Prep Roundup – Playoffs Week 2

The Best of the Rest

1. South Terrebonne: After being in the No. 2 hole for the vast majority of the season, South Terrebonne proves to be the sole survivor among local prep football teams – the only squad able to win multiple playoff games on the season. With a date with No. 1 Plaquemines looming, don’t assume the Gators will crash and burn in the next round. These guys are more than capable of competing with the Baton Rouge area foe that hasn’t been as dominant as most No. 1 teams around Louisiana. The Gators can run the ball with the best of ‘em. Cristian Wallis is well worth the price of admission.

Grading Friday’s fallen:

1. Thibodaux: My heart breaks for the Tigers, who truly had an amazing season. Sure, the final result isn’t what Chris Dugas had hoped for, but there’s no way to discredit the nice work that group has done all season long. Going 9-1 in a brutal district is something worth touting. Almost beating Destrehan in an absolute thriller is also something that everyone in Tiger Country should remember and be proud of for a very long time. Replacing Peyton Bonvillain will be a chore for Thibodaux.

2. E.D. White: The Cardinals were simply outclassed on Friday night by a really, really good Notre Dame team in Crowley. But even in defeat, Cardinals’ first-year coach Chris Bergeron deserves a lot of credit for a job well done. I didn’t foresee E.D. White having as much success in 2014 as it did. I was wrong. Those kids played hard and got better, earning a playoff win in a brutal Division II bracket.

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Playoffs Week 2 Players of the Week

Bronze: Thibodaux quarterback Peyton Bonvillain – Bonvillain didn’t play his best on Friday night, struggling to get headway against a brutal Scotlandville defense. But we still will give Bonvillain some love because of how special he was throughout this season. Peyton Bonvillain can run the ball, throw the ball and even catch passes if called to do so. There is no local senior that meant more to his team than Bonvillain – both on and off the field. The Tigers’ journey ended in the second round. But the impact he and the team’s seniors made on Thibodaux High football will last quite a while. Great work, bud. Keep your head up.

Silver: South Terrebonne halfback Cristian Wallis – Wallis is always a contender to earn this award. He’s an absolute lock to get at least 100 yards with two touchdowns every, single week. Against Franklin Parish, Wallis elevated his game even more, earning 186 yards with two touchdowns to help South Terrebonne rally from an eight-point halftime deficit to secure a nine-point win. Credit also goes to the Gators’ offensive line, for without whom Wallis would not be able to be an annual winner of our weekly awards.

Gold: South Terrebonne defense – In the opening round of the playoffs, Franklin Parish gashed Bastrop to the tune of 500-plus yards and 48 points. But against the Gators, the well ran completely dry, enabling South Terrebonne to extend its season. The Gators allowed just 40 total yards in Friday night’s game, including negative yardage in the second half of Friday night’s win. That type of dominance is unheard of in the postseason. But for South Terrebonne, it’s the driving force behind the team’s push to the LHSAA State Quarterfinals.

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By The Numbers for Round 2 of the Louisiana State Playoffs

1: After 10 weeks of the regular season and two weeks of playoff action, just one prep football team is still standing in the Houma-Thibodaux area. That would be the South Terrebonne Gators, who shook off a few early miscues to rally past Franklin Parish. In preseason, Gators’ coach Richard Curlin said he had a feeling this year’s team could be good. Turns out, the coach was wrong. These guys are on the verge of being called great.

39: Against an elite Notre Dame defense, E.D. White’s run-base offense mustered just 39 yards in Friday night’s loss, falling to a 41-0 deficit in a blowout loss. Cardinals’ coach Chris Bergeron touted Notre Dame’s physicality all week. But when it came to crunch time, the Cardinals couldn’t quite keep up, yielding several big plays in a tough loss.

21: The Thibodaux football team dug an early 21-0 hole against Scotlandville – a deficit the team was never able to erase in a 12-point defeat. Thibodaux got within two scores on separate occasions in the second half, but the Tigers were never able to get close to victory. The loss ends Thibodaux’s impressive season with a 10-2 record.

40: The South Terrebonne defense was absolutely dominant on Friday night against Franklin Parish. How dominant? The Gators allowed just 40 yards of total offense, mashing the Patriots’ attempts to run the Wing-T offense. All 15 of the points South Terrebonne allowed were because of miscues in special teams. With the win, the Gators will advance to take on the No. 1 team in Class 4A.