Tom Dodge
Catholic High of Pointe Coupee battled to a 35-21 win over St. Edmund as the Hornets claimed the 2020 District 5-1A title.
St. Edmund (5-2 overall. 2-1 in district) entered the regular season finale as the No. 7-ranked team in the Division IV power rankings.
Catholic-PC (6-2, 4-0) was No. 10 in the power rankings before Friday’s win over the Blue Jays.
St. Edmund was stopped on fourth down on their first possession at the CHPC 25 yard line.
On the fourth play of Catholic’s first drive, Hornet running back Matthew Langlois broke loose for a long run and almost scored when the ball was stripped and William Bundick recovered the loose ball at the Blue Jay 3.
St. Edmund was forced to punt and two plays later, Langlois went through the middle of the defense, 72 yards for a touchdown.
Cameron Decoteau’s PAT gave the Hornets a 7-0 lead as the game moved to the second period.
St. Edmund responded with its best drive of the half as the Blue Jays moved 67 yards in 12 plays, capped by a seven-yard scoring pass from Henry Brown to Easten Coleman.
The PAT failed, but the Jays closed the gap to 7-6 with 6:10 left in the second period..
Catholic-PC answered with a 56-yard drive that took eight plays as Andrew Jewell scored on an 18-yard run.
Decoteau’s kick increased the Hornets’ lead to 14-6 with 1:46 remaining before intermission.
Catholic-PC took the second half kickoff and moved 53 yards in seven plays, ending with a 34-yard touchdown run by Langlois.
Decoteau’s PAT pushed the Hornets ahead, 21-6 with 8:06 remaining in the third frame.
St. Edmund continued to battle as the Jays answered with a seven-play, 60 yard drive, capped with a 41-yard scoring pass from Brown to Luke Trahan.
Clay Miller found Coleman open for the two-point conversion as the Blue Jays closed the gap to 21-14 with 4:31 left in the period.
The Hornets offense responded with a 63-yard drive that took eight plays, finished with a five-yard run by Hunter Beard.
Decoteau’s PAT pushed CHPC ahead, 28-14 with 1:10 remaining in the period.
The Blue Jays threatened as SEH moved from their own 22 before being stopped on fourth down at the Catholic-PC 16 with 9:03 left in the game.
The Hornets then sealed the win with an 84-yard drive, capped with a one-yard touchdown run by Aiden Vosburg.
Decoteau’s kick increased CHPC’s advantage to 35-14 with 3:52 remaining in the contest.
Taylor Daire then raced 100 yards with the ensuing kickoff to score, breaking Robert Lafleur’s record 91-yard return in 1967.
Justin Landry’s PAT was good as the Jays closed the margi to 35-21 with 3:36 left in the game.
The Hornets recovered the kickoff and then ran out the clock for the win.
CHPC finished with 439 yards of total offense, including 392 yard rushing on 46 carries.
Beard led the Hornets with 168 yards on 20 carries, while Langlois added 159 yards on 12 carries.
St. Edmund was limited to 112 yards rushing an finished with 277 yards of total offense.
Henry Brown completed 8-of-12 passes for 165 yards.
Brown added 60 yard rushing on 21 carries.
Trahan added two catches for 55 yards, while Coleman had three catches for 48 yards.
Daire had one catch for 47 yards.
Catholic High of Pointe Coupee now leads the series 12-6 with a five-game win streak.
St. Edmund’s last victory over the Hornets was in 2014 as the Blue Jays clinched a district title with a 30-14 win.