Gravois, Linda Pontiff

OFFICE/CIRCULATION MANAGER Michelle Ortego

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Class 4A names their champions

THIBODAUX READY FOR WALKER “Playoff rematch” to be a game to watch

UNDER THE LIGHTS

22

PHOTOGRAPHY

Enjoy photos from various games

South Lafourche is in.

They’re in limbo pending appeals and an investigation. We’re in limbo because we can’t predict the future.

We did the best we could.

Best of luck to all local teams!

Stay with HoumaTimes.com to keep up with the drama! •

NOVEMBER 11, 2019 • WEEK 11

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

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GOOD LUCK TO OUR LOCAL PLAYOFF TEAMS

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

Where in the heck has all of the time gone?

It feels like literally just yesterday, my coworkers and I were cozied in our conference room with a big idea — to create a weekly magazine to showcase local high school football.

When we had the meetings, we had all of this time to play with. The season hadn’t started yet and wasn’t even close to starting. Heck, it felt like forever between our planning periods until the start of the jamborees and ultimately the regular season.

But once we started playing football, it’s been one big blur and now, the entire regular season is gone and I’m left wondering what the heck just happened and where all of the time went?

Indeed, the 2019 high school football regular season ended on Friday night. It went away as quickly as it came.

The 2019 season had a lot of fun moments with it — as all seasons do.

We will always remember the night that Thibodaux beat Central Lafourche in a thriller — one of the games of the year in any classification of local high

school football. Speaking of Central Lafourche, we will forever be indebted to senior halfback Deon Jenkins for his amazing start, which afforded the entire community a thrill.

We’ll not soon forget the night that Terrebonne upset Destrehan and showed their muscles against a powerful River Parish foe.

Likewise, who can ever forget the night Assumption beat Vandebilt in OT on a borderline lousy call in the back of the end zone which negated a possible would-be game-winning touchdown for the Terriers.

Heck, even in Week 10, we were blessed with some fun when Houma Christian got their first win. Speaking of first, the night that South Lafourche got their first win after being 0-6 was fun, too. It came in the most dramatic of fashions with a goal line stand and the clock running out on the Gators of South Terrebonne.

We have cherished the good plays, the bad plays, the wonderful finishes and the triumphs all the same in what has been an amazing year.

And we’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of the wonderful playmakers who have been dedicating their blood, sweat and tears FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

on the fields to keep our local teams in the hunt throughout the 2019 season.

But now, it’s time for business.

With the end of the regular season, we do have to cut a few local teams out of the picture and let a few go off into the offseason.

But several locals do still remain in the field and it’s time for business for those teams.

It’s time to showcase what this area is capable of and just how serious we are about our football.

We’d like to wish the absolute best of luck to all of our local teams in the weeks ahead in the 2019 playoffs.

Locally, our playoff contingent is a mixed bag.

We have some teams who will be at home and who are expecting to make waves.

For example, Thibodaux is one of those teams.

The Tigers will be on the road in the opening round of the playoffs but they believe they have as good a shot as anyone to make a push in the Class 5A State Playoffs and make a little noise. If they win Friday, they’ll host the No. 1 team in the state in Round 2. Who knows what might happen?

Heck, go and make

5 NOVEMBER 11, 2019

that noise. It’s now time to make it happen. We believe in you guys … and everyone else. If you’re “expected to win,” then take the field, do the things you’ve done all season and showcase those talents and show us exactly why you’re expected to win — by being dominant.

Likewise, we have some teams who are on the complete opposite end of the spectrum — teams who will be on the road on Friday night facing some of the true powerhouses in the state of Louisiana.

To those teams, we say — heck, leave it all out on the field and may the chips fall where they may.

You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain, so play that way, and who knows?

But to all our locals, know that we’re in your corner and we’re rooting for you all every step of the way.

It’s been an amazing season and we’re not ready for it to end.

So let’s go out there and win some ballgames this weekend and keep this dream alive!

It’s win or go home and we’re not ready to go home just yet! •

FOR SOME LOCALS,

THE PLAYOFFS WEREN’T IN THE CARDS

LOCAL TEAMS TO MISS POSTSEASON ALREADY LOOKING TO 2020

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

South Lafourche was in, then they were out.

Then they were in again — all within a span of about 12 hours.

