Wolves squeeze by Indians for district win

LAKE CHARLES - It all came down to the final two minutes of the ballgame Friday evening as the Wolves squeezed by Washington-Marion for a 28-21 win, Rayne’s first district win for the 2014 season. The win brings Rayne to 4-0 on the season and 1-0 in district play.

“We knew Washington-Marion would be a tough opponent,” stated Rayne Head Coach Curt Ware of Friday’s contest again the Indians. “They always have good athletes year after year and are quick on the field.”

Ware continued, “Sure, they-re 0-3 overall, but all those losses came against 5-A schools -- and they held their own against those teams.”

With the scored knotted at 21-all, Rayne began their last scoring drive from midfield at the 2:36 clock marker. Quarterback Jaylon Reed hit John Michael Besse for a 13-yard gainer, setting up a strong run series by Byron Mouton and Deontrey Wilridge that brought the Wolves inside the 10-yard line. From there and with less than 20 seconds remianing, Beese punched it through the line for a score and Donald Doucet split the uprights for the extra point giving Rayne the 28-21 win.

The Wolves sealed the win in the final seconds with a quarterback sack by Wolf defender Donovan Cormier.

The winning drive contributed towards Rayne’s 334 total offense on the night, 201 of those delivered on the ground behind rushers Deontray Wilridge (15 carries for 89 yards and 1 TD), Byron Mouton (8-57 and 1 TD), John Michael Besse (6-35 and 2 TD’s) and Javon Cormier (5-20).

The Wolves’ air attack was led by sophomore quarterback Jaylon Reed with 6 of 12 completions for 133 yards. The evening’s receivers were Trevon Fontenot (2 for 84 yards) and John Michael Besse (4 for 49 yards).

The first to light up the scoreboard Friday were the Indians as they converted an interception into a 30-yard scoring drive and quick 6-0 lead early in the ifrst quarter of play.

The Wolves answered with a scoring drive of their own later in the first quarter on a Besse run. A Doucet extra point gave Rayne a slim 7-6 edge.

“With us being down early,” Ware noted, “Our guys showed what that had by answering with a score. We’ve never been behind all season and I think we showed what we had by rallying back quick.”

But, Washington-Marion was not finished with the first quarter as they hit the air for a 41-yard touchdown reception and a two-point conversion for a 14-7 Indian lead heading into the second quarter of play.

Rayne gathered the only score of the second quarter with Byron Mouton finding a seam near the line for a touchdown. A Doucet kick tied the ballgame at 14-all heading into the half break.

With the Rayne defense tightening their belts, the Wolves also scored the only points of the third quarter with Deontrey Wilridge punch it in from 13 yards out for a sixer. Doucet booted in another extra point for a 21-14 Rayne lead heading into the final quarter of play.

As the Rayne defense continued to strangle the Indians’ rushing game, Washington-Marion went to air for a 47-yard touchdown pass midway through the final quarter of action to tie the score once again, this time at 21-all; afterwhich, the Wolves scored in the final few seconds of action.

The Rayne defense was led by Donavon Cormier with six tackles and 2.5 quarterback sacks. Also sharing quarterback losses were Desmond Cole, Nicky Faucheux, Grant Abshire, TJ Bearb and Antonio Gabrielle.

Leading in Rayne tackles on the night were Brice Meche, Drekylon Gibson, Desmond Cole, Donavon Cormier, Nicky Faucheux, Jaquan Cormier, Hunter Keely, Grant Abshire and Todd Broussard.

The Wolves will return to Wolf Stadium on Friday when they will host LaGrange High in their second district game of the season. LaGrange finished last season as district champs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.