By JEFF BARROIS
Contributing Writer

EDGARD – West St. John turned the ball over early, but never trailed Friday night as they cruised to a 68-20 victory over Elton Friday night in a Class 1A regional round game.
The Rams took advantage of an Elton opening drive fumble recovery by Austin Howard and took over at the Elton 46-yard line. They would go on to score on a 5-play 46-yard touchdown drive that was highlighted by a 22-yard touchdown run by Jeremy Jackson, and West St. John jumped out to an early 7-0 lead.
The teams then traded punts and then star Elton tailback Marcus Lemoine took the ball 72-yards to score. After a missed 2 point attempt, the Indians trailed by one.
But the Rams answered back as Jackson scored his second touchdown on a 29-yard touchdown run where he broke 3 Elton tackles. The run completed a 6-play 57 -yard drive and the Rams extended their lead back to seven.
The West St. John defense then forced another Elton three and out that on the ensuing possession, quarterback Austin Howard fumbled the handoff to Jeremy Jackson and the Indians took over at the Rams’ 40-yard line and scored on two plays later on a 24-yard touchdown pass. The Indians would once again fail their extra point attempt and would once again trail by 1.
Two possessions later, Jackson would find the endzone once again on a electrifying 48 yard touchdown run where he made a back cut that faked out the entire Elton defense and the Rams claimed an 8 point lead.
“That’s something that I practice everyday,” said Jackson after the game, “I just see small gaps opening, and I just tried to make them big to the best of my ability.”
The West defense would hold Elton to yet another 3 and out on the following drive and start their next possession at the Indian 43, a possession that Jackson opened by ripping a 33-yard run and bringing the Ram offense to the 10-yard line. Two plays later power back Bradley Borne would finish the job on a 1-yard carry and the Rams took a 27-12 lead.
“We just had to knock off some of the cobwebs a little bit and these kids fought hard.” said coach Robert Valdez after the victory, “We got their best early and once we got into a rhythm and things started falling are way we were able to take over the game.”
Another three and out by the Rams defense allowed enough time for Austin Howard to find Morrell Bartholomew for a 48 yard touchdown pass just before halftime and West St. John took their 33 point lead into halftime.
Jackson had 184 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries in the first half. He would go on to score a fourth touchdown and 204 yards on the evening.
Howard would also find his stride in the second half as threw for three more touchdowns on the evening for a total of four.
“It all comes from Monday through Thursday,” said Howard of his performance, “The coaches do a good job of making halftime adjustments.”
The Rams had some trouble bottling up highly recruited running back Marcus Lemoine, but had him figured out by the second half.
“You definitlely know he’s the go to guy,” said Valdez of Lemoine, “You’ve got to be able to identify where he is.”
Lemoine had 175 yards and two touchdowns againse the Rams defense in the defeat.
The Rams move on to the quarterfinal round of the LHSAA 1A playoffs and will travel to Block next week. The Block Bears defeated favored Pointe Coupee Central 37-26 Friday night and 5-5 record on the season.