Crowley dominates Opelousas

CROWLEY – Heading into his team’s Homecoming contest against Opelousas, Crowley High coach Josh Fontenot said that getting off to a quick start would be the key for his Gents.
The goal was, and always is, to score on the opening possession of each half.
The Gents did just that and more Friday, beginning with their opening possession of the first half en route to an impressive 45-12 victory over the visiting Tigers at Gardiner Memorial Stadium.
“The thing I like about tonight, early on, was that we were sharp and we were on the money,” said Fontenot, whose team moved to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in District 4-4A. “Pate (Broussard) was on the money, Griff (Ty’Von Griffin) looked good running and Mikal (Hebert) and Jacq’Co (Price) made some nice catches. I mean: we were on.”
Broussard threw for 175 yards and four touchdowns, while Griffin rushed for 151 yards as the Gents surged behind  a defense that limited Opelousas to 44 yards in the first half and just 117 overall.
  “Our defense was just great,” said Fontenot. “We ended up giving up two scores and that was because of offensive fumbles. But other than that, they (defense) played lights out.”
One of the most productive Gents on defense was Ja’Juan Delco. The senior nose guard had a handful of sacks, numerous tackles for losses and was in the Tigers’ backfield the entire night.
“For us to be successful on defense, with what we do, our nose guard has to play like that,” said Fontenot of Delco. “If he doesn’t, then they are running the ball too easily on us and that’s not good.
“Ja’Juan is good and that’s what we expect out of him; especially in the next four weeks. He’s got to continue to play like that.”
Another standout performer on the defensive side of the ball was Price, who broke up a number of passes in the secondary.
In addition to his role on defense, Price also had two kick returns for 53 yards and he hauled in two passes for 36 yards, both resulting in touchdowns.
“Jacq’Co is a special, special athlete,” said Fontenot. “The thing about it is, we knew how good he was but he didn’t. Now he’s starting to understand that he can be a really good football player and he’s starting to take things over. His confidence level is very high and it needs to be.”
Another plus for the Gents was the fact that the Tigers’ returners didn’t really get a chance to showcase their speed. CHS kicker Andrew Simon had five touchbacks on the night and he had one punt for 40 yards. He also made all six of his extra point attempts and had a 29-yard field goal as well.
“Andrew said he found a ball he liked; I don’t know,” said Fontenot. “You know kickers, they are in their own little world. But he said he found one he liked so we’re going to go frame it, we’re not going to touch it and next week we’ll bring it with us.
“But joking aside, he kicked well tonight. He made a nice field goal and it’s always nice when you can force teams to go 80 (yards).
Simon started the game with a touchback and the Gents’ defense forced the Tigers into a three-and-out situation on their first possession of the game, forcing Opelousas (1-4, 0-2) to punt from its own 18-yard line.
The Gents took over at the OHS 45 and went to work with 23-yard pass to Terrell Thomas. Broussard then ran for nine yards, hit Marceaux on an 11-yard pass and, following a penalty, Griffin scored from 11 yards out.
A sack by Delco on the Tigers’ next series and a pair of holding penalties forced another punt from the six-yard line of OHS.
Broussard went back to the air, starting at the OHS 33, and hit Hebert for a 23-yard reception. Three plays later, the junior quarterback hit Price on a sliding catch in the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown.
The Tigers managed to move the chains once on their ensuing possession, but a sack by Alex Domingue and an incompletion force another punt.
This time the Gents took over at their own 49 and they took just three plays before Broussard connected with Hebert on a 17-yard touchdown pass.
The Gents were knocking on the door again on their next possession, but a fumble by Griffin at the OHS 8-yard line was picked up by Joel Aggison and nearly returned for a touchdown before John Marceaux caught him from behind at the CHS 9-yard line. The Tigers were able to punch it in for a score three plays later when quarterback Ke’Andre Jones hit Collins Roberts on a 10-yard touchdown pass.
The Gents added one more score before the half.
On fourth-and-long from the OHS 26, Broussard threw up a jump ball and Price made a leaping grab between two defenders at the 1-yard line where he dove over two more Tigers into the end zone.
The second half started out much like the first half  for the Gents.
They took over at their own 44 to start the third quarter and three plays later, Broussard connected with Thomas on a 39-yard scoring strike.
Things got a little messy after that, however.
On the Gents’ following three possessions, one ended in a punt, while the other two ended in fumbles by Griffin.
The second fumble gave the Tigers the ball back at the CHS 31 and two plays later, Jones raced in from 18 yards out for a touchdown.
“The second half, after our first possession, I didn’t like it,” said Fontenot. “And the kids didn’t like it. We can’t put the ball on the ground like that. We kind of got sloppy there, but, hey, we won so I’m happy.”
The Gents were able to respond on their next possession when Simon drilled a 29-yard field goal.
Opelousas then put the ball on the carpet on their next possession and CHS’ Quentron Gallow recovered the loose pigskin at the OHS 19.
Fontenot elected to send in the reserves from there and the youngsters didn’t disappoint.
Freshman quarterback Paul Dugar capped the scoring for the Gents  when he hit fellow freshman Donald Francis on a 12-yard touchdown pass.
Overall, the Gents were  balanced on the night, gaining 196 yards on the ground and 187 through the air to finish with 383 total yards.
Griffin led the rushing attack with his 151 yards (25 carries) while Jardell Delco and Pate Broussard had four carries each for 16 and 14 yards, respectively. Francis added 13 yards on two carries.
Broussard completed 13 passes to account for his 175 yards and four touchdowns.
Thomas was the leading receiver with four catches for 85 yards while Hebert also had four catches for 39 yards. Price added two receptions for 36 yards, Francis had one for 12, Marceaux had one for 11 and Jarvis Harmon had one for four.
Roberts had 11 carries for 52 yards to lead the Tigers while Jones had 18 carries for 32. Jones also completed eight passes for 34 yards.
The Gents’ victory sets up a key league matchup with Washington-Marion next week in Lake Charles. The Indians defeated Eunice, 26-20, in overtime Friday.
“We’re 4-1, just where we were last year at this point,” said Fontenot. “But if we’re going to be who we think we are, or who we can be, 4-1 is done. The next four games are against the best four teams in the district. How are we going to do with those guys?
“We’ll enjoy this one tonight, but tomorrow, we’re working on Washington-Marion and moving forward. It’s time for us to grow up and win a big game and we’ve got to win a big game this week.”