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Tigers rush for 284 yards, hold on to improve to 2-1
– The St. Martinville Senior High offense shifted into high gear in Friday’s 2026 home opener, treating fans who showed up for the dedication of the stadium in honor of former coach Carroll Delahoussaye to a 48-43 win over New Iberia Senior High. (See related story, Page 1.)
St. Martinville improved to 2-1 with the win while New Iberia fell to 1-2.
Running back Trae Williams Jr. and quarterback Christian Gedward each rushed for 142 yards with Williams scoring three touchdowns and Gedward adding two TDs on the ground plus a passing touchdown.
That helped SMSH overcome a 242-yard, six-touchdown performance from tailback Isaac Ledet, who gashed the defense regularly with five runs of 20 or more yards and four additional runs of 10 or more yards.
Ledet got the Yellow Jackets (1-2) off to a quick start with a 49-yard scoring run on New Iberia’s fourth play from scrimmage.
St. Martinville finally answered on its second possession, with Williams scoring on a fiveyard TD run with 10 minutes left in the first half to cap an 11-play, 65-yard drive.
SMSH went up 13-6 on its next drive with Williams scoring from 20 yards out at the 4:59 mark.
Williams said the offensive success came from the energy the Tigers displayed, something he’s encouraged.
“I told my guys to come out with energy,” he said. “Every game the players go in with energy. Momentum means a lot.”
That set off a flurry of scores with NISH getting another Ledet touchdown covering 24 yards before Gedward threw a 15-yard scoring pass to Ashton Ruffin for a 19-13 St. Martinville lead.
The Tigers then forced a punt that Jamion James returned to the NISH 15. Gedward carried two straight times, getting into the end zone on a sevenyard carry for a 26-13 lead.
Much of Gedward’s success came on runs around the left end of the formation.
“They were playing the inside, so the outside was wide open,” Gedward said.
“We saw on film that they would take their defensive ends on the wide side of the field and kind of slant them inside,” head coach James Dartez explained. “So we figured that if we got our offensive tackle to seal that we would have a whole lot of running room on the wide side of the field, and the film proved us right.”
Gedward said he tried to keep his teammates’ focus on the game after St. Martinville fell behind early.
“I just had to preach, get their heads in the game and keep motivating them,” the junior QB said. “That’s all.”
NISH answered with a 24-yard field goal by Ethan Landry to pull to within 26-16 at halftime.
The teams each scored twice in the third quarter.
Gedward pushed St. Martinville’s lead to 34-16 with an 11-yard touchdown run after a flurry of turnovers on the first three possessions. SMSH fumbled the ball away at the goal line, with the Jackets returning the ball to the 30. NISH then coughed it up at the 42, before a St. Martinville punt and then a New Iberia fumble on the first play after the kick set up the one-play scoring drive for the Tigers.
Ledet scored on the next two New Iberia possessions, getting in from one yard away and 21 yards out, to pull the Yellow Jackets to within 34-29 with under a minute and a half left in the third quarter.
A recovered onside kick set up a short field for St. Martinville, and the Tigers capitalized
