Holiday football

BY CHRIS LANDRY
The Daily Iberian
Published/Last Modified on Sunday, November 22, 2009 6:09 AM CST

Chalk up another shootout win for the Catholic High Panthers, and a trip to the Class 3A quarterfinals.

CHS scored 21 fourth-quarter points to pull away from Bogalusa in the second round of the football playoffs Friday, winning 56-34 to advance to the quarterfinals for the second time in the past four seasons. The Panthers rallied for a 35-33 win over West Feliciana in the first round of the playoffs the prior week.

The Panthers, one of the top passing teams in the state, turned to their ground game to pull out Friday’s win. CHS rushed for 265 yards, led by quarterback Taylor Bullock’s 147 yards on 20 carries. Bullock scored two rushing touchdowns, as did Brady Rogers, who ran for 45 yards on nine carries. Ridge Migues also ran for a TD and Devin Boutte rushed for 50 yards on seven totes.

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“We felt like watching the film, they gave up a lot of points,” said CHS coach Craig Brodie. “We needed to move the ball, but we weren’t trying to score on one play. We felt we had to run the clock and keep their offense off the field. That didn’t really work in the first half when we scored on a bunch of quick plays.”

Bullock also threw for 217 yards and a touchdown, with Boutte catching four passes for 100 yards and a TD. Four other players also caught passes.

“Once we got up, we wanted to run a little clock,” said Bullock. “Most of their team went both ways, so we were really wearing them down. Their defensive backs were dropping back on most plays, and that’s what opened up the running lanes.”

Bogalusa coach Craig Jones said he wasn’t surprised that Catholic High ran as well as it did. Defenses have to make up their minds whether they want to try to stop the CHS passing gam or running game, he said.

“What I told my guys was, they show they can run the ball on tape,” said Jones. “Pick your poison (pass or run). Our defense has struggled all year. They schemed well against some of our weak points.”

Despite seeing his team score eight touchdowns, Brodie said he wasn’t comfortable with his team’s lead until Rhett Gonsoulin returned an interception 17 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, which pushed the Panthers’ lead to 42-28.

“I think probably the biggest play that sealed it was Rhett Gonsoulin intercepting that screen pass,” said Brodie.

CHS looked to make it a runaway in the first half, scoring on their first three possessions to go ahead 21-7. Bullock ran for a 17-yard touchdown, Rogers scored on a 30-yard run and Bullock hooked up with Boutte on a 40-yard scoring pass for three quick touchdowns.

But Bogalusa took advantage of some good special teams play to get right back into the game. The Lumberjacks recovered a muffed punt at the CHS 33, setting up an eight-yard touchdown run by quarterback Rumeall Morris to cut the lead to 21-12.

BHS then recovered an onside kick that bounced off a Catholic High player’s leg to set up a three-play scoring drive, keyed by a 36-yard pass from Morris to Rondarious Morris to the 4-yard line.

CHS answered with its fourth straight touchdown drive, with Miguez scoring on a powerful six-yard run to make it 28-20 with 3:09 to go in the first half. The Panthers then pulled out their own onside kick, recovering at the Bogalusa 48. CHS was deemed to have touched the ball before the necessary 10 yards on the kick, however, and Bogalusa took over at the 50. Eight plays later, Rumeall Morris scored his third rushing touchdown of the game, and then passed to Maurice Cooper for the tying 2-point conversion with a minute remaining in the half.

Catholic High missed a 42-yard field goal attempt at the halftime horn.

“That’s one thing I’ve learned,” said Jones. “Special teams and defense are increasingly important the deeper you go into the playoffs. We spent a little extra time working on special teams this week.”

The Panthers scored the third-quarter’s only touchdown on a three-yard QB keeper by Bullock with 6 1/2 seconds remaining in the period to go ahead 35-28. Gonsoulin then picked off a Morris pass and returned it for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 42-28.

Though the Lumberjacks answered with a 63-yard scoring pass on the first play following the ensuing CHS kickoff, Catholic High dominated the rest of the fourth quarter. The Panthers rushed for 77 yards in the period and put together back-to-back scoring drives around an onside kick to put the game away. The defense dropped Morris for three straight losses totaling 32 yards to halt Bogalusa’s last drive.

“That was our plan,” said Brodie. “We wanted to make him run, and keep it contained.”

CHS (8-4), the 20th seed in Class 3A, plays host to No. 5 seed Redemptorist on Friday. The Wolves beat Eunice 53-27 in the regional round.

Comments

    Panther fan wrote on Nov 24, 2009 2:50 PM:

    " Go Panthers!! We are so proud of all of your accomplishments this season. "

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