Cougars halt Blue Jays’ run

RUSTON – It wasn’t the way the Blue Jays wanted their season to end - in a cold, muddy mess at Cedar Creek.
Cougar quarterback Mark Van scored three times and helped Cedar Creek (9-3) roll up 355 yards of total offense in a 28-7 Division IV quarterfinal win over St. Edmund (8-4).
It was the second trip to the quarterfinals in four years and St. Edmund head coach Thomas David was proud of the effort.
“For us to be here at this point is a tribute to those guys and they way they player hard,” the coach said.
After both offenses were stopped on fourth-downs early in the contest, the Cougars grabbed a 6-0 lead when Donald Jenkins scored on a 20-yard run with 49 seconds left in the first period.
After the Blue Jay offense was stopped again on fourth down, the defense forced a fumble and Hank Miller recovered the ball at the 11.
Zach LaFleur ran the ball twice and then Drew Brown connected with Stone LeJeune for a 7-yard score.
Kyle Verdugo’s kick gave St. Edmund a 7-6 lead with 9:27 left in the second period, but that was the only Blue Jay points of the game.
The Cougars responded with a 7-play, 53 yard drive to retake the lead when on fourth down Van scrambled the final three yards.
Van then connected with Shilo Perry for the two-point conversion and a 14-7 lead with 5:51 left before intermission.
The Blue Jays failed to convert on fourth down at the Cougar 26 and later punted on their next possession to end the half.
In a scoreless third period, the Blue Jays threatened again but a fumble at the Cougar 9-yard line stopped another drive.
“We felt pretty good about where we were at halftime,” David said. ““We moved the ball well; but when we got in the red zone we just kind of stalled,” said David. “We just couldn’t get it into the end zone.”
After the missed opportunity deep in Cougar territory, the Blue Jays hung tough and forced another Cougar punt.
But another Blue Jay drive was stopped with an interception at midfield.
It took just four plays for Cedar Creek to take advantage of the turnover when Van raced 31 yards up the middle for the score.
Van connected with Shilo again for the two-point conversion to push the Cougars ahead, 22-7 with 6:25 left in the game.
The Blue Jays were stopped again on a fourth-down attempt at the Cougar 27.
Three plays later, Van raced 49 yards to score as the Cougars held a 28-7 advantage with 4:28 left in the game.
St. Edmund’s final drive of the season was stopped on fourth down near midfield and the Cougars then ran out the clock.
Brown was limited on the ground with 62 yards rushing on 22 attempts.
Brown completed 20-of-37 passes for 171 yards.