The Tarpons finished the season as the No. 32 team in Class 4A power ratings — a spot which normally would put you into the playoffs as the last team in the field without question.

But this year, the Tarpons looked like they were going to be at home because Istrouma earned their way in and

were going to seemingly take their place. They finished No. 37, but earned an automatic bid because they finished in a three-way tie as district champions.

LHSAA bylaws say that all district champions earn automatic bids into the playoffs — a rule that usually doesn’t come into play because most teams that win their districts easily earn postseason bids.

But this time, Istrouma was an exception to the rule and the Tarpons were left by the wayside — for FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

about six hours, at least.

The Tarpons started “offseason mode” on Saturday morning.

Forsythe even said he was disappointed and thought his team was out of the playoffs.

But then, it happened.

Word leaked on Saturday afternoon that there was a fight in the Landry-Walker and Belle Chasse game, which caused a forfeiture for Landry-Walker, impacting the playoff chase.

The Charging Bucs were also banned from postseason play, so

6 NOVEMBER 11, 2019

suddenly, the Tarpons hopped back in.

They’ll be the No. 31 seed this weekend, playing No. 2 Neville.

Other locals didn’t get that rare chance at an 11th game, but they’re hungry for their next chance to play.

H.L. Bourgeois, Ellender, CCA and Houma Christian didn’t compete in postseason this year.

Almost all of those teams had the same thing in common — youth.

H.L. Bourgeois coach Ryan Fournier said his team was brutally young

this season — especially considering how tough the local Class 5A district is.

Fournier said the Braves’ coaches cleared out their field house on Friday night — making room for incoming freshmen and moving out 2019’s seniors.

On Monday, the offseason begins.

The Braves were 1-9 in 2019.

“We’re ready to get back to work and get started,” Fournier said. “We know we have something special going here. And the kids know it, as well. We were young, but we think we’re going to come back and be bigger, stronger and have a chance to compete against everyone on our schedule.”

At Ellender, the Patriots

need to boost their numbers. At the end of the season, Ellender was down to the bare bones — just more than 30 kids.

Almost all of them were young and many of them showed promise.

But Ellender coach David McCormick knows he has to get depth in the future.

In one game, the Patriots literally ran out of healthy offensive linemen.

“Those guys battled for us. They gave us everything they had,” McCormick said. “But we just run out of gas. We have some talented kids coming back, but we have to build our numbers and get depth back into our program. We were close this year — frustratingly close. But we just made

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

some mental mistakes and so many of those mistakes, I think, we can look back and point to we just got tired or were playing kids who were young.”

Over in the “small school” ranks, both CCA and Houma Christian will sit out the postseason this fall.

CCA didn’t make it into the field in Division IV, finishing with a 2-7 record.

The Lions started hot, but faded late, losing several players throughout the year.

Coach Randy Boquet said this wasn’t his most talented team, but he said it was a fulfilling group to coach.

“They worked hard and were all coachable,” Boquet said. “They didn’t question us. They came to

7 NOVEMBER 11, 2019

work, put in the time and focused just on getting better.”

Houma Christian had an automatic bid if they wanted it in Division III, but they passed. The Christian Warriors were 1-9 on the season — their lone victory coming on Friday night against Delcambre.

The Warriors could have played an 11th game, but opted against it because they’d have been pit against a powerhouse program.

Houma Christian is young and will return the core of its team in 2020 with several talented younger players also making the leap to varsity ball in the coming seasons.•

TERREBONNE STORMS PAST CENTRAL LAFOURCHE

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

8 NOVEMBER 11, 2019

PHOTOS BY: DREW MILLER

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com Terrebonne will be an underdog in the playoffs.

But on Friday night, they flexed their muscles and showed that they have athletes who can compete with anyone in the state.

The Tigers decisively beat Central Lafourche 40-18 on Friday, using dominant offense and powerful defense to beat a quality, playoffbound foe.

Tigers coach Gary Hill said he was proud of the way his team played, adding that the Tigers now will take momentum into postseason.

“We’re so proud. The kids have had some tough losses, but they’ve kept coming back, working hard and getting better,” Hill said. “On Friday, I thought we played a good game against a good team. Central Lafourche has some athletes and they have a lot of ways that they can hurt you. I thought we did a good job getting our guys in position to make plays and they responded.”

