Vandebilt moves past Hannan and into 2nd round

Terrebonne makes postseason in ’19, but already eying ’20
November 20, 2019
After upset win, Terriers eye University
November 20, 2019
Terrebonne makes postseason in ’19, but already eying ’20
November 20, 2019
After upset win, Terriers eye University
November 20, 2019

Two weeks ago, Vandebilt had a chance to earn a huge win against Assumption, but it slipped away in overtime.

On Friday night in the opening round of the playoffs against Hannan, the Terriers were in the same spot — a tie ballgame with four minutes to go.


This time, they didn’t stop until they got into the winner’s circle.

The Terriers beat Hannan 21-14 on Friday night — the lone local team to earn a spot into the second round of postseason.

Hunter Porche scored the game-winning touchdown with 2 minutes left and the Terriers’ dominant defense stuffed Hannan late with the ball in the red-zone, forcing a fourth down sack to secure the win.


Vandebilt coach Lance Ledet said he couldn’t be prouder of his team in victory.

“The kids kept working,” Ledet said. “We didn’t play a clean game. We made a lot of mistakes. But the kids just kept working. Our defense has been amazing all season, and they got the stop we needed at the end of the ballgame and now, we get a chance to play another football game next week.”

This one was close from the first whistle to the last.


Vandebilt got the ball first and marched like a well-oiled machine — long, 12-play scoring drive capped with a touchdown run from Caleb Calhoun to go up 6-0 after a missed extra point.

But Hannan had an answer.

On their first offensive drive, they, too, took the ball the length of the field for a touchdown drive capped on an 11-yard scoring run from Jake Delmado to go up 7-6 late in the first quarter.


Then, a defensive slugfest broke out.

That 7-6 score held throughout the entire second quarter with both teams struggling to find any rhythm offensively against fierce defenses that dominated the game.

In the third quarter, things got dramatic.


Porche scored early in the third quarter, and the Terriers converted the 2-point conversion to go up 14-7 with 8 minutes left in the third quarter.

That score held until the fourth quarter when Hannan tied it again on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Brantley Taylor to Ezra Travers to tie the game up 14-all.

But then, the Terriers found a way.


Hannan had the ball deep in their own territory late, but was forced to punt.

Porche took that punt into Hannan territory, which started a short, quick touchdown drive to put Vandebilt up 21-14 with two minutes to go. Porche capped that drive with a touchdown run through the teeth of the defense.

But Hannan made things interesting.


They hit a long play and pushed the ball inside Vandebilt’s 20-yard-line with less than a minute to play.

But Vandebilt never faltered, stopping the next four-straight plays without relent. The final play was a sack — with virtually the entire Terriers’ front pushing back the quarterback to finish the play and seal the win.

In victory, Vandebilt will now play No. 3 University Lab in the second round. That game will be played in Houma.


Lab is one of the top teams in the state — the defending State Champions.

They beat Lusher 49-0 in the opening round of postseason.

LOCAL 5A SQUADS FALL IN PLAYOFF OPENERS


Friday night was not a good night for our local Class 5A contenders.

All three of our local 5A playoff teams — Thibodaux, Terrebonne and Central Lafourche — were bounced from the playoffs on Friday night. Each team was on the road in their games.

Thibodaux lost 63-21 to Walker, while Central Lafourche fell 47-7 to West Monroe.


The closest local Class 5A game was in Gonzales where East Ascension beat Terrebonne 20-6 in a defensive struggle.

The Tigers had chances to win that game.

It was 6-6 in the second quarter before East Ascension added a late-half touchdown to go up 13-6.


That score held until the fourth quarter, thanks to dominant defense from the Tigers. Terrebonne got a fumble recovery from Maason Smith in the game, but they couldn’t turn the turnover into points.

In the fourth quarter, East Ascension sealed the deal and punched their ticket into the second round with a game-icing touchdown to go up 20-6. Quarterback Cameron Jones pushed the ball into the end zone on the score.

The Tigers could never get closer — in part because they couldn’t keep possession of the ball.


Terrebonne turned over the ball multiple times in the game, and all of East Ascension’s points were set up by Tigers’ turnovers.

The loss ends Terrebonne’s season with a 5-6 record.