WESTLAKE — The Westlake football team went toe to toe with unbeaten Jennings at Max Caldarera Memorial Stadium on Friday, taking a fourth-quarter lead before the Bulldogs won 28-24.
For Jennings (9-0, 4-0), the win set up a winner-take-all District 4-3A battle next week at Iowa (8-1, 4-0).
After an all-offensive first half, the defenses each pitched third-quarter shutouts.
“Our defense did a good job of adjusting at halftime, according to what (Jennings running back Travis) Etienne likes to do,” said Westlake coach Phil Fontenot.
Jennings held the ball for four plays in the third quarter, losing a fumble to Westlake’s Gage Robertson on the first play of the half, then going three-and-out on another possession.
Trailing 21-17 early in the fourth quarter, Rams quarterback Mark Ashworth flipped a 4-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Eaglin, who made a left-handed catch as he went out of the back of the end zone to give Westlake a 24-21 lead with 10:28 remaining.
Jennings responded on the ensuing drive, covering 53 yards in seven plays, all runs, and scoring on Etienne’s 1-yard run to regain the lead.
On the next possession, with running back Brevan Ned sidelined with an injury, the Rams were forced to punt.
“Offensively, when we lost Brevan Ned, we had to adjust, and that put us in a bind,” Fontenot said. “We were trying to put people in his place and kind of coach them along the way.”
The defense stepped up again, as Cade Banks recovered a Jennings fumble and returned it to the Westlake 44.
Three plays later, on first-and-10 from the Jennings 45, Ashworth threw a high pass over the middle that went through the hands of a leaping Michael Guidry and into the hands of defensive back Michael Bryant.
With time running out, the defense forced a third-and-9, but Etienne converted to help Jennings run out the clock.
Etienne led all rushers with 18 carries for 110 yards.
“They came out and fought hard,” Jennings quarterback Kendrick LeJeune said of the Rams. “They’re a good ball club even if they haven’t had a good season. They’ve got a lot to prove.”
Westlake’s first possession of the game ended in a punt after a pair of Jennings sacks, but every other possession of the half ended in a score.
The Bulldogs capped an 11-play, 61-yard drive with a Tyrik Sonnier 2-yard run to open the scoring. Westlake answered with a four-play, 67-yard drive as Joseph January took a pass from Ashworth 54 yards down the left sideline to even the score.
January finished with four catches for 110 yards. Ashworth completed 9-of-13 passing for 182 yards.
Jennings responded with a four-play, 64-yard drive as LeJeune followed up his own 58-yard sprint with a 1-yard TD run for a 14-7 lead. Eaglin’s 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was nullified by an illegal block penalty, but the Rams marched 78 yards on 13 plays with Ashworth sneaking in from the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal.
Westlake’s surprise onside kickoff try was recovered by Jennings’ Kole Myers at his own 47-yard line, and the Bulldogs covered those 53 yards in five plays. Etienne scored on an 8-yard run around right end for a 21-14 lead.
The Rams answered with a 10-play, 61-yard drive, but they settled for a 20-yard field goal by Jackson Hodges on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line as time expired in the half.
“I felt like we needed points right there and go into halftime with a little momentum,” Fontenot said.
Westlake (2-7, 1-3 District 4-3A) held the ball for 32:19, more than doubling Jennings’ time of possession.
“Our goal was to hold the football, keep their good backs off the field, their good offense that they have, and I feel like our game plan worked,” Fontenot said. “We just came out on the short end of the score.
“I thought our kids played hard. That says a lot about our character, and that’s what we’re trying to build. I thought we played well.”
The Rams travel next week to face St. Louis Catholic in the regular-season finale.
“We’re gonna get ready for St. Louis next week,” Fontenot said. “We feel like, if we win, we have a chance to get into the playoffs, and that’s our goal.”
“We struggled on the little routine plays,” LeJeune said. “We turned the ball over. We can’t do that next week.”
from American Press: Your Best News And Advertising Source - Home http://ift.tt/2eGAwqe
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment