By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

 

GONZALES — When West St. John gets into Class 1A play, coach Robert Valdez likes to preach tempo to his Rams — when his team pushes the pace, he believes that few can keep up.

Ascension Catholic couldn’t. West St. John earned a victory in its district opener over host ACHS, 58-0, on a night where the Rams started out hot and never cooled.

West St. John led 33-0 after the opening quarter.

Kylum Favorite rushed for 83 yards on five carries for West St. John (2-3, 1-0). Jeremy Jackson rushed for 36 yards on two carries. Lamore Boudoin rushed six times for 75 yards and two touchdowns. WSJ rushed for 209 yards in all.

Austin Howard passed for 61 yards and two touchdowns. He completed three of his four pass attempts.

The Ram defense held Ascension Christian to just 26 total yards. West St. John forced ACHS into five turnovers.

West St. John scored touchdowns in every category in the first quarter of Friday’s game: scores via rushing, passing, defense and special teams.

“I was happy with our execution,” said Valdez. “When you make plays in every facet, you’ve got to be pretty happy. Our kids played very hard and pushed the pace like we wanted.”

Jackson got the scoring started with a 24-yard run in the first quarter that made it 6-0.

Brandon Matthews’ 15-yard interception return doubled that lead to 12-0. Kylum Favorite scored on a 1-yard plunge to make it 19-0 after a Jimmy Conner extra point.

The Rams next struck through the air, Howard connecting with Timothy Nelson for a 28-yard score to make it 26-0.

Justin Bethancourt recorded the first special teams score of the night on a 64-yard punt return that made it 33-0.

Morell Bartholomew (25-yard run) Favorite (19-yard run), Boudoin (14 and 49-yard runs) rounded out the Rams’ scoring efforts.

“Our offensive line played well tonight,” said Valdez. “When you run a lot of no huddle, like we did, you’re trusting your line to be able to pick things up.”

Valdez said he was also happy with the number of playmakers that asserted themselves. Boudoin, he said, was a nice surprise.

“We put the young freshman in there and he produced,” said Valdez. “It was good to see him in and making some plays.”