The Tigers got big nights from a pair of brothers on Friday night.

Hill said quarterback Ja’Khi Douglas was as good as he’s been all season on Friday night, making plays in both the running and passing game.

When Douglas was handing off the ball, he was often giving it to his little brother, Jaylin Lucas, who pushed forward for more than 200 yards in the win.

Lucas got the first points of the game on a long touchdown run to make the game 7-0 midway through the first quarter.

The Trojans actually matched Central Lafourche for a lot of the first half, but

Coaching, Practice, & Teamwork

a few special teams plays here or there helped give Terrebonne control of the scoreboard.

Terrebonne scored three first-half touchdowns, while the Trojans scored two.

But the halftime score was 21-12 Terrebonne because the Trojans missed two, 2-point conversions after their touchdowns.

“Playing against athletes like them, we have to do things to try and steal points,” Trojans coach Keith Menard said. “We run those plays and for us, it’s a chance to create opportunities for extra points in the game.

One of the plays, they were lined up wrong and the kid just made an amazing play.

It’s unfortunate we couldn’t put the ball in there, but that’s just what we do — we try and create opportunities there.”

In the second half, Terrebonne took control.

The Tigers added a thirdquarter score to go up 27-12, but then in the fourth quarter, the floodgates busted and the Tigers dominated, storming ahead 40-12 to grab complete control of the game.

“With the athletes they have, it’s tough. They have some of the best athletes in the state,” Menard said.

“If you take a bad angle or make any mistake at all, they just make you pay. You have no margin for error at all. I actually thought our defense played well for a lot of the game. They just are so skilled. We didn’t do enough to keep them off the field.”

With the win, Terrebonne gave themselves some cushion, moving up to No. 29 in the Class 5A power ratings.

The Trojans fell to No. 31.

Both teams will be on the road in the opening round of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

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the Class 5A State Playoffs.

Terrebonne is traveling to take on No. 4 East Ascension and Central Lafourche is taking on No. 2 West Monroe.

Both coaches said they’re the underdogs, but they will go down swinging.

“We’re 0-0 again,” Menard said. “We know we’re going to be facing a very good football team, but we’re going to get back to work in practice and try and do the best we can to win a football game — just like every other week.”

John got a touchdown, but Thibodaux didn’t, allowing the Wildcats to seal a win.

“We’ve been in those games all year,” Thibodaux coach Chris Dugas said. “I was so proud for how we battled back, but we just came up short. I’m so proud of the kids. We played so hard.”

With the loss, Thibodaux fell to 7-3 on the season. East St. John finished the year 6-4 on paper, but that’s skewed because they forfeited two games that they actually won. •

EAST ST. JOHN PUSHES PAST THIBODAUX The Cardiac Cats got a dose of their own medicine on Friday night.

All year long, Thibodaux has played in and won close, hard-fought games.

But on Friday, the Tigers lost a close one, falling 21-14 to East St. John in overtime.

The Tigers trailed 14-0 in the game, but stormed back with two late touchdowns to force overtime.

But in overtime, East St.

CLASS 5A SCOREBOARD

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2019 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

SCHEDULES SOUTH LAFOURCHE

CENTRAL LAFOURCHE

E.D. WHITE

Sept. 6 - vs. St. Charles [L] Sept. 13 - vs. Thibodaux [L] Sept. 20 - at Central Lafourche [L] Sept. 27 - at Lutcher [L] Oct. 4 - at Belle Chasse [L] Oct. 11 - at Vandebilt Catholic [L] Oct. 18 - vs. South Terrebonne [W] Oct. 24 - vs. Morgan City [W] Nov. 1 - vs. Ellender [W] Nov. 8 - at Assumption [L]

Sept. 6 - vs. White Castle [W] Sept. 13 - vs. Franklin [W] Sept. 20 - vs. South Lafourche [W] Sept. 27 - vs. Thibodaux [L] Oct. 4 - at Ellender [W] Oct. 11 - vs. H.L. Bourgeois [W] Oct. 18 - at Hahnville [L] Oct. 26 - vs. East St. John [L] Nov. 1 - at Destrehan [L] Nov. 8 - at Terrebonne [L]

