Friday Night Lights - Week 12

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TERRIERS EMERGE AS LONE LOCAL SURVIVOR THE TIMES • NOVEMBER 18, 2019 • WEEK 12 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

TABLE OF

CONTENTS 05

THE PLAYOFF SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE FIXED The problems have solutions

EDITOR’S NOTE

06

TERREBONNE MAKES STRIDES IN 2019

LET’S GEAUX

08 12 14

EVANGEL DEFEATS E.D. WHITE

16

VANDEBILT TAKES DOWN HANNAN

20

TERRIERS SET TO FACE DEFENDING CHAMPIONS

22

UNDER THE LIGHTS

VANDEBILT!

Calling all local high school football fans! Vandebilt Catholic needs us on Friday night.

The Terriers were the lone local survivor in the opening round of the playoffs, and for their troubles, they’ve earned a home game against powerful University Lab. That will be no easy chore.

Lab is one of the top programs in the state. They’re actually the defending State Champions in Division II. But heck, Vandebilt has been playing some good football lately and they’ve proven more than capable of challenging some of the top teams on any given day.

A true home-field advantage sure would help.

Let’s go to Buddy Marcello Stadium on Friday and root those boys on. Let’s fill the entire home part of the stadium and even some of the road part.

Let’s unite Vandebilt fans, Terrebonne fans, H.L. Bourgeois fans — whomever

Tigers looking forward to 2020 Eagles’ offense proves too much for Cardinals

THE SCHEDULE IS SET See all Round 2 schedules

ROUND 1 RECAP The first round of the playoffs creates some drama

Terriers become the only local team to earn spot in second round

Vandebilt to take on University Lab in second round of the playoffs See photos from various games

locally and cheer these kids on.

They’re our last chance locally, so let’s try and push them to victory.

Good luck Vandebilt!

We have your back!

We urge all locals to, too! •

NOVEMBER 18, 2019 • WEEK 12

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

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COVER PHOTOGRAPHY Leo Bourg

PHOTOGRAPHY Drew Miller Jared Shanklin Leo Bourg Jose Delgado

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WE HAVE TO FIX OUR PLAYOFF SYSTEM IN LOUISIANA

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

Let me say out front that I’m one of the few people who actually likes the split in Louisiana high school athletics.

I know, I know, I know.

You’ve just thrown a tomato at my car. I know, I know, I know. You’re now planning to use this paper to cover your table for a crawfish boil.

I’m aware that my opinion is unpopular, but sometimes, you have to dare to be different and accept being a vocal minority to enact change.

Just hear me out.

Just look at the sports that don’t have it. They’re dominated and overrun by private schools that can pool players from anywhere they want to.

Public schools don’t have that luxury, so I agree that we need an apples-to-apples system, as opposed to the old apples-to-oranges system we had before.

I covered the volleyball state playoffs this past week, and all of the brackets were dominated by private school teams.

Those coaches and student-athletes would LOVE a split, and one of my biggest gripes about the format is that it’s too selective. It’s enacted for just some sports, but not others — although the problem is universal.

But having said all of those things, even I can

admit — goodness, we surely can also do better than what we’re doing right now when it comes to football.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association football playoffs are a big mess, and just about everyone around the state agrees.

One of two things needs to happen.

The ideal solution would be to cut down on the size of the brackets and the number of postseason participants.

The public school brackets currently have 32 teams, which creates a situation where teams with just 2 or 3 wins make postseason. Those teams then get seeded poorly and often have to pay tons of money to greyhound across the state to go get clobbered in what is mostly a non-competitive first-round game.

I say we cut the public school brackets from 32 to 24. Give byes to the top seeds and let the last handful of teams play play-in games to earn their way into the main, 16-team bracket.

This way, those last few teams to get in would have chances to both host games and also compete in games. This way, the higher-seeded teams would get rewarded for their excellent play with a bye week to lick wounds and recover from injuries.

I think that would be a more exciting, more FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

competitive product.

On the private school side of things, I think the brackets need to shrink, too.

It’s completely insane that teams are automatically in the playoffs — just sheerly by existing. That’s not fair, and it’s not in the spirit of high school athletics, so I think there should be efforts to fix it.

Of course, those who disagree with me would say that having so many playoff teams isn’t a problem, because this is high school athletics, and the opportunity to compete is never bad for budding teenagers.

OK, to those, I have a solution, as well.

Let’s break up the state into regions, then have a neutral site tournament of champions in each class.

There is absolutely no reason that South Lafourche should have to drive to Neville to play a first-round game. That’s a 6-hour trip.

That trip cost the Tarpons big money.

Moving 50-60 kids across the state is not cheap. You

5 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

have to bus them, feed them, haul equipment — the full nine yards.

Central Lafourche had the same dilemma on Friday. They had to bus from Mathews to Monroe.

That’s a trip that just shouldn’t be happening for a first-round game.

A theory that several coaches (and myself, as well) support is to break the state into four regions — north, south, east and west, and have postseason brackets within each region.

From there, the four teams left standing in each class in each region would meet at neutral sites to decide the state championships.

To me, that just makes much more sense. And I also think the intrigue of having the “tournament of champions” at the end of the year would be fun, too.

Regardless, we all agree that the current system has become a bit stale.

We can and must do better — and literally everyone agrees.

So let’s fix it! •

TERREBONNE MAKES STRIDES IN 2019, ALREADY EYING 2020 PHOTO BY: JOSE DELGADO

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

Fairly or not, folks in the Houma-Thibodaux area pinpointed Terrebonne as that local team that could maybe make a run to the Dome — expectations laid onto the team as early as this past spring.

It didn’t happen.

The Tigers finished 5-5 in the regular season and lost their opening-round playoff game on Friday against East Ascension.

But through it all, Tigers coach Gary Hill said he’s happy with how his team

came together throughout the season, adding that he believes the future is bright for his team.

Terrebonne endured adversity and youth and points of the season — all while trying to replace an incredibly talented senior class that left the team after the 2019 season.

Hill said there were bumps and bruises, but added that they’ve made leaps beyond the initial growing pains.

“I’m so proud of how this team came together,” Hill said. “I thought early in the year, we had some FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

situations where guys were maybe being a little too individualistic or maybe weren’t focused all the way like they needed to be. But I thought we really rallied together, played some pretty good football and I thought we continued to get better.”

The Tigers were brutally young.

Hill said Terrebonne starter sometimes as many as 7-8 sophomores this season — a tough chore for any team, much less one that plays in arguably the most difficult district in the state.

6 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

Early on, that youth showed.

Terrebonne struggled in the jamboree, then lost three of their first five games.

“I thought early in the year, we weren’t playing with the intensity we needed to succeed in this district, but that happens with youth,” Hill said.

“When you have young players out there, you can practice and get them ready, but sometimes, you just never know exactly how they’re going to react when you get them on the field on Friday nights.”

In the back-end of the season, Terrebonne played much better.

They finished 3-3 in their final six games, but were a much better team.

They beat Destrehan 30-22 — their biggest win of the season.

They also beat Central Lafourche 40-18 in the season finale.

The three losses were all close, competitive games against top-tier competition. They lost 14-9 to Brother Martin, 15-13 to East St. John and then the 20-6 loss against East Ascension — a game that was tied at 6 at one time. Terrebonne had chances to win, but they could never get their offense going. The Tigers turned over the ball multiple times in the

loss and most of their turnovers directly led to East Ascension points.

“We just couldn’t stop from shooting ourselves in the foot,” Hill said. “We turned over the ball too much.”

But Hill thinks the team’s future is bright.

The Tigers started all of those sophomores this year.

In 2019, they were inexperienced puppies who were sometimes overwhelmed. But in 2020, they will be experienced juniors who will have had a full offseason to get bigger, faster, stronger and more ready to handle the grinds of the season.

Ja’Khi Douglas will depart to the next level, and that will be a huge blow.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

But the Tigers will return quarterback Ryan Williams, and several other playmakers who helped the team throughout the season.

Oh yeah, and they’ll have big Maason Smith back — the five-star defensive lineman who is going to literally have his pick of any college around the country in 2021.

Hill said Smith was a phenom in 2019.

“He’s just such a good kid,” Hill said. “It’s always great to coach talented players like that, but it’s even better when they’re humble and showing up every day to do things for the right reasons.

And all of that embodies Maason and all of the things that he stands for.”

Terrebonne’s schedule

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will be tough as heck again.

This is the second year of a scheduling cycle, so they will have to play all of the same opponents in 2020 as they did in 2019.

But Hill knows firsthand how much youth can blossom a team.

In 2017, Terrebonne was young, took some lumps and lost in the opening round of the playoffs.

The very next year, they went 9-1 and made the Quarterfinals of the Class 5A State Playoffs.

“We think the future looks good,” Hill said.

“We like the kids we have back. We just have to keep working and get them better.” •

EVANGEL CRUISES

PAST E.D. WHITE

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

8 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

PHOTOS BY: DREW MILLER

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

E.D. White got a tough draw in the Division II State Playoffs.

Yes, they were at home, having earning the No. 8 seed in the 14-team field.

But opposite them was No. 9 Evangel — a team that’s no ordinary 9-seed.

Evangel, as fans know, is one of the power programs in the state of Louisiana — a team that books its reservations to the Superdome before each season starts.

Evangel was just 5-4 during the regular season, which somewhat watered their seed. But a quick read between the lines would show that the four losses were all close defeats at the hands of state powers.

On Friday, they flexed their muscles in a big, big way — at the Cardinals’ expense.

The Eagles beat E.D. White 84-20 in the opening round of the playoffs, using unstoppable offense to easily push past the overmatched Cardinals.

Evangel coach Byron Dawson said his team entered the playoffs hot and stayed hot in their easy win.

“We’re playing our best ball at the right time of the year,” Dawson said. “Our kids were challenged and tested early in the season, but we rebounded, battled back and kept working hard. I think now, we’re in a position to go at this thing and make a run and try and go as far as we

can.”

Evangel came out of the gates smoking.

They scored on the second snap from scrimmage — a 67-yard touchdown run from Jalen Abraham to go 6-0.

After a possession change, Evangel wasted no time on their next drive — a short trek on a touchdown pass from quarterback Blake Shapen to Walker Johnson to go up 14-0 after a 2-point conversion.

And the blitz was on.

Evangel led 28-0 at the end of the first quarter and 62-7 at halftime — their offense virtually unstoppable and pushing forward with both run and pass.

The Cardinals’ lone score in the half was a late-half touchdown run to cut the Eagles’ lead to 55-7.

Evangel promptly responded by returning the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown before halftime.

In the second half, E.D. White had better success — especially in special teams. Aaron Arcement took two punts to the house in the second half to bring the Cardinals to their point total for the game.

Evangel’s offense kept trucking with three touchdowns of its own to send the game to its final margin.

With the win, the Eagles set up a showdown.

They will take on No. 1 St. Thomas More on Friday night.

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St. Thomas More, too, is one of the top teams in the state, having rolled through the season with an 8-2 record.

St. Thomas More had an opening-round bye in the 14-team playoff bracket.

In defeat, the loss ends the playing careers of several E.D. White seniors.

First-year coach Kyle Lasseigne has said several times throughout the season that he was proud of how his team had grown throughout the year.

E.D. White was 2-4, then won three-straight games in the middle part of the season to earn their home playoff seeding.

“These kids fight. It’s so much fun being around them,” Lasseigne said.

“We’ve been focused all season on getting better and I think we’ve done that.”

TARPONS, GATORS FALL IN CLASS 4A E.D. White lost at home.

Their local colleagues South Lafourche and South Terrebonne went on the road and suffered the same fate.

No. 27 South Terrebonne lost 35-12 to No. 6 Breaux Bridge. Up in north Louisiana, No. 31 South Lafourche lost 4114 to No. 2 Neville.

The Gators fought the Tigers early in the game, trailing just 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.

But Breaux Bridge’s high-powered offense got going in the second quarter, generating three touchdowns to take control of the game with a 28-12 lead.

South Terrebonne could

never regain its footing in the second half, falling behind 35-12 at the end of the third quarter before a scoreless fourth quarter.

The loss ends South Terrebonne’s season with a 6-5 record.

Breaux Bridge moves on to take on Belle Chasse.

In North Louisiana, South Lafourche lost to Neville, one of the favorites to win the Class 4A State Championship.

The powerful Tigers rolled to an early lead, grabbing control of the game with three firstquarter touchdowns to go up 21-0.

The Tarpons split the second quarter with Neville — both teams getting touchdowns to send the game to halftime with Neville up 28-7.

Braxton Pitre got the score for the Tarpons.

In the third quarter, Neville busted it open with two more scores to go ahead 41-7.

Before the game ended, Derin Doucet punched in a final score to send the game to its final margin.

The Tarpons ended their season with a 3-8 record in defeat.

Neville moves on to take on No. 18 DeRidder. •

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2019 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

SCHEDULES CLASS 5A

CLASS 4A

ROUND ONE

ROUND ONE

Acadiana 78 vs. Benton 28 Walker 63 vs. Thibodaux 21 Central Baton Rouge 30 vs. East St. John 34 Airline 55 vs. Southside 21 Zachary 39 vs. Live Oak 7 Hahnville 28 vs. Chalmette 6 Dutchtown 27 vs. Ruston 29 East Ascension 20 vs. Terrebonne 6 Alexandria 42 vs. West Ouachita 14 Barbe 14 vs. Mandeville 38 Haughton 28 vs. Ouchita Parish 7 Slidell 14 vs. Comeaux 41 Destrehan 48 vs. Ponchatoula 34 Houston, Sam 28 vs. Covington 42 Captain Shreve 34 vs. Ehret, John 7 West Monroe 47 vs. Central Lafourche 7

Lakeshore 50 vs Istrouma 0 Pearl River 21 vs. Leevile 47 Eunice 35 vs. Plaquemine 27 Bastrop 56 vs. North Vermillion 14 Carencro 41 vs. Salmen 7 Northwood - Shrev. 7 vs. Rayne 6 Peabody 6 vs. Easton, Warren 44 Tioga 24 vs. North DeSoto 10 Karr, Edna 49 vs. Cecilia 21 Franklinton 23 vs.

George Washington Carver 34 Belle Chasse 28 vs. Huntington 14 Breaux Bridge 35 vs. South Terrebonne 12 Assumption 24 vs. LeGrange 13 Westgate 39 vs. Livonia 7 Minden 13 vs. DeRidder 14 Neville 41 vs. South Lafourche 14

CLASS 5A

CLASS 4A

Acadiana vs. Walker

Lakeshore vs. Leesville

East St. John vs. Airline

Eunice vs. Bastrop

Zachary vs. Hahnville

Carencro vs. Northwood - Shrev.

Ruston vs. East Ascension

Easton, Warren vs. Tioga

Alexandria vs. Mandeville

Karr, Edna vs. George Washington Carver

Haughton vs. Comeaux

Belle Chasse vs. Breaux Bridge

Destrehan vs. Covington

Assumption vs. Westgate

Captain Shreve vs. West Monroe

DeRidder vs. Neville

ROUND TWO

ROUND TWO

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

12 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

DIVISION 1

DIVISION 2

Archbishop Rummel - BYE WEEK

St. Thomas More - BYE WEEK

Byrd, C.E. 40 vs. St. Augustine 45

Evangel Christian 84 vs. White, E.D. 20

Scotlandville 35 vs. McKinley 0

St. Louis 42 vs. St. Michael the Archangel 21

Brother Martin - BYE WEEK

Jefferson, Thomas 0 vs. Loyola Prep 35

Curtis, John - BYE WEEK

University Lab 49 vs. Lusher Charter 0

Jesuit 33 vs. Archbishop Shaw 0

Vandebilt Catholic 21 vs.

Holy Cross 7 vs. St. Paul’s 9

Archbishop Hannan 14

Catholic - B.R. - BYE WEEK

Teurlings Catholic 18 vs. Parkview Baptist 14

ROUND ONE

ROUND ONE

De La Sale - BYE WEEK

DIVISION 1

DIVISION 2

Archbishop Rummel vs. St. Augustine

St. Thomas More vs. Evangel Christian

Scotlandville vs. Brother Martin

St. Louis vs. Loyola Prep

Curtis, John vs. Jesuit

University Lab vs. Vandebilt Catholic

St. Paul’s vs. Catholic - B.R.

Teurlings Catholic vs. De La Salle

ROUND TWO

ROUND TWO

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

13 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

ROUND 1 — IN THE BOOKS PHOTO: COURTESY

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

There were not many upsets around the state on Friday night.

