Kaplan – An early picksix snuffed out any advantage St. Martinville Senior High had following a surprise onside kick to open its football game Friday at No. 7 Kaplan, and the Pirates scored 34 first-quarter points on the way to a 57-7 win over the Tigers in the District 5-3A opener for both teams.
St. Martinville (2-6, 0-1) caught the Pirates off guard with the opening onside kick and recovered the ball at the 49-yard line, but on the second play of the game Kaplan’s Kane Hebert stepped in front of a pass and returned the interception 65 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Jayden Hargrave then found Owen Marceaux wide open for the 2-point conversion and an 8-0 Kaplan- lead with 11:48 left in the opening quarter.
“That’s something we worked on,” SMSH coach James Dartez said. “We wanted to go from that. But then the second play of the ballgame we throw a 60-yard pick-six. They’re a well-coached football team. It’s just one of those football plays that you’re thinking could go your way and the football gods have other ideas.”
The Pirates led 41-0 before SMSH finally got on the scoreboard. Kaplan celebrated homecoming at Ed Douglas Memorial Stadium with the big win despite taking three days off during the week for Fall Break.
On the third play of Kaplan’s second possession, Hargrave found receiver JJ Roy open over the middle for a 50-yard touchdown strike to make it 14-0.
Roy struck again on the first play of Kaplan’s third possession, taking the handoff and racing 46 yards for another touchdown. Mathiew Breaux booted the extra point to put the Pirates ahead 21-0 with 8:26 still to play in the first quarter.
De’Maurion Cormier then got into the act, scoring his first touchdown on a 40-yard run, and his second from 32 yards out to give the Pirates a commanding 34-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
“Hats off to those guys,” Dartez said. “They did what they were supposed to do. They had their offense rolling.”
Cormier scored his third touchdown with 6:52 left in the first half to make it 41-0 before St. Martinville finally got on the board. Christian Gedward connected with Landon Guye for a 32-yard touchdown pass to make it 41-7 with 4:18 still to play in the first half.
Gedward completed 13 or 37 pass attempts for 261 yards with the TD and Guye had five receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. The Tigers were held to -64 yards rushing.
“Actually we moved the ball fairly well,” Dartez said. “It was just a step here, a step there.
“Football is a game of inches. We had a drive stall at the 10-yard line. We had a drive stall at the 20-yard line. I was very pleased with the way we moved the ball, we just couldn’t cash in. That’s the story of the season for us. The O-line, when we need those tough yards we just can’t really get them. I think we had negative rush yards on the night.
“But those guys passblocked extremely well on Friday night. It’s just when you get down inside the red zone you can’t squander those opportunities. We just haven’t been able to cash those opportunities.”
After the touchdown, St. Martinville tried the onside kick again, but this time Kaplan was ready. Roy had sneaked up to the front line and recovered the kick down the left sideline, weaving across the field before breaking free down the right sideline for a 60-yard kickoff return touchdown and a 48-7 lead with 4:06 remaining on the clock.
The Pirates completed the first-half scoring with a rare feat. Breaux kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired to make it 51-7 at the break. Backup quarterback Gunner Bell added another score in the fourth quarter to provide the final margin.
Cormier had a gamehigh 138 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns on six carries while Roy had 98 yards rushing and a score on only four carried while also adding the 50-yard touchdown reception. Bell finished with 49 yards rushing and a score on 5 carries while Breaux added 46 yards on two carries. Hargrave finished 2-of-4 through the air for 95 yards and a touchdown. Rashad Boudreaux also had a 45--yard reception.
“Those guys have been in that system a long time,” Dartez said. “When you have been in a system a long time, that continuity lets you have answers when people present you with problems. They have answers. We’re still trying to get good at what we do. We’re still trying to perfect our base. We’re still trying to have answers without any problems.”
St. Martinville returns home for Senior Night on Friday against Erath. Five seniors on the squad will be honored at the game.
“The biggest thing we have to work on this week is finishing,” Dartez said. “We moved the all fairly well. We passed for 260 (yards). Most of the receivers were over 50 yards receiving. We just have to be able to finish those drives. No matter if we have to manufacture a run game, or if we just have to get better at passing inside the red zone, whatever that may be, we need to make sure that are able to finish drives.”
PASSING YARDAGE — St. Martinville receiver Landon Guye (4) pulls away from Kaplan defender Braydon Guillory (21) on Friday. Guye had five catches for 79 yards including a 50-yard TD reception. (Kyle Comeaux)
HEAD ON — St. Martinville’s Torien Hebert (0) looks to stop a Kaplan ballcarrier on Friday during a District 5-3A football game at KHS. (Kyle Comeaux)
SMSH
Game Stats
SMSH Kap 10 ..................... First Downs...................... 14 -64 ...................Yds. Rushing.................. 344 261 .................. Yds. Passing.................... 85 197 .................. Total Offense................... 439 37-13 .......... Passes Att-Comp................ 4-2 2 ....................Had Intercepted.................... 0 3-1 ...................Fumbles/Lost................... 1-1 3-25.0 ............... Punts-Avg...................... 0-0 8-70 .................. Pen.-Yards............... 11-115 SCORE BY QUARTERS
St. Martinville................ 0 7 0 0 – 7 Kaplan........................ 34 17 0 6 – 57 SUMMARY 1st Qtr.
Kap – Kane Hebert 65 interception return. (Owen Marceaux pass from Jayden Hargrave) Kap – Jeremy Roy 50 pass from Hargrave. (Run failed) Kap – Roy 46 run. (Mathiew Breaux kick) Kap – De’Maurion Cormier 40 run. (Breaux kick) Kap – Roy 32 run. (Kick blocked) 2nd Qtr.
Kap – Cormier 19 run. (Breaux kick) SMSH – Landon Guye 32 pass from Christian Gedward. (Logan Bienvenu kick) Kap – Roy 60 kick return. (Breaux kick) Kap – Breaux 34 field goal 4th Qtr.
Kap – Gunner Bell 1 run. (No attempt)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing – SMSH: No individual statistics.
Kap: De’Maurion Cormier 6-138, 3 TD; Jeremy Roy 4-98, TD; Mathiew Breaux 2-45; Gunner Bell 5-49, TD.
Passing – SMSH: Christian Gedward 37-13-2, 261, TD. Kap: Jayden Hargrave 4-2-0, 95, TD.
Receiving – SMSH: Landon Guye 5-79, TD. Kap: Roy 1-50, TD; Rashad Boudreaux 1-45.
.Records: St. Martinville 2-6, 0-1 (District 5-3A); Kaplan 6-2, 1-0 (District 5-3A).
Next: St. Martinville hosts Erath (4-4, 1-0) in District 5-3A game (Friday night). Kaplan hosts Abbeville (2-6, 0-1) in District 5-3A game (Friday night).