Sept. 6 - at Vandebilt Catholic [W] Sept. 13 - at H.L. Bourgeois [W] Sept. 20 - vs. Assumption [L] Sept. 27 - at St. Charles Catholic [L] Oct. 4 - vs. South Terrebonne [L] Oct. 11 - vs. Donaldsonville [L] Oct. 18 - at Patterson [W] Oct. 27 - vs. Lutcher [W] Nov. 1 - at Berwick [W] Nov. 8 - vs. St. James [L]

THIBODAUX

SOUTH TERREBONNE

ELLENDER MEMORIAL

Sept. 6 - vs. Riverside [W] Sept. 13 - at South Lafourche [W] Sept. 20 - vs. McDonogh 35 [W] Sept. 27 - at Central Lafourche [W] Oct. 4 - vs. Terrebonne [W] Oct. 11 - vs. Hahnville [L] Oct. 18 - at Breaux Bridge [W] Oct. 26 - vs. Destrehan [L] Nov. 1 - at H.L. Bourgeois [W] Nov. 8 - at East St. John [L]

Sept. 6 - vs. H.L. Bourgeois [W] Sept. 13 - at Berwick [W] Sept. 20 - vs. Terrebonne [L] Sept. 27 - at Patterson [W] Oct. 4 - at E.D. White [W] Oct. 11 - vs. Assumption [L] Oct. 18 - at South Lafourche [L] Oct. 24 - vs. Vandebilt Catholic [L] Oct. 31 - vs. Morgan City [W] Nov. 8 - at Ellender [W]

Sept. 5 - at Thomas Jefferson [W] Sept. 13 - vs. Terrebonne [L] Sept. 20 - at H.L. Bourgeois [L] Sept. 27 - vs. McMain [L] Oct. 4 - vs. Central Lafourche [L] Oct. 10 - at Morgan City [W] Oct. 18 - vs. Vandebilt Catholic [L] Oct. 24 - at Assumption [L] Nov. 1 - at South Lafourche [L] Nov. 8 - vs. South Terrebonne [L]

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

12 NOVEMBER 11, 2019

VANDEBILT CATHOLIC

TERREBONNE

H.L. BOURGEOIS

Sept. 6 - vs. E.D. White [L] Sept. 13 - vs. Westgate [L] Sept. 20 - at Berwick [W] Sept. 27 - at Dutchtown [L] Oct. 4 - vs. Welsh [W] Oct. 11 - vs. South Lafourche [W] Oct. 18 - at Ellender [W] Oct. 24 - at South Terrebonne [W] Nov. 1 - at Assumption [L] Nov. 8 - vs. Morgan City [W]

Sept. 6 - vs. Jesuit [L] Sept. 13 - at Ellender [W] Sept. 20 - at South Terrebonne [W] Sept. 27 - vs. Hahnville [L] Oct. 4 - at Thibodaux [L] Oct. 11 - vs. Destrehan [W] Oct. 18 - at H.L. Bourgeois [W] Oct. 25 - vs. Brother Martin [L] Nov. 1 - at East St. John [L] Nov. 8 - vs. Central Lafourche [W]

Sept. 6 - at South Terrebonne [L] Sept. 13 - vs. E.D. White [L] Sept. 20 - vs. Ellender [W] Sept. 27 - at East St. John [L] Oct. 4 - vs. Destrehan [L] Oct. 11 - at Central Lafourche [L] Oct. 18 - vs. Terrebonne [L] Oct. 26 - at Hahnville [L] Nov. 1 - vs. Thibodaux [L] Nov. 8 - at Archbishop Shaw [L]

COVENANT CHRISTIAN

HOUMA CHRISTIAN

PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

Sept. 6 - vs. Central Private [L] Sept. 13 - vs. Sci Academy [W] Sept. 20 - BYE WEEK Sept. 27 - vs. Loranger [L] Oct. 4 - vs. St. John [W] Oct. 11 - at Highland Baptist [L] Oct. 18 - vs. Centerville [L] Oct. 24 - at Central Catholic [L] Nov. 1 - vs. Vermilion Catholic [L] Nov. 8 - at Hanson Memorial [L]

Sept. 6 - at Highland Baptist [L] Sept. 13 - vs. Westminster Christian [L] Sept. 20 - at Ascension Christian [L] Sept. 26 - at West St. Mary [L] Oct. 4 - at Loreauville [L] Oct. 10 - vs. Jeanerette [L] Oct. 18 - vs. Asc. Episcopal [L] Oct. 24 - vs. Catholic - New Iberia [L] Nov. 1 - at Franklin [L] Nov. 8 - vs. Delcambre [W]

ROUND ONE

CLASS 5A: No. 16 Walker vs. No. 17 Thibodaux No. 4 East Ascension vs.

