By JOHN HOWARD

Sports Reporter

EDGARD-West St. John took its second loss of the season Friday at the hands of Patterson, 34-16. The Rams made some big plays early and went in at halftime with a 16-13 lead, but were held scoreless the entire second half.

The Patterson win spoiled Laury Dupont’s bid to win his 200th career game.

On West St. John’s first play on the offensive side of the ball, running back Romell Howard coughed up a fumble that was returned 42 yards by Patterson’s Willis Verdine for a touchdown. Verdine had a touchdown and two sacks on the night. After the P.A.T. the Lumberjacks went on top 7-0.

It wasn’t long before the Rams came back with a turnover of their own, as Corey Warmington picked off a Terrance Johnson pass and returned it 30 yards to set up the Ram offense in the red zone.

A couple of plays later, quarterback Dray Joseph whizzed a pass up the middle to Jessie Silas for a 14-yard touchdown. Immediately after, Joseph fired another strike up the middle to Tyler Lewis for a two-point conversion to go ahead 8-7 with 5:47 left in the first quarter.

In the second quarter Patterson’s offense got firing, as Leon Roberson hauled in a Terrance Johnson 40-yard pass. The reception would set up a nine-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Wesley. The score would stand 13-8 after a missed two-point conversion.

With a little over two minutes remaining in the first half, West St. John thwarted Patterson’s attempt at a fake punt. The turnover would put the Rams in position for a 22-yard touchdown pass reception by Donovan Dorsey and another two-point conversion to Lewis that put the Rams up 16-13 with 43 seconds on the clock.

On the next series, Patterson gave up, what could have been, a costly fumble on the West St. John 18 yard line. But the Rams couldn’t capitalize and went into halftime up by three.

&#8220They gave us some opportunities, but we missed a touchdown right before half,” said Ram Head Coach Laury Dupont. &#8220We could’ve got up by more than a touchdown, but it didn’t happen.”

The Ram defense was challenged early in the second half as the Lumberjacks drove down to the West St. John four-yard line by way of a 35-yard Roberson run and a 43-yard Wesley catch. Rams’ Aaron Favorth jumped on a forced fumble to stop the promising Patterson drive.

However, the Ram offense had a tough time getting out of the bad field position. After a couple of failed plays, Joseph threw up a desperate pass that was picked off by Lumberjack Troy Watson and returned to the West St. John 34-yard line.

A frustrated Ram was flagged for a personal foul, which set up Patterson with a golden opportunity inside the 20 yard line. The Lumberjacks capitalized and punched in a 13-yard Roberson touchdown run. The Lumberjacks enjoyed a 20-16 lead after a successful P.A.T. kick.

The Ram offense struggled again, allowing two sacks on their next possession to go three-and-out. They also missed a fourth-and-four attempt to start the final quarter.

Rams’ Lewis had a beautiful run in the fourth quarter to potentially spark a momentum swing, dodging several tacklers and bouncing a run to the outside. However, he fumbled the ball at the tail end of the run allowing the Jacks to retain momentum.

On the strength of that momentum, Johnson threw a 40-yard touchdown strike to Wesley on fourth-and-seven, putting the Jacks ahead 27-16.

West St. John had one last opportunity, converting on fourth-and-long to set them up inside the Patterson 41. But once again, Joseph threw up an interception. This one was returned by Roberson back to the original line of scrimmage.

On the following play, running back Kenny Hillard broke a 58-yard touchdown run that sealed the game 34-16.

&#8220I felt we did well once we got into a rhythm, got into a flow,” said Patterson Quarterback Coach Ryan Taylor. &#8220We hurt ourselves with some callous penalties, but once we iron those details out we’ll be fine.”