– Three 2-point conversions swung a see-saw game in the favor of the Avoyelles High Mustangs Friday night as St. Martinville Senior High rallied after losing quarterback Christian Gedward to an injury, only to come up on the short end of a 30-20 score on homecoming night for the Tigers.
The teams traded touchdowns in the opening two quarters but Avoyelles led 1614 at halftime on the strength of two 2-point conversions.
The Mustangs tacked on another TD and 2-point attempt in the third quarter to build their lead to 24-14 and then seemed to put the game out of reach with another touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
But the Tigers (2-5 overall) rallied late, with receiver Jamion James switching to the Wildcat quarterback position after Gedward tweaked an injury that he had suffered a couple of weeks earlier.
After a touchdown pulled the Tigers to within 10 points, St. Martinville successfully recovered an onside kick with just under two minutes left in the game, but could not score again.
“You never like the moral victories in this sport,” SMSH coach James Dartez said, noting the Tigers finished the game with their third-string quarterback running the show. “They fought tirelessly. They kept going. We got the score at the end, we got the onside kick, so again, guys are engaged, guys are still fighting, the guys are still trying, so as a coach you hang your hat on that. We’re building the thing right, we’re going through the process. We’re just coming up short. It still sucks, no matter how you cut it.”
The game was feast or famine for both teams for much of the night as neither could establish consistent offensive attacks but scored on big plays.
A 31-yard scramble by Gedward in the first quarter set up an 18yard TD throw to James to open the scoring with 4:05 left in the opening quarter. The point-after kick by Logan Bienvenu made it 7-0.
The Mustangs (4-3) answered with a 59yard touchdown pass from Terraj Valant to Kelvin Jones with 1:15 to go in the quarter, then took the lead on a 2-point conversion run by Xavier Scott.
An interception by Caleb Wiltz set up the Tigers’ next scoring drive. After penalties against each team, Gedward hooked up with Myles Martin for a 52yard touchdown pass. The PAT by Bienvenu with 9:55 left in the half made it a 14-7 St. Martinville lead. Two players were ejected, one from each team, after a fight following a couple of rough tackles by the Mustangs on the SMSH scoring drive.
Avoyelles used an interception by Valant to set up its next scoring drive. The Tigers had taken possession after stopping the Avoyelles punter for a loss on a bad snap at the AHS 32-yard line. On first down, Gedward threw to the end zone for Martin, who apparently came down with the ball only to see Valant rip it away while the two fought for possession on the ground, and the referees gave Avoyelles possession of the ball.
The Mustangs drove the ball 80 yards in 17 plays with Xavion Keller scoring on a nine-yard run. The 2-point conversion by Waters made it a 16-14 lead with 2:22 left in the half.
After St. Martinville turned the ball over on downs at the Avoyelles 31, the Mustangs needed only three plays to extend their lead. Keller raced 66 yards on a third-down carry and Waters added his third 2-point conversion for a 24-14 lead.
The Mustangs added another touchdown on a nine-yard Valant run following a St. Martinville fumble late in the fourth quarter. Landon Guye intercepted the 2-point conversion pass and raced upfield but the play was blown dead as a conversion cannot be returned for points in high school.
The Tigers got those points back immediately when James threw deep for Martin, who raced 62 yards for the touchdown. The 2-point try failed, leaving the score at 30-20 with 2:03 remaining.
Bienvenu then bounced an onside kick high that the Mustangs could not recover and James recovered, advancing to the 32-yard line. St. Martinville could not score again, however.
Gedward completed 12 of 21 pass attempts for 156 yards and two touchdowns. James went 2-for-6 for 72 yards and a TD.
Martin had three catches for 142 yards and two touchdowns and James had five catches for 31 yards. Landon Guye finished with 41 yards on three catches.
“We were just out of sync on both sides of the ball,” Dartez said. “We would have two good plays and then we would get a big bust on third down. We’d move the ball and then get a holding penalty and things would get derailed.”
The Tigers had three turnovers and were penalized nine times for 75 yards. Avoyelles was flagged 18 times for 177 yards.
“Anytime you play a well-coached football team you’re going to get the best game from them because they are not going to beat themselves,” Dartez said. “But when you add mistakes on top of that it puts you in a situation where you’re behind the eight ball all night long. We had a lot of times where we were behind the chains on second and 18 or third and 19 after having a loss, a sack or a holding penalty. We were in an uphill battle. But the guys fought back. Moral victories, you don’t like those, but the future looks bright.”
PICKOFF PLAY — St. Martinville Senior High’s Caleb Wiltz (11) returns an interception against Avoyelles on Friday as teammates Terrian Simon (17) and Andon Smith (10) escort him upfield. (Robby Bishop)
VERSATILE PLAYER — St. Martinville receiver Jamion James (2) turns the corner against Avoyelles on Friday. James caught a team-high five passes and was later moved to the Wildcat quarterback position when starter Christian Gedward was injured late in the game. (Robby Bishop)
STRIP SACK — St. Martinville Senior High linebacker Torrian Jones (13) brings down Avoyelles quarterback Terraj Valant (8) and causes a fumble on Friday. The Tigers lost 30-20. (Robby Bishop)
SM Tigers
Keller led Avoyelles with 110 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries and Scott had 92 yards on 14 runs.
St. Martinville opens District 5-3A play this week at Kaplan (5-2).
“We can’t beat ourselves,” Dartez said. “That was one of the first things I told them the first day I came here is the number one thing about winners is they don’t beat themselves. I feel that if we can clean up some of our mistakes, the bonehead penalties, just the lapses that you get with young guys, I feel that we can be a better football team.”
Kaplan runs the flexbone they’ve run for years. Dartez said the Tigers must match Kaplan’s execution if they want to beat the Pirates.
