MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / November 15, 1999

RESERVE – East St. John took advantage of special teams mistakes bySouth Lafourche to defeat the Trojans for the second week in a row, 28-20 in the Class 5A bi-district playoffs Friday night at Joe Keller Stadium.

East St. John (8-3 overall) advanced to play Catholic, a 38-0 winner overPonchatoula, in Baton Rouge next week. South Lafourche finished at 5-6overall.

Floyd Smith completed 8-of-17 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats. Roy Del Williams caught two passes, both fortouchdowns, for 60 yards. Chris Bush had four catches for 33 yards.Branden August led the rushing attack with 43 yards on 12 carries. TheWildcats were playing without leading rusher who was out with an injury.

The Wildcats had to overcome a stellar rushing performance by Walter Nelson who gained 247 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. GavinBuffinet added 53 yards on 14 attempts. Jonathan Hanberry was held to 26yards on 3-of-7 passing. South Lafourche out-gained East St. John, 347-188, inclduing 321 yards on the ground.

East St. John took a 21-14 lead into halftime. Facing fourth-and-6 fromtheir 41 on their first possession of the second half, the Tarpons went for a fake but Buffinet was stopped a yard short on a sweep around the right side.

Both teams were held on their next possessions with Al John Boudreaux and Edward Campbell collecting sacks for the Tarpons and Wildcats, respectively. But South Lafourche got the ball right back as the Wildcatswere called for a clip while the punt was in the air, giving the Tarpons a first down at their 35.

The South Lafourche running came then took over, grinding out the final 5:23 on the third quarter. The Tarpons picked up third downs on a 2-yardrun by Dustin Parra and a 21-yard gain up the middle by Buffinet to the Wildcat 10-yard line.

The Wildcat defense then stiffened with Jonathan Miles and Deval Ceaser combining to throw Nelson for a 4-yard loss on third-and-goal from the 6.

Aaron Montez then came in to attempt a 27-yard field goal but had it fall short.

South Lafourche got the ball back at the East St. John 26-yard line afterJon Shaw blocked Bush’s punt. Clipping and false start penalties pushedthe Tarpons back to their 40. But facing third-and-32 from that point,Nelson took a reverse inside, swept right and went down the sidelines for a 60-yard touchdown. But the Wildcats kept the lead at 21-20 as Montezkicked the extra point into the line.

East St. John answered on its next possession, driving 66 yards in sevenplays, aided by a pass interference call and a late hit against the Tarpons.

On third-and-9 from the 23, Smith faded a pass to the right corner of the end zone where Williams out-leapt Cody Collins for the score. Billy Hoganadded the extra point, extending the lead to 28-20.

South Lafourche had one final chance, overcoming a sack by Campbell to pick up a first down at the East St. John 47 on a 24-yard pass fromHanberry to Nelson. But on the next play, Brandon Mason, who had hissecond straight big game, intercepted Hanberry at the Wildcat 10-yard line. Smith then kneeled twice to run out the clock.The first quarter was one of ball control as the teams had one possession each. East St. John took over its first possession at its 33-yard line withAugust gaining 12 yards up the middle of the first play. The drive appearedto be stopped at the South Lafourche 47 as Bush came in to punt but a holding call against the Tarpons while the ball was in the air gave the Wildcats a first down at the 37-yard line.

East St. John took advantage of the mistake as Tremaine Moore swept leftfor 10 yards to the 27. Three plays later, it was Moore again for 5 yardsand a first down to the 17. August then went up the middle for 11 yards tothe 3. August carried on the next two plays, taking the second off lefttackle for a 1-yard score. Hogan’s extra point made it 7-0 with 6:35 leftin the first quarter.

South Lafourche took over and proceeded to eat up the rest of the clock in the quarter, picking up first downs third downs on a 15-yard pass from Hanberry to Anthony Pitre and on a 14-yard scramble by Hanberry to the East St. John 40. The Tarpons drove to the 29-yard line but a holding callon the last play of the quarter and a sack by Emmanuel Miles forced them to punt with Mason calling for a fair catch at the 7.

East St. John got out of the hole with a 34-yard pass from Smith to TerronCharles to the Tarpon 47. Five plays later, Smith found Williams slantingin at the 20. Williams caught the pass and cut down the hash marks tocomplete the 37-yard scoring play. Hogan’s extra point increased the leadto 14-0 with 7:40 left in the half.

East St. John looked to put the game away after stopping the Tarpons ontheir next possession but Collins made a diving interception of a Smith pass at the Wildcat 48. After Buffinet picked up the first down on asecond effort on third-and-1 from the 38, Nelson took a pitch from Hanberry at the 32, swept right, broke a tackle, cut back left and then cut in, out running a defender to the end zone. Montez’s extra point cut thedeficit to 14-7 with 3:19 left.

East St. John had a quick answer as Mason caught the ensuing kickoff athis 11, broke through the wall and was gone, taking it 89 yards up the middle. Hogan again connected, making it 21-7 with 3:06 left.But South Lafourche quickly responded after taking over at its 24. Onsecond down, Nelson again took a pitch at the 27 and duplicated his earlier effort, sweeping right, breaking a tackle, reversing his field and taking it around the left side.

Nelson then cut in, side-stepped a tackle and took it the distance from 73 yards out. Montez made the extra point, making it a 21-14 game athalftime.

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