Gents blank DeRidder in league opener

CROWLEY – Crowley High coach Josh Fontenot knew going into his Gents’ District 3-4A opener Friday against DeRidder that the Dragons would be a challenge to run the football against.
And he was right - the Dragons held the Gents to just 42 yards on the ground in the first half and 145 on the night.
Fortunately, the Dragons had no answer for the Gents’ passing attack.
Nor did they have one for the Gents’ defense.
The Gents (6-0) racked up 322 yards through the air and their defense limited DeRidder (4-2) to just 68 yards in a 41-0 thrashing of the Dragons at Gardiner Memorial Stadium.
“Pate (Broussard) and the receivers put on a show,” said Fontenot. “Pate was great, the receivers were great and the protection was great. It is good we have that to lean on, but we have to be consistent running the ball.
“We can’t live on the pass. We’ve been great doing it but I don’t like surviving on that, so we’ve got to get that (running the ball) going again.”
The Dragons’ 50 defense made it difficult on the Gents’ running backs from the beginning, limiting them to minus-8 yards on their first drive of the game.
With the ground game stymied, Fontenot elected to air it out and Broussard completed five passes for 81 yards to get the Gents down to the DHS 2-yard line. Terrell Thomas had three receptions during the drive while Jacq’Co Price and Mikal Hebert each had one.
“That’s Pate for you,” said Fontenot of Broussard, who was 5-for-5 on that first series and 15-for-19 overall for 322 yards. “I mean, we may not be run blocking as good as we should, but he (Broussard) has time back there and they don’t hit him much.”
Ty’Von Griffin, who finished the night with 24 carries for 58 yards, capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
The Gents marched down the field on their second series of the game as well, mainly on the arm of Broussard, and reached the DHS 21.
From there the Gents went to Griffin again, five straight times, before he was stopped at the 2-yard line and the ball went over on downs to DeRidder.
The Gents’ defense took over from there.
On third-and-long from the 15, Logan Cambell stripped the ball from DeRidder quarterback Robert Lewis and Quanterral Robinson recovered it in the end zone for the Gents’ second touchdown of the night.
“We moved the ball and then we couldn’t get in when we got it down there and we have to fix that,” said Fontenot of turning the ball over on downs. “But your defense turns around and finishes it. That’s awesome.”
The Gents had another scoring opportunity just before the half. But after reaching the DHS 7, the drive was thwarted by a Griffin fumble, his first of two on the night.
The Gents led just 14-0 at the break despite dominating the Dragons for the first two quarters. The hosts put up 206 yards of offense and held DeRidder to 32.
It was the beginning of the second half that took the wind completely out of the Dragons’ sails, however.
Starting on defense, the Gents held the Dragons to minus two yards on the first series of the second half and after a short punt, Broussard and company set up the DHS 42.
Two runs by Griffin netted eight yards before Broussard hit John Marceaux in the flat for a 40-yard pickup. Keith Wilson then got the honors and scored from four yards out.
“The start of the second half was big,” said Fontenot. “In past years, we’ve had a bad habit of letting teams back in the game in the second half. But we got a three-and-out then we took a shot and we got it. That loosened us up a little bit and we started playing.”
The Gents mounted what looked to be another scoring drive on their next series, but another fumble near the red zone gave the ball back to the Dragons.
Once again, the CHS defense rose to the occasion and forced their third three-and-out of the half and the Gents took over at their own 31 following the punt.
From there, it took just one play, a 66-yard pass to Xavier Johnson, and the Gents were in business again. After a loss of one on the next play, Griffin hit paydirt once again, this time from four yards out.
The Dragons had their longest drive of the night on their next series and picked up two first downs in getting into CHS territory for the first time on the night.
But on third down, Jardell Delco blasted running back Holden Hoemer, forcing a fumble and Cambell recovered.
The Gents wasted little time in capitalizing.
Broussard went to the air of the first play and Price made a highlight reel grab over a defender for a 38-yard reception. Two plays later, Wilson weaved through the heart of the defense for a 15-yard touchdown run.
Just like that, it was 38-0.
And yetl, the Gents still weren’t finished.
The defense still had one more big play in them and it was turned in by Hebert, who intercepted a pass at midfield and returned it 50 yards for the final score of the night.
“We practice that all the time,” said Fontenot of Hebert’s interception return. “What I liked was we get the pick and you look and see all that blocking; we had some great blocks on that return.”
For the Gents, it was another stellar effort from a defense that has now turned in five touchdowns over the last three games.
“Our defense scored twice against Eunice, once last week and then twice again tonight,” said Fontenot. “When your defense outscores the other team 14-0, that’s pretty good. It’s hard to lose like that.”
Fontenot was also elated to get the shutout, which the Gents haven’t been able to do in recent memory.
“I’ve been here seven years and we’ve been begging for that shutout,” said Fontenot. “Our defense was great and it was against a good district opponent.”
Offensively, most of the Gents’ damage was done through the air.
Thomas had five receptions for 80 yards, Price had four for 68 and Johnson had one for 66. Hebert hauled in two passes for 40 yards, Griffin had two for 38 and Marceaux had one for 30.
Senior Jarvis Harmon led the Gents on the ground with six carries for 65 yards while Griffin picked up 58 tough yards on 24 carries. Wilson added 10 touches for 38 yards.