Rayne Wolves handle St. Louis Saints, 14-6

RAYNE - Rayne High Coach Curt Ware has seen his Wolves improve over the summer and his leaders begin to lead with the early season. But, Friday was a test against a well-rounded team who had already beaten a state-ranked team in their last outing.
“We beat a good team tonight,” according to Ware after their 14-6 win over St. Louis. “They are ranked at #8 in the state in 3A and best Sam Houston, a 5A team last week. This was a really good win for us.”
Collecting over 300 offensive yards for the win, the Rayne defense was the bright spot Friday.
“Our defense played consistent throughout the whole game,” Ware noted when glancing at the Wolves’ defensive stats.
“They (Saints) barely topped 100 yards on the ground against our defense. You gotta like that,” Ware added.
The Rayne defense allowed one touchdown early in the second quarter of action, the first points to light up the scoreboard. A missed Rayne tackle allowed a long run by St. Louis’ Bailey Hardy, setting up a three-yard touchdown run by Jaleel Goodwin. The 6-0 Saints lead remained with a wide extra point attempt.
Rayne answered on their very next drive as Darien Harmon hit the Wolf sideline for a long gainer, setting up a five-yard touchdown run by Trent Winbush. Morgan Manuel’s extra point slipped the Wolves ahead, 7-6.
Both the Wolves and Saints threatened on additional drives, but the Rayne offense tallied their second score of the contest late in the first half.
With a long Darien Harmon run and a Jaylon Reed reception, Donald Doucet handed off to Trent Winbush for his second touchdown from three yards out. Manuel added another extra point for a 14-6 lead which held for the win.
Following couple of close calls by both squads, the Saints threatened late in the final quarter, but the Rayne defense held their territory at mid-field and retained possession to run the clock down for the win.
Cameron Gibson led Rayne tackles on the night with six solos, followed closely by Zach Fontenot with four solos and two assists.
Contributing to a stingy Rayne defense were Richard Breaux, Darien Harmon, Marlon Forman, Tony Roberts, Jamian Evans, Torin Benoit, Trent Winbush, Johnny Deculit, Darian Richard and Christian Svendsen.
“Offensively, we moved the ball the first half and fell short the second half. That’s something we’ll have to take a look at,” Ware noted. But he also saw improvement.
Ware entered the season having some concerns with basically a new offensive line, but Friday’s win has put to rest some of those worries.
“Our front guys have stepped up big time in a very short amount of time,” Ware noted of his offensive line. “They are moving people around, giving our runners some room and making things happen.”
One of those bright spots from Friday’s win was senior offensive tackle Timi Bruce. “In only his second start ever,” stated Ware, “he (Bruce) blocked one of the best players in the state. This guy is being sought after by some big schools and Timi handled him all night long. They all did well, but Timi really stepped it up tonight.”
Leading Rayne’s ground attack was Darien Harmon with 173 yards on 15 carries.
For his two touchdowns, Trent Winbush had 91 yards on 22 carries.
Finishing up the Rayne running game were John Daigle (2-20), Donald Doucet (4-12), Jaylon Reed (2-10) and Keiron Young (1-8).
Rayne quarterback Donald Doucet recorded one completion to Winbush during the contest.
“We didn’t play our best, but we played hard tonight,” Ware continued. “That’s what you like to see as a coach, that never give-up attitude. Now, we have a tough one next week to get ready for Breaux Bridge. They’re always tough.”
The Tigers fell to Notre Dame last week 26-14 in a contest that saw Breaux Bridge lead through the first half of play. Kick-off is 7 p.m. Friday in Breaux Bridge.