By and large, the great powers in the state of Louisiana flexed their muscles and shined — punching tickets to the next round.

But there was still some postseason drama, and there’s plenty intrigue heading into round 2 on Friday night.

CLASS 5A/DIVISION I Class 5A actually had some upsets.

Five road teams won their opening-round games, punching tickets into the second round.

No. 24 East St. John beat No. 9 Central (BR) in one of the biggest upsets, scoring a last-second 3430 win. But keep in mind — East St. John is actually

a much-higher-seeded team on paper. They had to forfeit several games, which pushed down their seed.

Also winning in upsets were No. 20 Ruston (over No. 13 Dutchtown), No. 19 Mandeville (over No. 14 Barbe) and No. 23 Covington (over No. 10 Sam Houston).

The biggest stunner of the night was a blowout — No. 27 Comeaux dominating No. 6 Slidell 41-14.

In Class 5A, there was absolutely no drama in the Top 5. All of the teams in the top five of the bracket won comfortably in the opening round. The lone exception was No. 4 East Ascension, which was challenged in a 20-6 slugfest against No. 29 Terrebonne.

In Division I, there was all chalk in the bracket with the exception of one FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

game.

No. 10 St. Paul’s beat No. 7 Holy Cross 9-7.

All other games in that bracket were won by the higher-seeded team.

Round 2 matchups are below: Class 5A No. 1 Acadiana vs. No. 16 Walker No. 24 East St. John vs.

No. 8 Airline No. 5 Zachary vs. No. 12 Hahnville No. 20 Ruston vs. No. 4 East Ascension No. 19 Mandeville vs.

No. 3 Alexandria No. 27 Comeaux vs. No. 11 Haughton No. 23 Covington vs.

No. 7 Destrehan No. 2 West Monroe vs.

No. 15 Captain Shreve Division I No. 1 Rummel vs. No. 8 St. Augustine No. 4 Brother Martin vs.

14 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

No. 5 Scotlandville No. 3 John Curtis vs.

No. 6 Jesuit No. 2 Catholic (BR) vs.

No. 10 St. Paul’s CLASS 4A/DIVISION II In Class 4A, there were far fewer upsets, and the road teams that did win were somewhat predictable.

No. 17 Leesville (over Pearl River), No. 20 Warren Easton (over Peabody), No. 19 Carver (over Franklinton) and No. 18 DeRidder (over Minden) all won to earn trips to the second round.

That Easton and Carver won is not a big surprise to those familiar with high school ball around Louisiana.

They’re both incredibly talented New Orleansarea teams that saw their seed get watered down by difficult non-district competition and tough

losses.

Easton actually won their game 44-6 and looked as good as anyone in the Class 4A bracket, despite their No. 20 seed.

Carver’s victory sets up a huge rivalry matchup. In Round 2, they will take on Karr. Those teams used to play a non-district game annually, but the series was canceled by both coaches due to a postgame fight. Now, they have to play a high-stakes, winner-take-all game.

No. 7 Assumption was challenged by No. 26 LaGrange in the opening round, but persevered and represented our local district favorably in a 2413 win.

The Mustangs will face a huge challenge on Friday against No. 10 Westgate.

Westgate has one of the most explosive offenses in the state of Louisiana.

By comparison, Assumption went to overtime with Vandebilt.

Westgate played the Terriers, too, and beat them 53-13 earlier this season.

In Division II, the only road victories occurred in games involving local teams.

No. 9 Evangel came from Shreveport to Thibodaux and flexed their muscles, scoring 84 points in a 84-20 win over E.D. White.

Evangel is a state powerhouse — a team that routinely made the Superdome in Division I, which houses the biggest private schools in the state of Louisiana.

On Friday, they scored more than 60 points in the first half and played some of the best football of anyone in the state — in any class.

On the bottom of the bracket, Vandebilt went on the road and beat Hannan 21-14.

The Terriers got a late touchdown from Hunter Porche to seal the win.

Vandebilt will now get a chance to play at home — a Friday night secondround date with University Lab. Round 2 matchups are below: Class 4A: No. 17 Leesville vs. No. 1 Lakeshore No. 8 Bastrop vs. No. 9 Eunice No. 5 Carencro vs.

No. 12 Northwood (Shreveport) No. 20 Warren Easton vs. No. 4 Tioga No. 19 Carver vs. No. 3 Karr No. 6 Breaux Bridge vs.

No. 11 Belle Chasse No. 7 Assumption vs.

No. 10 Westgate No. 18 DeRidder vs. No. 2 Neville Division II: No. 1 St. Thomas More vs. No. 9 Evangel No. 4 Loyola vs. No. 5 St. Louis No. 11 Vandebilt vs. No. 3 University Lab No. 2 De La Salle vs.

No. 7 Teurlings Catholic Visit houmatimes.com for bracket breakdowns for Class 1A-3A and Divisions III and IV. •

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15 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

VANDEBILT PUSHES

PAST HANNAN,

MOVES INTO 2ND ROUND PHOTO BY: LEO BOURG

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

16 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

Two weeks ago, Vandebilt had a chance to earn a huge win against Assumption, but it slipped away in overtime.

On Friday night in the opening round of the playoffs against Hannan, the Terriers were in the same spot — a tie ballgame with four minutes to go.

This time, they didn’t stop until they got into the winner’s circle.

The Terriers beat Hannan 21-14 on Friday night — the lone local team to earn a spot into the second round of postseason.

Hunter Porche scored the game-winning touchdown with 2 minutes left and the Terriers’ dominant defense stuffed Hannan late with the ball in the red-zone, forcing a fourth down sack to secure the win.

Vandebilt coach Lance Ledet said he couldn’t be prouder of his team in victory.

“The kids kept working,” Ledet said. “We didn’t play a clean game. We made a lot of mistakes.

But the kids just kept working. Our defense has been amazing all season, and they got the stop we needed at the end of the ballgame and now, we get a chance to play another football game next week.”

This one was close from the first whistle to the last.

Vandebilt got the ball first and marched like a well-oiled machine — long, 12-play scoring drive capped with a touchdown

run from Caleb Calhoun to go up 6-0 after a missed extra point.

But Hannan had an answer.

On their first offensive drive, they, too, took the ball the length of the field for a touchdown drive capped on an 11-yard scoring run from Jake Delmado to go up 7-6 late in the first quarter.

Then, a defensive slugfest broke out.

That 7-6 score held throughout the entire second quarter with both teams struggling to find any rhythm offensively against fierce defenses that dominated the game.

In the third quarter, things got dramatic.

Porche scored early in the third quarter, and the Terriers converted the 2-point conversion to go up 14-7 with 8 minutes left in the third quarter.

That score held until the fourth quarter when Hannan tied it again on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Brantley Taylor to Ezra Travers to tie the game up 14-all.

But then, the Terriers found a way.

Hannan had the ball deep in their own territory late, but was forced to punt.

Porche took that punt into Hannan territory, which started a short, quick touchdown drive to put Vandebilt up 21-14 with two minutes to go.

Porche capped that drive with a touchdown run through the teeth of the defense.

But Hannan made things interesting.

They hit a long play and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

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pushed the ball inside Vandebilt’s 20-yard-line with less than a minute to play.

But Vandebilt never faltered, stopping the next four-straight plays without relent. The final play was a sack — with virtually the entire Terriers’ front pushing back the quarterback to finish the play and seal the win.

In victory, Vandebilt will now play No. 3 University Lab in the second round.

That game will be played in Houma.

Lab is one of the top teams in the state — the defending State Champions.

They beat Lusher 49-0 in the opening round of postseason.

LOCAL 5A SQUADS FALL IN PLAYOFF OPENERS Friday night was not a good night for our local Class 5A contenders.

All three of our local 5A playoff teams — Thibodaux, Terrebonne and Central Lafourche — were bounced from the playoffs on Friday night.

Each team was on the road in their games.

Thibodaux lost 63-21 to Walker, while Central Lafourche fell 47-7 to West Monroe.

The closest local Class 5A game was in Gonzales where East Ascension beat Terrebonne 20-6 in a defensive struggle.

The Tigers had chances to win that game.

It was 6-6 in the second quarter before East Ascension added a latehalf touchdown to go up 13-6.

