MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / October 25, 1999

RESERVE – East St. John shot off fireworks before its Homecoming gameagainst Central Lafourche Friday night at Joe Keller Stadium.

The Wildcats then created their own fireworks during the game, rolling up 487 yards in offense in a 41-21 victory over the Trojans.

The win improved the Wildcats to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in District 7-5A.

Central Lafourche fell to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in district play.

Floyd Smith completed 16-of-30 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns for the Wildcats. Roy Del Williams caught seven passes for134 yards and a score. Chris Bush had five catches for 93 yards. ChuckieBurl went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season, carrying 21 times for 108 yards. Branden August carried eight times for 60 yards and twotouchdowns. The Wildcats finished with 200 yards rushing.Darius Griffin led the Trojans with 17 carries for 107 yards. Griffin alsocaught three passes for 18 yards and two touchdowns. Andy Griffincompleted 10-of-24 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns.

Holding a 17-7 lead at halftime, the Wildcats struck quickly coming out of the gate in the third quarter. On the first play of the half from the East St.John 25, Smith connected with Bush on a fade pattern on the left sidelines for a 35-yard gain. A 19-yard completion to Williams over the middle gavethe Wildcats a first down at the Trojan 19-yard line. After two scramblesby Smith gave the Wildcats a first down at the 9, August carried twice to the 1. August then finished the drive by going off the left side for thescore. Billy Hogan added the extra point to make it 24-7 with 8:47 lft inthe third.

It would not be long before East St. John struck again. Taking over its nextpossession at its 48, Burl carried for gains of 8 and 11 to the Trojan 32.

Smith then threw deep down the left sidelines for Randy Sutherland who made an over-the-head catch in the end zone for the score. Hogan againadded the extra point, extending the lead to 31-7 at the 6:36 mark of the third quarter.

Central Lafourche came right back as Darius Griffin took the kickoff at his 10 and returned it 68 yards to the East St. John 22. On fourth-and-15 fromthe 27, Andy Griffin found Charles Folse in the right flat at the 17. Folsecaught the ball and immediately lateraled it to Darius Griffin who took it down the left sidelines for the score. Andy Griffin then scrambled left forthe 2-point conversion, cutting the deficit to 31-15 with 4:40 left in the third.

East St. John looked to answer on its next possession as Smith connectedwith Bush on the left sidelines for a 33-yard pickup to the Trojan 42.

Three plays later, Smith appeared to hit Williams on a 33-yard touchdown pass as Williams broke out of a tackle at the 21 and went in. But aclipping call brought the play back and three plays later, Freddie Breaux picked off a deflected pass at the 29 to end the drive.

Central Lafourche went right back to work on its ensuing drive. DariusGriffin carried four times for 29 yards to make it second-and-3 from the Wildcat 42 as the third quarter ended. On the first play of the fourthquarter, Griffin swept left for 22 yards to the 20. An 11-yard completionto David Ponson gave the Trojans a first down at the 9-yard line. A passinterference call in the end zone moved the ball to the five. After threeplays lost 4 yards, Andy Griffin found Darius Griffin in the back left corner of the end zone for the score. After a delay of game penalty movedthe 2-point try back 5 yards, Griffin threw incomplete, leaving the score 31-21 with 8:13 left.

East St. John recovered the ensuing onsides kick at the Trojan 44-yardline. Smith snuck up the middle for 4 yards on third-and-2 from the 36.Four plays later on fourth-and-6 from the 28, Smith hit Terron Charles for a 9-yard gain to the 19. Two plays later, Smith was hit while trying tothrow and fumbled with Ernest Ricks recovering for the Wildcats at the 29. After a 12-yard completion to Williams, Hogan came in to kick a 34-yard field goal, making it 34-21 with 3:52 left.

Al Brown returned the ensuing kick 34 yards to the Trojan 49. But theWildcats held with Bryson White sacking Griffin for an 8-yard loss. TheWildcats took over at the Trojan 46 and took it right down the field. Burlhad rushes of 14, 6 and 13 yards to the 13-yard line. August carried for 7yards and then went off the left side from 6 yards out. Hogan’s extra pointmade it 41-21 with 48.1 seconds left.Brandon Mason intercepted Griffin’s desperation pass at the Wildcat 30- yard line on the final play of the game.

East St. John took a 14-7 lead late in the first half. Taking over at theEast St. John 40 with 3:13 left, Burl gained 6 yards on a sweep on seconddown. On the next play, Smith scrambled left, cut back in and went downthe middle of the field for a 29-yard gain to the Trojan 25. On fourth-and-8 from the 23, the Wildcats went for it and Smith connected with Charles for a 15-yard gain over the middle to the 8-yard line. Smith then foundWilliams slanting in from the left side for the score. Hogan nailed theextra point, giving the Wildcats a 14-7 lead with 1:11 left.

Central Lafourche threatened on its next drive, driving to the East St. John39 behind a 31-yard sweep by Darius Griffin. But the Wildcats held andstopped Griffin for a 4-yard gain on fourth-and-6.

East St. John took over at its 35-yard line with 22 seconds and Smithwent right to work, hitting Williams over the middle for 15 yards to midfield. Two plays later, Smith found Bush on the left sidelines. Bushstepped out-of-bounds at the 20 with three-tenths of a second left in the half.

That set up a crazy set of events. Hogan came in and connected on a 37-yard field goal as time expired but the Wildcats were called for being offsides. Hogan then made the 42-yarder but again the Wildcats werepenalized for an illegal procedure. This time, Hogan missed wide left onhis 47-yard attempt but the Trojans were penalized 15 yards for roughing the kicker. Hogan connected on his fourth try from 32 yards out, giving theWildcats a 17-7 lead at halftime.

East St. John drove to the Central Lafourche 27-yard on its firstpossession on runs of 13 and 10 yards by Burl and an 11-yard completion from Smith to Bush. But Central Lafourche held, throwing Burl for a 1-yardloss on fourth-and-6.

Central Lafourche began to move the ball on its ensuing possession. Griffincarried four times for 18 yards and Andy Griffin hit Ponson for gains of 20 and 10 yards, giving the Trojans a first down at the Wildcat 24-yard line.

Two plays later, Griffin hit Folse over the middle inside the 10. Folse spunout of a tackle at the 8 and brought the ball down to the 2. Scott Bellangerbulled in from there, giving the Trojans a 7-0 lead with 3:11 left in the first quarter.

East St. John answered on its next possession after taking over at its 26-yard line. A pass interference call gave the Wildcats a first down at their38. Two plays later, Smith found Williams slanting in for a 16-yard gainto the Trojan 48. An 8-yard completion to Bush on the final play of thefirst quarter kept the drive alive on third-and-5 from the 43.

On the first play of the second quarter, August took the handoff, broke through the line, ran over a tackler at the 25 and took it to the 4-yard line for a 31-yard gain. On the next play, Smith rolled out and found DarwinPittman in the back of the end zone. Hogan added the extra point to tie thegame at 7 with 11:29 left in the half.

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