No. 29 Terrebonne

No. 2 West Monroe vs.

No. 31 Central Lafourche

CLASS 4A

No. 6 Breaux Bridge vs.

No. 27 South Terrebonne No. 2 Neville vs.

No. 31 South Lafourche

DIVISION II

No. 8 E.D. White vs. No. 9 Evangel No. 6 Hannan vs. No. 11 Vandebilt

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

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THE FIELD IS SET: LOCALS PUNCH TICKETS TO PLAYOFFS

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com Thibodaux had just lost a heartbreaker on Friday night against East St. John — maybe the toughest loss the team had suffered all year.

But instead of being overly negative, coach Chris Dugas pulled his team together and had a clear, unifying message.

“I told the kids, everything starts over and we are 0-0 again,” Dugas said. “Nothing that happened in the past matters anymore. The only thing that matters is what happens in the future.”

Dugas’ words could have been a pep talk for several local teams who are also going off to postseason play.

Our area has six local playoff participants — all who will begin their journey toward the State Championship on Friday night.

Local coaches said they were honored to make the field this weekend, but all agreed with Dugas in saying that now, it’s time to hit reset and start all over again.

“It doesn’t matter who goes where now. All that matters is taking the field and winning a ballgame on Friday night,” Terrebonne coach FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Gary Hill said. “Everyone is on a level playing field again, and it’s all about who is better on Friday night.”

CLASS 5A It’s not our place to be objective or biased in this magazine.

But I think we can bend the rules a little on this one and say that Thibodaux kinda/ sorta got robbed of a home playoff game.

The Tigers are the No. 17 seed in Class 5A. The Top 16 teams in Class 5A host a

14 NOVEMBER 11, 2019

home game.

So how were the Tigers robbed?

Thibodaux finished 7-3 and looked all-but a lock to have a home game coming into Week 10.

But then East St. John had to forfeit several wins, which impacted both Thibodaux’s Week 10 game with the Wildcats, but also took some wins away from Thibodaux’s opponents — greatly affecting their power rating score and delivering them the No. 17 seed.

Thibodaux will travel and face No. 16 Walker — all because of a wrong

committed on someone else’s campus.

That’s no easy draw.

Walker is 7-3 and has wins over Madison Prep, LandryWalker and Scotlandville.

They also lost to defending state champion Zachary by just two points on Friday night.

Dugas said Thibodaux’s outlook is to win Friday, then host the No. 1 team in the state in Round 2.

“That’s our goal. We want to go on the road, then get that big game in our place,” he said.

Also in the Class 5A playoffs are Terrebonne and Central Lafourche.

Both those teams will also be on the road.

Terrebonne earned the No. 29 seed. They will take on No. 4 East Ascension — a powerhouse with wins over Zachary, Warren Easton, St. Charles Catholic and Dutchtown.

Central Lafourche earned the No. 31 spot and will be taking a trip on the road to No. 2 West Monroe.

The Rebels are one of the most storied football programs in America — an annual contender to make it to the Dome.

“We’re going to have a good week of practice, then up there, and try and play our best football,” Trojans coach Keith Menard said. “I think our kids look forward to the challenge.”

CLASS 4A In Class 4A, two local teams punched a ticket into the dance.

The Gators beat Ellender on Friday night to clinch their spot in the Top 32, punching a ticket into the playoffs.

South Terrebonne earned the No. 27 seed. They will

travel to play No. 6 Breaux Bridge on Friday night.

Breaux Bridge is familiar with local opponents. They played Thibodaux earlier this season and lost in overtime.

Gators coach Richard Curlin said earlier this season that he likes his team, but the Gators have rarely been whole.

South Terrebonne has been ravished by injury throughout the year.

South Lafourche also made it into the field, earning the No. 31 seed after a wild weekend where they thought initially they may be out.

They will take on No. 2 Neville.

