Kittens down Jays

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BATON ROUGE –Southern Lab ended the Blue Jays’ season as the Kittens rolled to a 53-7 win over No. 11 St. Edmund at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
“It wasn’t the way we wanted the season to end,” St. Edmund head coach James Shiver said. “We couldn’t stop them when we needed to - but I am proud of what our kids accomplished this year.
“We had a great group of seniors and they helped build on a foundation so we can be better next year.”
After St. Edmund (6-5) was forced to punt on its opening possession, the Kittens went on a seven-play, 80-yard drive for the game’s first points.
After several strong runs by Latrell Pruitt, Lab quarterback Angelo Izzard connected with Carl Williams to move the Kittens into Blue Jay territory.
DaeLeon Hardy then brook loose for a 40-yard touchdown run as Southern Lab grabbed a 6-0 lead with 6:48 left in the first quarter.
After another Blue Jay punt, it took the Kittens just two play to score again as Izzard found Reginald Johnson open for a 69-yard touchdown.
Wade Hodges’ PAT gave Southern Lab a 13-0 lead with 4:29 remaining in the period.
St. Edmund answered with its best drive of the night as the Blue Jays moved 65 yards in eight plays. aided by an impressive third-and-19 run by Peyton Marcantel to earn a first down.
On fourth-and-11, Marcantel connected with Gus Brown who raced 26 yards to the end zone,
Josh Landry’s kick closed the gap to 13-7 with 11 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Blue Jay defense held and forced the Kittens to punt, but a mishandled kick gave the ball back to Southern Lab at the SEH 20.
On fourth down, Kitten quarterback Izzard connected with Johnson for a 21-yard touchdown.
Hodges’ PAT increased Southern Lab’s lead to 20-7 with 8:03 left before intermission.
St. Edmund was forced to punt on its next possession and Southern Lab took just one play to score as Izzard found Johnson open for an 88-yard touchdown catch and run.
Hodges’ kick increased the Kittens lead to 27-7 with 5:52 remaining in the second period.
The Blue Jays took a chance but was stopped on fourth down at the Southern Lab 38.
The quick scoring Kittens took just one play again to get to the endzone when Izzard connected with Sedrick Thomas for a 67-yard touchdown strike.
The PAT by Hodges increased Southern Lab’s lead to 33-7 with 2:28 left in the half.
The Kittens took the opening kick of the second half and went 56 yards in four plays, capped by a 47-yard touchdown run by Hardy.
The PAT was blocked, but the Kittens held a 40-7 advantage with 8:52 left in the third period.
After a short SEH punt, the Kittens continued their offensive showcase as Southern Lab went 51 yards in four plays, sealed with a 26-yard pass from Izzard to Darren Morris with 16 seconds left in the quarter.
The PAT failed, but the Kittens held a comfortable 47-7 margin into the fourth quarter.
The Blue Jays continued to battle as Marcantel connected with Hunter Brown for a 12-yard play to convert on fourth down.
But four plays later, the drive died at the Lab 20.
Two plays later with 1:00 left in the contest, Latrell Pruitt broke through the middle of the Blue Jay defense for the game’s final points.
Hodges’ PAT made the final score, 53-7.
Southern Lab finished with 537 yards of total offense, including 340 through the air.
Marcantel led the Blue Jays with 105 yards rushing on 20 carries, He also completed 3-of-8 passes for 52 yards.
Marcantel finished his senior season with 1,373 yards to move up to eight place in the single season totals.
David Nezat is the record holder with 1.744 yards in 11 games in 1983.
With the victory, No. 6 Southern Lab (7-3) will face the winner between No. 3 Ascension Catholic and No. 14 Riverside Academy in the quarterfinals.
Southern Lab advanced to the semifinals last season, falling to Lafayette Christian Academy.
St. Edmund finishes the season at 6-5 overall.