Nicholls’ athletics director touts success on, off playing fields
November 27, 2013CRIME BLOTTER: Reported offenses in the Tri-parishes
November 27, 2013
The Patterson High School football team has overwhelmed most of its opponents this year with an explosive spread offense.
But in Friday night’s Class 3A second-round playoff win against Loranger, it was the Lumberjacks’ defense that stood tall and pushed the team into the Quarterfinals.
In a hard-hitting, evenly matched slugfest, Patterson’s defense pitched a second-half shutout to secure a 16-14 win.
With the victory, the No. 4 Jacks will move to a post-Thanksgiving home showdown with No. 5 Jennings.
They are the lone Tri-parish team still alive in playoff competition.
“I’m so proud of what our defense did. Those kids fought hard and played a hell of a game,” Patterson coach Tommy Minton said. “We had a tough time getting things going on offense in the second half. But those kids on the other side of the ball did such a great job helping us find a way to win.”
Things looked promising early on for Patterson.
The Jacks punished Loranger offensively in the early stages of the game, scoring two touchdowns and converting two 2-point conversions to take an early 16-0 lead.
Not willing to go down without a fight, Loranger fought back and made it a 2-point game before halftime. The No. 13-seed scored a pair of touchdowns of their own to make it close. The problem came within the final 2-point conversion. After successfully converting after the first touchdown into an 8-point drive, Loranger missed its second 2-point conversion, which made the score 16-14 at halftime.
Little did they know that play would be the difference in Friday’s game.
In a hard-fought second half, defenses took over the game. Loranger threatened and had a handful of chances to take the lead, but the Jacks’ defense buckled each time, securing turnovers or forcing Loranger to turn over the ball on downs.
Minton said probably the biggest reason for his team’s struggles on offense is a key injury.
Quarterback Spencer Landry went down at the end of the regular season with a broken collarbone. In his absence, Jake LaGrange has taken his place. Minton said LaGrange has done a “great job” managing the team in Landry’s absence. But he added that the backup is not the polished passer that Landry is.
“He’s come in and done a really, really nice job considering the timing of it all and considering the shoes he’s had to fill,” Minton said. “Our offense isn’t as potent and able to score points as easily without that big passing threat back there, but Jake can make plays with his feet. He’s a better runner. He’s done a nice job in a very tough spot.”
The coach said Landry has a possibility of returning in the postseason if he heals properly. Either way, the coach wants to continue the viscous defensive effort that he saw on Friday night.
“We rose up to the challenge and got it done,” Minton said. “It wasn’t easy. They are a very good football team. We’re definitely very happy to have survived to play another one.”
Against Jennings, the Jacks know a challenge awaits. After an 1-3 start to the season, Jennings has won eight-straight games, including a 38-13 second-round win against Westlake.
Minton said he knows it’ll take a total team effort. He’s happy to be home in such an evenly matched game.
“I always say this is the hardest week of the prep football season,” Minton said. “The kids are out of school and out of their routine. But to be at home is a plus. That’s something that always gets us excited because our kids enjoy playing on our field.”
ELSEWHERE IN THE TRI-PARISH AREA
No one else in the area had quite as good a time on Friday night as Patterson.
In the Division IV playoffs, both Central Catholic and Covenant Christian fell in the second round of the playoffs with the Eagles falling 34-0 to No. 1 Vermilion Catholic and CCA losing 34-13 at St. Mary.
For Central Catholic, the loss marked a failed attempted at a rematch.
The Eagles tangled with the top team in Division IV in the regular season and pushed them to the limit in a hard-fought game. But the second time around, Vermilion’s defense smothered Central Catholic and kept them out of the end zone for the game. The loss ends Central Catholic’s season with a 5-7 record.
Like the Eagles, CCA just couldn’t muster offense in its second round playoff game.
The Lions scored a touchdown on the opening play from scrimmage out of its run-based offense. But after that opening score, CCA’s potent tailbacks were kept in check for most of the game, while it’s defense struggled to contain St. Mary’s run-heavy veer attack.
With the loss, CCA’s season ends with a 7-5 record.
But the year was still a special one for the Houma-based private school.
The 2013 year marked the first-ever season that the Lions were eligible for district championships and postseason play.
On the year, CCA finished as district runners-up and were ranked as one of the top programs in the state for Division IV throughout the duration of the season.
Patterson quarterback Spencer Landry fires a pass during the Jacks’ blowout win against Vandebilt Catholic earlier this season. Touchdowns came easy for Patterson when he was in the lineup. But now out with a broken collarbone, the Jacks are hoping to get continued stout play from their defense – a unit that played great in Friday’s win against Loranger.
