Second quarter surge lifts Wolves over Cats

RAYNE – And then, there were only 16, and the Rayne Wolves find themselves amongst them.
The 14-seeded Wolves used a surge of defensive stops and three touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Jaylon Reed in the second quarter alone to earn itself another week of playing time with a 36-22 victory over the 19-seeded Leesville Wampus Cats.
A busy first half met the cold temperatures – mid- to upper-30s – in Rayne.
Early in the game it was Leesville’s run game, particularly Cory McCoy that seemed to perplex the Wolves defenders starting with his 67-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage and continuing on to a 100-plus yard first half – McCoy would finish with 141 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries.
Then it was Moses Tolbert running over the Wolves defenders with 13 yard touchdown and finishing with 66 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.
“The first couple of series, [Leesville] moved the ball well on us and I thought we might be in a scoring match,” said Curt Ware, Rayne coach.
But Rayne seemed to always be able to come back to answer, and capitalized on Leesville’s missteps, such as a bad snap on the Wampus Cats punt attempt, giving Rayne prime real estate (the visitors 6 yard line).
And in the second quarter, Rayne’s defense began finding answer and the offense began flowing, leading to the Wolves outscoring the visiting Wampus Cats.
“I think that as it went on we adjusted to what they were doing (offensively),” said Rayne coach Curt Ware. “The game slowed down for us and we tackled better.
“We were able to throw the ball well in the first half, then our receiver – our best receiver – got hurt. So we were without our best receiver and our best running back.”
Starting running back John Michael Besse missed Friday’s game with a turf toe injury.
In the game, Trevon Fontenot, who finished his night with five catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns, would get injured late in the second quarter. He would, however, leave the field on his own power and return to the game shortly later. In the third quarter, Fontenot would aggravate the injury again and have to miss several plays once more before rejoining the team.
Leesville wasn’t so fortunate. Senior Garrett Rogers would leave Rayne by ambulance after displaying concussion symptoms late in the game on the sideline; his coach, Tommy Moore, and family members in tow. Assistant coaches explained that Rogers was one of the few players that would play as a lineman on both sides of the ball, every down, for the Wampus Cats.
The second half was far slower than the first as both teams’ defenses started taking firm control of the game. In fact, even with multiple mistakes by Leesville, Rayne was only able to muster a 25 yard field goal with 9:44 remaining – the first points of the second half.
But, despite what the second quarter surge and final score may suggest, the game was actually relatively close, including a late touchdown in the fourth quarter that allowed Leesville to pull within eight points.
“We had plenty of opportunities to put the game away but just couldn’t do it, and they just kept hanging around,” said Ware.
“We got the field goal, which gave us a 16 point lead … but then they come back and get within eight, and if they get the onside kick, they have a chance to tie it.”
That onside kick, like many things for the Wampus Cats, just didn’t go to plan. Caden Wheeler, who also plays quarterback for Leesville, was only able to kick the ball three yards. If a Leesville player touched the ball it would have been a penalty.
They probably should have just taken the penalty.
Instead, Rayne’s Donavon Cormier must have paid special attention to the Oregon-Utah game last weekend. The heads up play saw Cormier scoop up the ball and run it back 43 yards for a kick return touchdown.
“I haven’t seen that happen very often, where everyone just stops, but I’ll take it,” said Ware.
Finally, Rayne had its dagger, albeit late in the game.
The Wolves’ Deontrey Wilridge and Dr’kylen Gibson split time at running back in the absence of Besse. Wilridge would end the night with 20 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown; Gibson had 68 yards on 13 carries. Reed added 37 yards on seven carries. He also completed seven of his 16 passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns. His top target was Fontenot with 119 yards and two touchdowns on five catches. Wilridge added a 32 yards catch and Devonte Robinson had a 10 yard catch.
Leesville was led by sophomore tail back, McCoy, who added two catches for 73 yards and a touchdown to his rushing totals. Wheeler ended his night going 6-15 for 92 yards and an interception, which was pulled in by Hunter Keely at the Rayne 7 yard line in the second half.
The Rayne Wolves will travel to the No. 3 team in 4A, Franklinton after the Demons defeated the Washington-Marion Chargin’ Indians 34-0 during their Friday night first-round contest.