MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / November 8, 2000

LUTCHER – The Lutcher Bulldogs are right where head coach Tim Detillier wants them – playing their best football of the season as the playoffs open.

Lutcher enters its Class 3A bi-district playoff game against Lawless Friday night riding the crest of a five-game winning streak. During that streak, theBulldogs went 4-0 in District 9-3A play to capture their second straight district title.

The latest win came Friday night against Donaldsonville, 35-13, improving Lutcher’s record to 7-3 overall. Risley St. Germain threw for 168 yards andthree touchdowns and Tyrone Martin ran for another 157 yards and two touchdowns in 20 carries. The Bulldogs finished with 363 yards in offense,rushing for 195 of them.

But it was the special teams and defense that helped the Bulldogs pull away late as Chris Johnson returned a punt 42 yards and James Williams brought back an interception 90 yards for touchdowns. The Bulldogs heldDonaldsonville to 237 total yards and forced two turnovers.

Martin has taken over for the injured William Adams in the backfield and has definitely filled the hole. His performance Friday night moved him up amongthe leaders in the area in rushing with 800 yards and 11 touchdowns on 152 carries.

The going may be rough for the Lutcher offense against a Lawless team that has yet to give up more than 14 points in a game this season. Through theregular season, the Pythians gave up a total of 94 points, an average of 9.4a game.

That defense is led by a line that includes Sam Coleman, Joseph Brown and Joseph Smith, all seniors, and junior John Davis. The linebacking corps is alsoexperience with seniors Ralph Handy, rated as one of the best in the state, and Larone James. In the secondary are seniors Rondell Lewis, Willie Mackeyand Henry Parker and junior Fernel Burns.

“Defense is definitely their strong point,” Detillier said. “They tackle.They’re big, they’re physical and they can run. They have our attention.”But the Pythians have struggled offensively this season. They’ve lost twogames by 7-6 this season and fell to Pensacola (Fla.) 14-7. One of those 7-6losses came this past Saturday against Belle Chasse, dropping Lawless to 6- 4 overall and 3-2 in District 10-3A. Lawless held Belle Chasse to 125 yards inthe game but passed for just nine yards and committed two costly turnovers.

Senior wide receiver Terrance Smothers scored the Pythians’ only points on a 1-yard run in the second quarter. Coleman is the quarterback. In thebackfield are James, Mackey and Kareem Lewis, all seniors. The line is led byseniors Brandon Hamilton at tackle, Christopher Shelling at center and Paul Daniels at guard.

Kickoff for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 advance andat the gate.

The winner of Friday’s game gets the winner of Parkview Baptist and Port Allen in the regionals next week.

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