Cecilia jumps out to quick lead against penalty-prone Tigers
Cecilia – The Cecilia High Bulldogs scored early and often in racing to a 57-3 win over a penalty-prone Opelousas High on homecoming night Friday, getting out to a 35-0 lead in the first quarter and limiting the visiting Tigers to under 175 total yards.
Cecilia improved to 4-4 overall and remained perfect in District 5-4A with a 3-0 record. The Bulldogs seem to have solved the slow starts to games they fought early in the season, averaging 40.3 points in the first half of their three district games to date.
“That’s what we’ve got to do,” Cecilia head coach Cody Champagne said. “We’ve got to get off to a quick start and kind of overwhelm people, and that’s what we did tonight.”
Opelousas lost twothirds as much yardage in penalties as it gained offensively, getting flagged 12 times for 115 yards, including eight major penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct or personal fouls. Those numbers would have been even higher but for an offsetting penalty situation where both the Tigers and Bulldogs were flagged for a penalty on the same play, and for two unsportsmanlike penalties from inside the 5-yard line that resulted in three total yards in penalties because they were enforced for half the distance to the goal instead of the full 15 yards.
It was also a night that saw the Bulldogs passing game at a peak, with Collin Dore and Braylon Calais combining to complete 19 of 23 pass attempts (83 percent) for 213 yards and three touchdowns. Dore went 16-for-19 (84 percent) for 199 yards and two TDs and Calais completed three of four (75 percent) for 14 yards and a touchdown.
“We knew we were going to have to throw the ball a little bit,” Champagne said. “We did less rolling out than we usually do. We made Calais and Dore stay in the pocket a little bit more.
“We’ve got some guys who need to make plays in the fire and we got those guys the ball tonight.”
Calais and Jayden Lewis led the Bulldogs with five receptions apiece, with Calais totalling 75 yards and Lewis getting 71 yards and a touchdown. Deondre Briscoe had two touchdowns among his three catches for 19 yards, while Malik Joseph had three catches for 39 yards and a touchdown.
“I would say just the energy and uplifting my teammates, and fighting for my brothers,” Lewis said of his efforts. “Having a lot of confidence to go up there and get it. I just wanted to make some plays for my teammates so they could count on me.”
Calais also led the Bulldogs with 74 yards and two TDs on the ground. Dore also rushed for two touchdowns, finishing with 38 yards on six carries.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an 8-0 lead with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Calais to Briscoe on their third snap of the night. Dore threw to Calais for the 2-point conversion.
After taking over on downs following the Tigers’ first series, the Bulldogs added a fouryard Calais TD run for a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs blocked a punt to set up a oneyard Dore run for a 21-0 lead following the PAT by Sean Richard with nearly six minutes remaining in the first quarter.
An Opelousas punt set up another scoring drive with Dore connecting with Joseph for 12 yards to lead 28-0, and after recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff the Bulldogs went into the end zone two plays later with Dore hitting Lewis for 23 yards and the TD for the 35-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Bulldogs added two more touchdowns in the second quarter, going 7-for-7 on its first half possessions to lead 47-0 at halftime and start a running clock for the second half. Dore scored on a 15-yard keeper and Calais on a two-yard run for the final two scores of the first half.
The defense held Opelousas to 171 total yards including 23 yards passing on a fiveof- 17 effort by quarterback Collin Rideau. Damarcus Babineaux picked off a pass for the Bulldogs, and Brennan Gregory also recovered a fumble for Cecilia, which got a punt block in the first quarter to set up a touchdown.
“Defense is playing at a different level,” Champagne said. “We’re still down some kids on both sides of the ball. We still don’t have our kicker (Jace Knott) back. With all those injuries we’re still playing at a high level, and defense did it again and stepped up and played lights out.”
Opelousas scored on its first possession of the second half when Rideau connected with Deron Griffin on an 11yard throw.
The Bulldogs answered with a two-yard pass from Dore to Briscoe on the first play of the fourth quarter to wrap up the scoring.
Cecilia travels to Livonia on Friday to close out its regular-season and district schedule. The Bulldogs have an open date for the final week of the season.
“We’ve got to play to a standard, like Coach said,” Lewis said. “We’ve got to keep on going and hopefully we can make it all the way.”
“Just being consistent is the biggest thing with this group,” Champagne said. “You’ve got to practice to the standard, and the game should be fun.”
