Devils cruise past Blue Jays

PORT BARRE – Port Barre’s Colby Gabel picked off a pass on the first play from scrimmage.
A 20-yard run by J.J. Sylvester combined with a face mask penalty moved the Red Devils to the Blue Jay 3.
Then Sylvester dove into the endzone to give the Red Devils a 6-0 lead with 10:51 left in the first quarter.
That series was microcosm of the game as Port Barre rolled to a 39-18 win over St. Edmund at Red Devil Stadium Friday night.
“We didn’t execute from the beginning of the ball game,” St. Edmund head coach Thomas David said. “We played sloppy on both sides of the ball but on offense we set them up on the short end of the field consistently with our mistakes.
“We didn’t execute and we put ourselves in a bind,” David said. “We need to be ready to play better against Beau Chene.”
After a punt on the Blue Jays’ second series, the Red Devils went four plays in 53 yards for their second score of the night.
Terrance Lemelle had two strong runs before Red Devil quarterback Austin Lanclos connected with Alex Olivier for a 38-yard scoring strike.
Lemelle ran in the two-point conversion to push Port Barre ahead, 14-0 with 6:45 left in the first period.
The Blue Jays responded with a eight-play, 75 yard drive. aided by catches by Gibson LaFleur and William Chachere to move deep into Red Devil territory.
Drake Brunet connected with Cole Bergeron for a 5-yard touchdown.
The two-point conversion failed, but the Blue Jays closed the gap to 14-6 with 4:49 left in the opening period.
After the Red Devils were forced to punt, it seemed the Blue Jays were about to make the game closer when Brunet connected with LaFleur for an apparent 66-yard touchdown.
But a holding penalty erased the points and Blue Jays were later forced to punt.
The Red Devils mounted a nine-play, 44-yard drive to moved into the second period.
Port Barre converted a fourth down with a Sylvester run and three plays later, Lemelle broke loose to move to the Blue Jay 8.
Two plays later, Sylvester scored from four yards out.
The extra point was blocked but the Red Devils led 20-6 with 8:43 remaining in the first half.
The Blue Jays failed to comvert on fourth down at the Port Barre 35 midway through the second period.
A personal foul on the Blue Jays combined with a 27-yard run by Lemelle and a 14-yard jaunt by Sylvester moved the Red Devils to the St. Edmund 6.
Two plays later, Lemelle scored from two-yards out as Port Barre pushed ahead, 26-6 with 3:25 left in the second quarter.
It took the Red Devils just four plays to move 46 yards and score in the opening two minutes of the second half.
Lemelle capped the drive with a 27-yard touchdown run. The two-point conversion run failed, but Port Barre led 32-6 with 9:55 left in the third period.
The Blue Jays would not go away quietly as after Port Barre’s Matt Leger snared an interception, St. Edmund’s LaFleur stripped the ball on the next play and rumbled 54 yards to the end zone.
The two-point conversion pass failed, but the Blue Jays closed the gap to 32-12 with 9:14 left in the third period.
Port Barre responded with a six-play, 60-yard drive as the Red Devils looked to seal the win.
A strong run by Tevun Tyker alng with a personal foul combined with an unsportsmanlike penalty helped the Red Devils move to the Blue Jay 14.
Three plays later, Lanclos found Spencer Broce open for a 14-yard touchdown.
Layne Stelly’s PAT increased the Red Devils’ lead to 39-12 with 6:04 left in the third period.
After another Blue Jay interception, it appeared Port Barre put the game away when Lanclos connected with Olivier for an apparent score.
But an illegal player down field penalty erased the points and the Red Devils took a 39-12 lead into the final period.
St. Edmund was forced to punt, but then stopped the Red Devils on fourth down near midfield with 5:00 left in the game.
The Blue Jays moved quickly down the field with key catches by LaFleur and Cole Bergeron.
On fourth-and-11 at the Port Barre 19, Brunet raced to the goal line to close the margin to 39-18 with 2:35 left in the game.
Brunet completed 19-of-33 passes for 204 yards with three interceptions and a touchdown.
LaFleur had 10 catches for 127 yards to lead the Blue Jays.
Sylvester finished with 113 yards on 25 carries with two touchdowns for Port Barre (3-1).
St. Edmund (1-3) entertains Beau Chene this week, while Port Barre hosts undefeated Basile (4-0).