DIVISION II In Division II, we get our only local team who will be playing at home — though they earned a tough draw.

E.D. White earned the No. 8 seed, finishing the season 5-5.

The Cardinals will take on No. 9 Evangel on Friday night. Evangel is a state powerhouse — an annual contender to make the Superdome.

They are 5-4 and just the No. 9 seed, yes.

But their losses are all to powerhouses and they enter the game white hot, having won four-straight.

On the other end of the bracket, Vandebilt earned a spot in the playoffs with a 6-4 record. The Terriers are the No. 11 seed in the field.

They’ll be traveling to take on No. 6 Hannan on Friday night.

Hannan is just 4-6 on the year, but they earned a ton of power points with a vicious schedule.

But Vandebilt is hot and playing their best football at the right time. •

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PHOTOS BY: LEO BOURG

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com Vandebilt was a big favorite on Friday night against Morgan City.

They took care of business, absolutely dominating a hapless Tigers team to take momentum into the State Playoffs.

The Terriers walloped Morgan City 51-7 on Friday, rebounding after a heartbreaking loss against Assumption the Friday before.

Before the game, coach Lance Ledet said he wanted the Terriers to avoid a postAssumption hangover.

They did in a big way in a resounding win.

“We have to play with the same energy and effort — no matter the opponent,” Ledet said before the Morgan City game. “We’ve done a good job of that this season, but now, it’s try and play our best football in the most important games of the season.”

Vandebilt dominated from the first minutes on Friday night against a toothless Morgan City team that ends the season winless.

The Terriers struck first when Caleb Calhoun scored to put the Terriers up 7-0.

After a possession change, it was Calhoun again punching the ball into the end zone on a short score to put the Terriers up 14-0 — a score which held until the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Vandebilt slammed the door shut and left no doubt, adding three more touchdowns to take a dominant, insurmountable lead.

Calhoun was a culprit for one of the scores, but the Terriers also got touchdowns from Dylan Gaudet and

Hunter Porche to pile onto the Tigers.

Morgan City scored once before halftime, too, but was still down 35-7 at halftime.

“In the second half, the story was the same with Vandebilt making plays and controlling the action.

Dylan Gaudet scored in the third quarter to make the lead 42-7, then the Terriers’ defense forced a safety to make it 44-7 at the end of the third quarter.

Ledet said his defense has been lights out down the stretch.

In the Assumption game, the Terriers forced six turnovers and controlled a lot of the game.

“Those guys are working hard and they keep getting better and better,” Ledet said. “They’ve been our most consistent unit. We really like the way those guys have played throughout the year.

They’ve been tough as nails for our football team.”

With the win, the Terriers improved to 6-4 on the season. They enter postseason hot, having won five of their past six games.

The Terriers will travel in round 1 of the playoffs and take on Hannan.

Hannan is just 4-6, but they’ve played some of the best teams in the state.

They have close losses with Chalmetter, Dunham and Loranger on the year.

TARPONS FALL AT ASSUMPTION Assumption is the local Class 4A District Champion.

The Mustangs roared to the title on Friday night, scoring a 34-7 victory over South Lafourche.

With the win, Assumption finished the regular season 9-1.

South Lafourche dropped to 3-7.

If the Tarpons had won, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

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there would have been a three-way tie for the title between South Lafourche, Assumption and Vandebilt.

But with the Mustangs’ victory, they clinched the crown by going undefeated in the league.

“Hats off to the kids,” Mustangs coach Tony Paine said. “All year long, we’ve battled. This is a good district with some talented teams.

To get through the regular season like we have, it’s just a hats off to our kids and to our coaching staff. It’s an excellent accomplishment.”

The Tarpons made them work for it.

The first half of Friday night’s game was extremely physical with both teams having chances to score and both teams making multiple big plays with their defense.

The Mustangs led 6-0 at the end of the first quarter, then 12-0 at halftime.

But the Tarpons’ defense stopped Assumption multiple times when they were about to score.

Likewise, the Tarpons had a chance before halftime and couldn’t convert in Mustangs’ territory.

“We couldn’t do enough offensively,” Forsythe said.

“We had our chances, but we couldn’t put the ball in the

end zone. It’s disappointing.

We thought we played a good first half, but then they kind of imposed their will a little bit in the second half and got some separation.”

