Blue Jays fall to Hornets

By Tom Dodge
Sports Editor
NEW ROADS – The Blue Jays kept it close until the Hornets scored late as Catholic High of Pointe Coupee sealed a 44-30 win over St. Edmund Thursday night at Community Park.
After the Jays closed the Hornets lead to 36-30, Catholic was attempting to run out the clock with five straight running plays.
The St. Edmund defense forced and recovered an apparent fumble, but the officials ruled the runner’s knee was down.
Two personal foul penalties then allowed the Hornets to move inside the Blue Jay 10.
After a false start penalty, Patin scored on a 12-yard run and then added the two-point conversion as the Hornets forged ahead by 14 points with 1:07 left in the final period.
An interception then sealed the win as Catholic improved to 4-3 overall and 2-0 in District 5-1A.
St. Edmund fell to 3-5 overall and 1-1 in district.
“They were trying to grind it out and we helped them with 30 yards of penalities,” St. Edmund head coach Thomas David said. “We gave them yards they didn’t earn and then we allowed them to score and put it away.
“We didn’t do enough to win the game,” he said. “We had a chance when we were just six points down.”
An interception on the opening play from scrimmage aided the Hornets as they went 41 yards in four plays to grab the game’s first points.
Nathan Carriere scored on a 3-yard run to push CHPC ahead 6-0 with 9:45 left in the first period.
A roughing the kicker penalty kept the Hornets’ second drive alive before Carriere faked the next punt and raced to the Blue Jay 19.
Carriere then connected with Troy Pichon for a 19- yard touchdown and Lucas Patin added the two-point conversion as the Hornets grabbed a 14-0 advantage with 3:56 left in the period.
The Blue Jays responded on their third possession as Drake Brunet connected with William Chachere, Cullen Brown and Gibson LaFleur to move the ball down the field.
LaFleur capped the nine-play, 65 yard drive with a 1-yard plunge.
Brunet found Brown open in the end zone for the two-point conversion as the Blue Jays closed the gap to 14-8 with 22 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Catholic added to its lead in the second period when Lucas Patin raced 48 yards on fourth down to score.
Brown intercepted Carriere’s two-point conversion pass attempt, but the Hornets led 20-8 with 9:29 left before intermission.
St. Edmund answered with a seven play 53 yard drive, aided by two key receptions by LaFleur to move the ball to the Hornet 3.
On fourth-and-goal, LaFleur scored on a three yard run.
Brunet and Brown teamed up again on the two-point conversion as the Jays pulled closer, 20-16 with 7:08 remaining in the second quarter.
The Blue Jay defense stood tall when Brown recovered Aucoin’s fumble at the CHPC 32.
Runs by Brunet and LaFleur moved the ball near the goal line.
Brunet connected with Cole Bergeron for a 2-yard touchdown.
The two-point conversion attempt failed, but the Jays grabbed a 22-20 lead with 4:49 left in the half.
It took three plays for the Hornets to retake the lead, capped by a 53-yard touchdown run by Patin.
Patin added the two-point conversion as Catholic led 28-22 with 3:34 left in the half.
After both teams exchanged punts, the Blue Jays almost scored on the last play of the half when Brunet connected wirth Brown for a 43-yard pass but Brown was stopped a yard short of the end zone.
The Hornets went 57 yards in 10 plays to open the third period and CHPC scored when Carriere found Troy Pichon open for a 35-yard touchdown reception.
Patin added the two-point conversion as the Hornets moved ahead 36-22 with 6:54 left in the third period.
The Blue Jays answered with an impressive drive before being stopped on fourth down at the Hornet 15,
St. Edmund had another scoring attempt stopped on fourth down at the Hornet 18 early in the fourth quarter.
“When you have oppportunities in the red zone, you have to convert,” David said. “We were struggling to stop them on defense and we really needed to score when we had the chance.”
The Blue Jay defense responded and stopped the Hornets on fourth down deep in CHPC territory.
A pass interference penalty combined with a person al foul flag moved the Jays to the Hornet 11.
After a holding call pushed then back, a 13-yard catch by Bergeron and a 11-yarder from Noah Clause moved the ball to the Hornet 1,
Brunet scored on the next play and LaFleur’s two-point conversion catch closed the gap to 36-30 with 6:07 left in the game.
Brunet completed 17-of-28 passes for 235 yards with two interceptions, while LaFleur had nine receptions for 143 yards,
Patin had 214 yards on 32 carries for the Hornets.
“We finish with Westminster, North Central and Basile,” David said. “If we win out, then we have a shot to get back in the thick of the district.
“But we have to worry about Westminster first before anything else.”
Basile (6-1, 2-0) beat WCA 33-13 Thursday night to drop the Crusaders to 4-3 overall and 0-2 in district.