Through 15 straight football games dating back to 2006, the Jeanerette Senior High Tigers were on the losing end of the score. Losses ranged from close decisions to routs, but the end result was that JSH went home with a loss.
Not this week.
  
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And for the next 11 days, there won’t be the bitter taste of a loss to deal with.
“I’ve been waiting for this all year,” said Armelin, who intercepted two passes on the night and recorded two sacks in the win. “I’m just happy to get my first win in my senior year.
The Tigers did it as usual on defense but this time the offense finally got the necessary yards and points needed for that elusive win.
“We were just trying to get a win for our coach, for our team,” said Armelin. “We were tired out there but we had to suck it up and play. We played our hearts out tonight.”
And the fact that it came against Jeanerette’s biggest rival, West St. Mary, only made the win that much sweeter.
“It feels good,” said Armelin. “Now we need to go out and win every week.”
After taking over last year and suffering through an 0-10 first year, JSH coach Terry Washington was smiling from ear to ear after this one.
“What a difference a year makes,” said Washington. “You have to give West St. Mary a lot of credit. They kept fighting and scrapping and making plays.
“I guess that tonight it just went our way.”
For WSM coach Andre Lockley, whose team was playing its first game of the season, the Tigers (1-1) just proved to be too much.
“Jeanerette deserved to win tonight,” said Lockley. “They physically beat us.”
Perhaps that fact that JSH had played the previous week and WSM (0-1) hadn’t was the difference.
“I think because we played a couple of more games, it showed because they got tired at the end,” said Washington. “But coach Lockley had those guys playing hard. That first win feels good, though. It got the monkey off the back.”
At the beginning of the game, it appeared that even without a game under their belt, the Wolfpack would come away with a win.
Kiel, who finished the night with 155 yards on 20 carries, broke through the line on a trap play in the first quarter and rambled 95 yards for a touchdown. The point after by Carlos Alvarez gave WSM a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Jeanerette’s offense, meanwhile, sputtered through the first 12 minutes.
“I told the guys that we’ve been pressing,” said Washington. “Just let your athleticism take over.”
Hurst was the first to use his athleticism in the second quarter as he caught a pass from Bouie and ran through the Wolfpack defense to complete a 69-yard touchdown to bring the score to 7-6. The Tigers went for 2 points but came up short.
“Darion Hurst made a big play in the first half but we missed the 2-point conversion,” said Washington. “But I knew right then we could make some plays.
“In the second half, we hunkered down and made some plays and the offense finally came to life, which I knew they would.”
Hurst’s first touchdown lit a spark.
“The win felt special,” said Hurst. “It felt good to score but I have to give credit to Kurt Bouie, the line, the whole team, the coaching staff. It was very important to get this win.”
Jeanerette’s offense mounted a drive to start the second half but turned the ball over on downs at the WSM 32 yard line.
Then the Tigers’ defense went to work and made life miserable for the Wolfpack.
Armelin’s first pick stopped one WSM drive, a sack helped stop another drive and another interception stopped yet another drive.
“Defensively, I knew that we would be sound but I didn’t know that we’d be this good this early in the season,” said Washington. “Because of that, it’s really giving the offense a chance to come around.”
The offense came around in the fourth as Bouie and Hurst connected again on a 27-yard pass play to give the Tigers the lead 14-7 after Wendell Hunt, who had 44 yards rushing on the night, added the 2-point conversion.
Forced to throw the ball, the Wolfpack offense fell right into the hands of Jeanerette’s defense as Armelin and company applied relentless pressure and finally closed the game as Armelin picked off a pass and ran it back 20 yards for a TD as time expired.
“It was just a great night,” said Armelin.
Now the Tigers get a break as Friday’s game with Rayne was canceled.
“We talked with their administration and they knew that we were coming off a Monday night game,” said Washington. “So they helped us out.”
Jeanerette’s next game will be Sept. 26, when the Tigers travel to Northwest.
West St. Mary isn’t so lucky. The Wolfpack will travel to Abbeville Friday for their regularly scheduled game.
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D J wrote on Sep 18, 2008 9:57 PM: