Blue Jays fall in heartbreaker
By Tom Dodge
Pointe Coupee Central defenders stopped St. Edmund quarterback Drew Brown inches short of the goal line as time expired in a controversial finish to a 50-46 Cougar win.
Pointe Coupee Central (6-2, 3-0 in District 5-1A) grabbed the lead with a seven-play 68 yard drive, capped off with 15-yard scoring pass from Altonon Johnson to Stephen Guidry. The two-point conversion failed but the Cougars led, 50-46 with 2:28 left in the game.
Brown returned the ensuing kickoff from the Blue Jay 1 to near midfield.
St. Edmund (5-3, 2-1 in District 5-1A) moved down the field with runs by Ross LaFleur and Zach LaFleur.
On fourth-and-nine at the PCC 13, Brown ran to the Cougar 4.
With eight seconds left on the clock, Brown scrambled around right end and dove for the goal line.
The Cougars hit him just short of the pylon as the clock ran out.
“We thought either he scored or he was pushed out of bounds,” St. Edmund head coach Thomas David said after the game. “If he was pushed out, then there should have been at least a second left on the clock with the ball at the goal line.
“But when they ruled he didn’t score, the referees just left the field and considered the game over as the horn had sounded.”
The offensive explosion began on the opening drive as the Cougars wen 58 yards in just two plays.
Johnson connected with Delfontay Powell for 41-yard pass. The two-point conversion failed as the Cougars led, 6-0 with 11:12 left in the first period.
The Blue Jays responded with a nine-play, 62 yard drive to tie the game.
Brown connected with Alex Hunt for a couple of key plays in the drive, capped by a 2-yard run by Zach LaFleur.
The extra point kick failed as the game was tied 6-6 with 9:43 remaining in the first quarter.
PCC answered with a 6-play, 64 yard drive to retake the lead when Johnson found Powell open for a 36-yard score.
The two-point conversion pass failed, but the Cougars led, 12-6 with 7:42 left in the opening period.
The Blue Jay offense was stopped on fourth down at the PCC 36, but three plays later Hank Miller recovered a fumbled snap at the Cougar 47.
It took eight plays to move the ball down the field finished with a 1-yard run by Brown.
The two-point conversion pass failed, but the Jays tied the game 12-12 with 3:07 left in the first period.
Zach LaFleur picked off a pass at the Blue Jay 18 to stop the next Cougar drive.
The 14-play drive shifted into the second period as Brown connected several times with Chase Dupre and Hunt to keep the ball moving.
On fourth-and-goal, Brown scored from a yard out. The two-point conversion failed, but the Jays held a 18-12 advantage with 10:20 left before halftime.
Pointe Coupee Central took just four plays to move 60 yards. aided by a fourth-down pass interference call against the Blue Jays.
Johnson scampered for 39 yards for the score. The two-point conversion pass failed as the Cougars forced a 18-18 tie with 8:29 left in the half.
The Blue Jay offense responded again with a seven-play. 60-yard drive, finished with a 6-yard touchdown run by Brown.
Brown also ran in the two-point conversion to push St. Edmund ahead, 26-18 with 6:42 remaining before intermission.
After a false start pushed the Cougars back five yards, Johnson found Stephen Guidry open for a 72-yard scoring pass on a one-play drive.
Johnson ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game, 26-26 with 6:14 remaining in the half.
The offensive explosion continued when Brown connected with Stone LeJeuene for a 51-yard pass play and Gibson LaFleur scored on a 1-yard plunge.
LaFleur also caught the two-point conversion pass from Brown to give the Jays a 32-26 lead with 5:35 left in the second period.
The Cougars had another quick four-play drive all through the air and aided by a personal foul call against the Jays.
Johnson hit a diving Powell for a 29-yard touchdown in the end zone.
The two-point conversion failed as the Jays held on to a 34-32 lead with 4:00 left before the break.
The Blue Jays moved 74 yards in 12 plays late in the half, with a strong running game and a personal foul against PCC.
Drew Brown hit Cullen Brown for a 8-yard touchdown to push the Jays further ahead, 40-32 with 34 seconds left in the half.
But the Cougars were not finished either as PCC moved the ball 45 yards and Johnson found RaeQuan Powell open in the end zone for a 34-yard score.
The two-point conversion run was stopped short and the Blue Jays held onto a 40-38 lead with 10 seconds left.
While the offenses were thrilling in the first half, the defenses controlled most of the second half.
The Blue Jays were stopped on an incomplete fourth-down pass to begin the third period.
The Cougars moved 64-yard in seven plays, aided by elusive runs from Johnson and Bryce Jones to keep the drive alive.
Johnson hit Delfontay Powell for a 23-yard touchdown but an excessive celebration call moved the extra point attempt back 15 yards.
The two-point conversion pass failed, but the Cougars led, 44-40 with 6:15 left in the third quarter.
St. Edmund drove down the field on their next possession with runs, passes and a personal foul flag against the Cougars.
But on fourth-and-goal at the PCC 6, Kensley Cotton picked off Brown in the end zone to end the threat.
After forcing a 13-yard PCC punt, the Blue Jays moved 63 yards in seven plays to retake the lead.
After several key catches, the drive was kept alive when the Cougars jumped offside on a fourth-and three at the PCC 9.
An unpsortsmanlike penalty against the Cougars moved the ball to the PCC 2 and Brown then ran the ball in for the score.
The two-point conversion pass failed, but the Jays led, 46-44 with 6:25 left in the game.
Brown completed 17-of-30 passes for 235 yards in the loss.
He also gained 110 yards on 30 carries.
LeJeune finished with 103 yards on three catches for the Blue Jays.
Powell, who had thrown for 1,878 yards and 25 touchdowns on the season, completed 21-of-26 passes for 391 yards against the Jays.
Powell added 99 yards on 18 carries to his season total of 682 yards and 12 scores.
“The kids played hard.” David said. “But we gave up plays against an athletic team that cost us.”
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