Pios crush West St. Mary

CROWLEY – Notre Dame lit up the scoreboard just 36 seconds into Friday’s game against West St. Mary and things quickly got even worse for the Wolfpack. The Pios opened District 6-3A play with a 58-0 win at Gardiner Stadium.
If there was any question about bouncing back, senior linebacker James McCleary quickly put that notion to rest. McCleary dropped the Wolfpack ball carrier in the end zone for a safety on the third play of the game.
“Mac had a big game for us and I was excited for him,” said Pios coach Lewis Cook. “He’s another senior that has been preparing for his chance and he stepped up nice for us. Mac had been alternating at linebacker and showed good timing on a couple of those blitzes. He recovered a fumble, got the safety and I was happy for him to have that kind of game.”
McCleary made a perfect read on the speed sweep and came off the edge to drop runningback Shelby Phillips two yards behind the goal line. The Pios offense then scored on five straight possessions, logging 37 first quarter points and scoring 21 in the second period before sending starters to the sideline.
“We knew going in they were struggling,” added Cook. “Good teams get in a game like this and you hope to execute. Our guys did that. We threw it well, we caught it well, our defense didn’t give them any room at all and that’s what you want to see in that situation.”
The Pios needed a minute and a half to get another score, marching 42 yards on five plays with its first offensive possession. Damon Comeaux turned the corner for 21 yards on first down and Ivy Paul Robichaux slashed off the right edge for 13 on the next play. Comeaux went 10 yards up the middle for the touchdown three plays later. Dustin Reiners added the point after to make it 9-0.
On the next Wolfpack series, Conner Kirsch sacked QB Dondre Johnson and forced a fumble that was recovered by James McCleary. Brad Stoma took the Pios 33 yards in 1:20 completing a 5 yard pass to Hunter Miller, a 23 yard pass to Adam Berken and going back to Miller on a quick slant from five yards for his first TD catch of the year and a 16-0 Pios lead.
Three plays later, Tyler Binder intercepted Johnson and set the offense up at the WSM 22. Brad Stoma found Hunter Miller for a 16 yard completion to the Wolfpack 7 yard line and on the next play Miller stepped back for a bubble screen and found an opening for his second TD and a 23-0 lead with 4:45 still to play in the first quarter. Miller led the Pios with five catches for 41 yards and two scores.
“We were counting on Hunter a lot this year and then he missed the whole summer after an accident that required surgery on his foot,” added Cook. “He’s had some tough luck with injuries and it couldn’t be just a cut, it cut the tendon. He always practices hard and last week we had the conversation that he had to step up and be the guy. He had a good game for us.”
Pios safety Hayden Bourgeois kept the heat on West St. Mary with a 25 yard interception return for a touchdown on the next play. Reiners added the PAT to make it 30-0.
The Pios defense forced another three and out after tackles for losses by Kirsch and Shea Zaunbrecher. A short punt set up the Pios on another short field and Stoma made them pay on first down with a 25 yard TD pass to tight end Alex Thomas to make it 37-0 after a quarter.
“After last week, I was anxious to see how the team would bounce back,” noted Coach Cook. “You just never know if they will be feeling sorry for themselves, hanging their lip and still upset, but we had a really good week. Everyone worked hard to bring it back together.”
Cornerback Wyatt Sullivan made a diving interception to put the Pios back in business at the Wolfpack 22 yard line. QB Brad Stoma got the second quarter off to a good start with his fourth touchdown pass of the night. Stoma found Alex Thomas running across the back of the end zone and connected for a 6 yard score, the second of the game and season for the senior tight end.
“He released inside off play action, stretched out and made a really nice catch,” explained Cook. “We were a little worried about the tight end position coming into the year, and now the two guys we have are playing as well as anyone. That will be a plus for us down the road.”
For QB Stoma and the offense, the night would end after just a quarter and a half with a 44-nothing lead. Stoma completed 9 of 12 passes for 107 yards and four touchdowns.
“The way he came back and worked this week after being out made us proud,” said Cook. “He practiced like he wanted to prove to everybody that we were going to get it back going.”
Four fresh jerseys took over the running duties on the next two Pios possessions. Justin Guidry had a 23 yard run and Sam Hoffpauir carried for gains of 10 and 12 yards on the first series that ended with a Pios fumble.
After the Wolfpack picked up just its second first down of the night on a 14 yard pass completion, QB Dondre Johnson threw another of his four interceptions on the night. Hayden Bourgeois picked off the pass at midfield, his second interception of the game and one of five total by the Pios.
Gabe Petry sparked an 8 play, 52 yard drive, gaining 36 yards on five carries. Guidry powered two tough inside carries for eight yards, Clay Kirsch powered for six yards to the West St. Mary one yard line and Sam Hoffpauir took it in from there to make it 51-0.
“It’s kind of hard to control the score when you’re running back interceptions, getting a safety and your defense is giving you the ball at the twenty,” shrugged Cook. “You go in at halftime thinking that’s enough. We actually kicked off to start the second half even though it was our choice. We got the chance to play some young kids against their young team and If you get another one, that’s fine. You have to just let it play out.”
It played out with another Pios interception on the very next play. Jack Veillon picked off another WSM pass at the 25 and returned to the eight yard line. Runningback Adam Jackson gained three yards on first down and powered for a five yard touchdown on second down. Jarret Doucet added the extra point to make the halftime and final score, 58-0.
Both teams settled for running time off the clock in the second half. Cook will take the Pios on the road to continue the District race at 3-3 Erath next week.
“Before the game, we talked with the team about the next five weeks being about Notre Dame. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. It’s about us getting better and working back through practice and games to find a peak at the end. It doesn’t matter who we are playing the next four weeks, our biggest opponent is Notre Dame.”