Tuesday, Nov. 30
November 30, 2010
HPD reaches out to area’s needy with food boxes
December 2, 2010
The road to the Superdome in Class 3A now runs through Patterson.
After losing an early season non-district game to Redemptorist in Week 2, Patterson traveled to Baton Rouge Friday night and got revenge, scoring a 34-32 win in a back-and forth battle among the Class 3A powers.
The Lumberjacks clinched a spot in the next round by inches n literally.
In a second half score-fest, Redemptorist was down two points, but was driving deep into Patterson territory with time running down in the fourth quarter. After a running play took the football to the Patterson 3-yard-line, Redemptorist was unable to bring their kicker onto the field in time to attempt a game-winning try, thus sealing the Lumberjacks’ spot in the Final Four.
“The Dome has been our goal all season long,” Lumberjacks’ senior halfback Kenny Hilliard said following the team’s second round win against Kaplan. “It will take someone’s best shot to keep us from getting there.”
On Friday, Hilliard’s best shot was his usual dominant performance as he rushed for 124 yards on 29 carries.
But it was the Patterson passing attack that was able to move the team into the next round. Junior quarterback Justice Jones completed 18-of-38 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns with the Wolves executing a defense with seven and eight defenders at the line of scrimmage to keep Hilliard in check.
That’s surprising to some, but not to Hilliard who said he knows what his teammates can do.
“People like to pay attention to me and give all of the credit to me,” Hilliard said after the Kaplan game. “But I know we have some other guys here who are blessed and who can make things happen for us when it’s their time to shine. We have a great team, not just a great running back. It’s not just me.”
With the win, the Lumberjacks will move to the semifinals where they will host West Feliciana, who pounded Class 3A’s No. 3-seed Amite 52-12 in the quarterfinals.
The Lumberjacks have not squared off with West Feliciana yet this season. If common opponents tell an accurate tale, Patterson may be in good shape, however. That’s because the Redemptorist beat the Lumberjacks’ semifinal opponent by a 28-20 margin in the regular season.
But that was in October and this game will be played in December.
If there’s anyone who knows just how much things can change in time, it’s the Lumberjacks who got the redemption they needed and are now one home win away from the Dome.
Elsewhere in the Tri-parish area:
Patterson’s matchup with Redemptorist wasn’t the only quarterfinals matchup that pitted the local District 6-3A against Baton Rouge-based District 7-3A, as E.D. White took on Parkview Baptist in Thibodaux Friday night.
But cold temperatures didn’t stop Parkview’s red-hot offense, as the Cardinals couldn’t contain the Eagles in a 46-6 loss.
Parkview also eliminated E.D. White from the postseason last year in the state semifinals.
“They were a very good football team. They always are,” E.D. White defensive coordinator Chris Bergeron said. “We knew we were going to have to make some plays to stay in the game and unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that.”
With Parkview controlling the tempo of the game with their explosive running game, E.D. White was unable to overcome their early deficit offensively. The Cardinals had less than 100 yards of total offense in the game, which made for three-and-out drives and a tired E.D. White defense.
“Defensively, I think they’re just as good as they were last year,” Bergeron said. “Offensively, they got away from a lot of their option series and just ran right at you. And I think basically that’s the difference between the two teams.”
The loss signified the end of the prep careers for the Cardinals’ 21-player senior class.
“We’ve got a good group of seniors this year,” Bergeron said, “They kind of took it on their shoulders this year to do what we’ve done here the past few years. It was definitely hard to tell those guys goodbye.”
The Cardinals weren’t the only Tri-parish school to have to taste the agony of defeat during this Thanksgiving holiday.
In Class 1A, Central Catholic was also eliminated, losing 36-14 to Oberlin.
The loss ended an 11-2 season for the Eagles.
Patterson quarterback Justice Jones reads the defense in the team’s second round playoff game. With all eyes on Kenny Hilliard, Jones torched Redemptorist’s defense for three touchdowns, clinching Patterson’s spot in the Final Four. CASEY GISCLAIR
