In a battle between teams expected to contend for state honors in Class 1A, there was a district championship beef to settle in Edgard on Friday night.
Top ranked St. John-Plaquemine erased a 21-point West St. John lead to rally and secure a 28-27 win in overtime, clinching the outright District 8-1A championship over the eighth ranked Rams.
 WSJ’s Jarius Moll hauls in a reception downfield during his Rams’ clash with St. John-Plaquemine on Friday night. (Staff photo by Ryan Arena) |
The Eagles (9-1, 5-0) scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to tie things up after the Rams carried a 21-0 lead into the half.
In overtime, Dray Joseph’s 10-yard touchdown run gave West St. John a 27-21 lead.
“It was an open set, and Dray had the option to run or pass,” said Valdez.
“They had our receivers bracketed, Dray saw an opening and took off.”
The extra point attempt failed, though, giving the Eagles a chance to win in regulation.
Despite an intentional grounding and an illegal procedure call to push St. John back, the Eagles busted the Ram zone with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Michael Martinez to Josh Johnson.
West St. John (6-4, 4-1) was rolling early. Kenneth Dabney put WSJ ahead 7-0 in the first quarter via a 3-yard run.
The lead grew to 15-0 when Jarius Moll hauled in a 7-yard scoring pass from Joseph. A Dabney 2-point conversion run made it 15-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Joseph and Dabney hooked up for the longest play of the game in the second quarter, an 84-yard touchdown pass that gave WSJ a 21-0 lead.
“We came out aggressive, throwing the ball, attacking the flats and the intermediate areas,” said Valdez. “We knew they wouldn’t give us the deep ball at first. But sure enough, Kenneth got loose.”
But all the good that West St. John was experiencing in the first half quickly turned sour in the second, in particular the third quarter. WSJ lost two second half fumbles, saw one of its punts blocked, and gave up the game tying score before the beginning of the fourth quarter.
“It was a terrible third quarter. Miscues, penalties…anything that could go wrong, did. You know a good team will make their run, and St. John did.”
St. John scored on an 8-yard run by Josh Johnson, a 15-yard pass from Martinez to Jordan Brown, and a 26-yard Casey Toussant run.
West St. John outgained St. John 349-263, but lost the turnover battle (minus-1) and was hurt by nine penalties for 75 yards.
Meanwhile, the offense could never get on track in the second half.
“We had chances to run the football, but high snaps, penalties, substitution problems…but St. John picked their game up. That’s a championship caliber team,” said Valdez.
“I guess we felt like we had it in the bag. We all know we need to do a better job, from the top on down, of putting a complete game together.”
Comments
Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone. All readers comments must be approved by our staff before posting to the Web site. Be aware, in accordance with the Communications Decency Act and provisions upheld in judicial appeal, that you are responsible for comments posted on this Web site. The L'Observateur is not liable for messages from third parties.
DO NOT POST:
* Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults or threats.
* The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.
* Comments unrelated to the story.
Opinions, advice and all other information expressed in The L'Observateur reader comments represent the individual's own views and not necessarily those of L'Observateur. L'Observateur does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than authorized L'Observateur spokespersons.
Thank you for your comments!