That score held until the fourth quarter, thanks to dominant defense from the Tigers. Terrebonne got a fumble recovery from Maason Smith in the game, but they couldn’t turn the turnover into points.

In the fourth quarter, East Ascension sealed the deal and punched their ticket into the second round with a game-icing touchdown to go up 206. Quarterback Cameron Jones pushed the ball into the end zone on the score.

The Tigers could never get closer — in part because they couldn’t keep possession of the ball.

Terrebonne turned over the ball multiple times in the game, and all of East Ascension’s points were set up by Tigers’ turnovers.

The loss ends Terrebonne’s season with a 5-6 record. •

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AFTER UPSET WIN, TERRIERS EYE UNIVERSITY PHOTOS BY: LEO BOURG

BY CASEY GISCLAIR

casey@rushing-media.com

The past couple weeks, Vandebilt Catholic has battled Goliaths with favorable results — an overtime loss against Assumption and a 7-point playoff win against Hannan.

But on Friday night, they’ll have arguably their biggest challenge yet — a home playoff date with a defending state champion.

The Terriers will take on No. 3 University Lab — the defending Division II

State Champion.

University beat Lusher 49-0 in the opening round on Friday night.

They enter the game with an 8-3 record and several key wins.

Terriers coach Lance Ledet said the game will be a big challenge, but his team is ready to fight.

“We’re going to have to play our best,” Ledet said. “This is going to be a big challenge, but we’re looking forward to it. It’s that time of the year where you know there are all the top teams playing.

We’re happy to be able FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

to be in this position and we’re hopeful to play our best.”

The Terriers are playing their best ball at the right time, and it all starts with defense.

Vandebilt’s defense is dominant — one of the top units in the entire Houma-Thibodaux area.

In the Terriers’ final six games of the regular season, they allowed just 51 combined points. On Friday night, they were great again in a 21-14 win against Hannan.

Hannan had chances in the game, but just about

20 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

every time they got close, Vandebilt pushed back.

On one drive, Hannan threw an interception in the red zone.

On the last drive of the game, the Terriers got a game-winning sack on fourth down to seal the win.

Ledet said what he likes the most about his defense is their ability to gang tackle and fly to the football.

Senior linebacker Chandler Rhodes makes a lot of the Terriers’ tackles, but several other players have emerged and have

become forces in the back-end of the season.

“So many guys have stepped up for us. The defense has been just lights out all year,” Ledet said. “They have been a group we’ve counted on throughout the season to do good things for us.

They’ve never backed down. They always show up to play and that’s been huge for us.”

Their biggest challenge of the season will come on Friday night against University.

Lab enters the game with a championship pedigree and collegelevel players all over the field.

Quarterback Tanner Lawson is smooth and has been making plays up and down the field to assist lab.

Offensive lineman Rashad Green is a threestar player and a Tulane commitment.

Lab runs a spread offense that looks to give their playmakers the ability to make plays in space.

In the opening-round win against Lusher, Lab scored 49 points and dominated in all phases,

coasting to an easy win.

Lab is actually a younger team this year than they were last year when they were arguably one of the top teams in the history of the state of Louisiana.

Their 2019 squad sent more than 10 guys to the next level — including to some of the top schools in the country.

“We’re making strides,” coach Andrew Martin said earlier this season. “We have some inexperience in some spots, and it’s taken some time. But the kids have been coachable and they’ve been willing to do everything we’ve asked them to do.”

To secure the win, Vandebilt’s offense will have to play clean football.

The Terriers have some question marks entering the game.

Quarterback Gavin Daigle was injured early in the game with Hannan and missed the entire second half.

In the second half, the Terriers alternated between a couple of players with Hunter Porche doing a lot of the heavy lifting under center.

But against University, the Terriers would love to

have Daigle back in the lineup, because he’s been one of the team’s best players all season.

To have any success, Vandebilt is going to have to block a mammoth of a man.

University defensive lineman Jaquelin Roy is a four-star player and one of the best players in the country — a dominant interior lineman that causes chaos for

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opponents.

An LSU commitment, Roy is going to be a challenge for Vandebilt — a guy the Terriers will have to account for on every snap.

Ledet said he knows the game will be a challenge, but added that he’s eager to see how his team stacks up — especially from the comforts of home. •

21 NOVEMBER 18, 2019

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