In the second half, the Mustangs scored three more times with power running to control the game and win the district title.

The Tarpons got their only score of the game on a long pass from quarterback Patrick Gisclair to receiver Eric Thibodaux.

The loss was costly for South Lafourche.

They finished No. 32 in Class 4A, but will miss the playoffs because a team outside of the Top 32 won their district title, thus putting them into the field. •

CLASS 4A SCOREBOARD Assumption 34, South Lafourche 7 South Terrebonne 38, Ellender 6

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THIBODAUX HOPES TO SCORE ROAD UPSET OVER WALKER IN ‘PLAYOFF REMATCH’

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

Thibodaux entered Week 10 thinking there was a 99.99 percent chance they’d have a home game to start the playoffs.

That .01 percent happened when East St. John had to forfeit games, which greatly hurt Thibodaux’s resume.

But now, the Tigers have a different goal in mind — go on the road, get a win, then come home and take

on the No. 1 team in the state.

The Tigers are the No. 17 seed in Class 5A — the highest-seeded road team in the entire bracket.

Thibodaux will take on No. 16 Walker on Friday night — a game that coach Chris Dugas said will present the Tigers with challenges.

But Thibodaux coach Chris Dugas also knows his team is a byproduct of District 7-5A — one of the hardest districts in the state. The Tigers have FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

played the best all year long and have beaten topflight competition.

“I say this all of the time and some people may disagree, but I think our district is like the SEC West,” Dugas said. “Topto-bottom, everyone can challenge you and everyone can push you to the brink and test your team. Every, single week, it’s a battle and I think because we’re so battle tested, it really helps our kids in situations like this.

We’ve had to go on the

20 NOVEMBER 11, 2019

road before. We’ve had to play good opponents on the road. It’s a playoff game now, but it’s not anything new to our football team.”

The Tigers will look to get their explosive offense going early on the road.

Thibodaux has a luxury not many prep football teams have — the ability to stretch the field vertically in the passing game.

Quarterback Luke Alleman is a force and he has weapons all over the field at his disposal who

can make plays and take the tops off defenses.

Dugas said Alleman has matured and grown into such a poised pocket passer throughout the season. On Friday night, Thibodaux showed their explosiveness. They fell behind 14-0 against East St. John, then rattled home 14 unanswered in the second half to force overtime. The Wildcats’ defense is one of the best in the entire state.

“We like our offense.

We think we can create mismatches and move the chains both with the run and the pass,” Dugas said. “We’ve done it against good defenses and we’re battle tested.

The kids stay hungry and keep wanting to do more and get better.”

The Tigers’ defense will be challenged heavily, too, on Friday night.

Walker has a highpowered offense with athletes all over the field.

Receiver Jalen Cook is a big-time playmaker — one of the best in the state.

Walker has scored 21 or more points in every game this season and they’ve scored 26 or more points in 8-straight games.

“It’s the playoffs now,” Dugas said. “No matter where you turn, you know you’re going to be facing a team with elite athletes and quality football players.”

And as fate would have it, this is also somewhat of a “rematch” for these teams — a look back in time to one of the most memorable nights in the history of Thibodaux High School.

The Tigers are the defending Class 5A State Champions in basketball.

The team they beat in the State Championship Game? Walker.

The star player on Walker’s basketball team?

Cook. He is an LSU basketball commitment and one of the best basketball prospects in the country.

The guy who will often be lined up looking to keep Cook from making big plays? That’d be Thibodaux defensive back Tyren Young. He was a member of the basketball title team and a contributor in Thibodaux’s win.

The familiarity is uncanny for two teams so far away on Louisiana’s map.

Dugas was not aware he was playing Walker when questioned on Saturday morning.

He actually thought the Tigers were going to be playing Captain Shreve.

But Dugas has said many times that he thinks Thibodaux winning the basketball title has helped all of the sports at the school.

Now, it’s time to put that championship moxie to the test in a win or go home ballgame.

“I couldn’t be prouder of this team,” Dugas said. “We didn’t win ‘em all, but we just play so darned hard. We leave it all out on the field every, single game. The kids give me every ounce of energy that they have in their bodies every game.

I couldn’t ask for anything more. We’re just so proud of this group.” • FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

good luck to all teams!

HAVE a safe football season!

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