Big games on tap for parish teams

St. Martin Parish football fans have a tasty menu of games facing them for Week 5 of the prep season.
The No.l-ranked and defending Class 3A state champion Parkview Baptist Eagles of Baton Rouge (3-0) are coming to Cecilia Thursday to face a challenge from No. 6 Cecilia (2-1) while Breaux Bridge and St. Martinville renew an old rivalry in The ’Ville on Friday night.
The Bulldogs bounced back from Week 3’s embarrassing 12-0 shutout loss to Breaux Bridge with a convincing 40-13 win over the previously unbeaten Crowley Gents while Breaux Bridge got its slumbering offense cranked up in rolling past Beau Chene, 34-7.
Things didn’t go nearly as well for St. Martinville, however, as The ’Ville opened its District 5-4A campaign with a lopsided 41-7 loss to the Northside Vikings.

Cecilia
The Bulldogs rebounded with a vengeance in their pounding of Crowley, paced by the strong running of Marcus Wiltz (10-99, 2 TDs) and Justin Zenon (6-96, TD) and unprecedented perfection in the passing game. Senior quarterbacks Kale Savoie and Tyler Champagne connected on every pass they threw, combining for 111 yards and three touchdowns while going 10-for-10 without an interception.
And the Bulldog defense limited the Gents to a net 86 yards for the night.
“How do you explain (the big win) after what happened to us in Breaux Bridge?” wondered coach Terry Landry Monday. “Not to take anything away from Breaux Bridge, but our kids really wanted to prove that they’re better than the showing they made in that game. And things worked out well.”
The ’Dogs face a really stiff test in Thursday’s game against the Eagles, who boast a juggernaut rushing attack that rolled up more than 700 yards over the past two weeks. Their 3-0 records includes wins over St. Michael (35-13), Mamou (63-19) and Springfield (48-0).
“They’re probably one of the best option teams in the entire state,” says Martin. “They’ve got three variations, and if you stop one they just move on to the others. They’re very, very good at it. We’ll really have to stress the fundamentals on defense to keep them from breaking the big plays.”
“Defensively,” he added, “They put a lot of pressure from the outside. We’re gonna have to simplify our protection schemes. And their special teams are very disciplined.”
Although Martin says his players are “kinda beat up all over,” the only regular who might be restricted to limited duty is senior linebacker/wide receiver Carson Hamilton, who is nursing a bruised leg.

Breaux Bridge
The Bridge’s defense continued its outstanding play, limiting Beau Chene to 134 net yards and one touchdown last week. But it was the continuing improvement on the offensive side of the ball that brought satisfaction to coach Mike Mowad.
“I think our offensive line is starting to understand what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said Monday. “Their blocking has really improved and our backs are hitting the holes much better and running with a little more authority. They’re getting more confident with each carry.”
Junior Latrelyn Pete led the way with 112 yards and a touchdown on a workhorse 14 carries while quarterback Hunter Landry completed 4-of-9 tosses for 54 yards and a pair of TDs.
Mowad continues to be pleased with the aggressive play of his defensive unit. And after building a 34-0 lead by the end of the third period, coaches were able to bring in a lot of reserves and let them get some experience on defense.
The Tigers expect to work junior QB/SS Logan Sonnier back into the lineup as he recuperates from an injury, but junior running back/linebacker Chris Reed is still on the injured list with a bad knee.
Breaux Bridge beat St. Martinville 27-7 last year and goes into Friday’s game with a 2-1 record to SM’s 1-2.
Dismissing St. Martinville’s poor defensive showing against Northside, Mowad stresses that The ’Ville fields some big linemen up front. “And they’re more balanced on offense with their wing-T attack, something that we always have trouble with. We don’t see that misdirection much, and if we’re not ready we could be in for a nasty surprise.”

St. Martinville
Coach Marc Broussard was scratching his head Monday over his team’s slow start in its last two losses.
“Westgate and Northside each scored 14 quick points before we even got started and it’s hard to overcome that,” he said. “We’re giving up field position, and we just blew the coverage on that halfback pass (that gave Northside a 51-yard touchdown on its fourth snap of the first period).”
The Tigers also gave up three crucial turnovers, partially caused by poor protection when QB Jules Tripeaux dropped back to pass.
“We never could get our backs loose,” he added. “We’ve got to do a better job up front in both our regular blocking and our pass protection.”
Senior running back Brandon Jacob continues to recuperate from his emergency surgery and his return is still very questionable. Senior offensive lineman Rajiv Delahoussaye suffered a fractured finger and missed the Northside game and will likely be out for at least another week.
Looking ahead, Broussard describes the Breaux Bridge defense as “just unbelievable. They’re huge and fast. Breaux Bridge has always had good defensive units, and this is one of their best in years.”
Offensively, the Tiger coach sees continued improvement in the BB team. “They’re big up front and their running backs are stepping up. (Quarterback) Hunter Landry is looking better every week and they’ve got two very good receivers. It’s going to be a tough challenge for us.”