Gents dominate Wossman in season opener

MONROE – A three-plus hour bus ride to open the season against a very athletic team is not the perfect scenario for any team.
But that was the case for the Crowley Gents Friday when they traveled to Monroe to take on the Wossman Wildcats.
That bus ride, however, didn’t affect Crowley one bit.
Unfazed by long trip, the Gents rattled off nine touchdowns, in just about every way possible, and dominated the homestanding Wildcats to the tune of 62-27 in the season opener at Richwood High School.
“There’s not much to be disappointed in tonight,” said CHS coach Josh Fontenot. “I mean: in those 62 points, we blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown; we forced some turnovers and our special teams were exceptional.
“Coming in, we were worried about the travel, three hours in Week 1, but they handled it beautifully. I mean, overall, 62-27! That speaks for itself.”
One of the most notable performances of the night was turned in by running back Ty’Von Griffin, who rushed for 190 yards and five touchdowns on 29 carries.
Griffin, the workhorse for the Gents the last two years, also had three receptions for 50 yards.
“We wanted to have Griff fresh so we didn’t run him too much in the scrimmage and the jamboree . Buti he knew he was going to have to carry the load tonight and he did,” said Fontenot of Griffin.

“He put it on the ground once and we’ll work on that. He has a hurt hand that we will have to deal with, but he’s got to play. Putting in No. 11 (Keith Wilson) isn’t bad, but Griff has to play and he did great tonight.”
Another bright spot for the Gents was the play of Terrell Thomas. The junior utility player set the Gents up with a short field all night long with his kickoff and punt returns.
Thomas returned four punts for 91 yards and two kickoffs for anothe 33 yards.
“The returns were really all on him because we didn’t have returns set up this week,” said Fontenot. “We had blocks set up, which was good because it worked, but we had Terrell set up and told him to get what he could get.

"He did pretty good and he almost broke a couple of them. It’s good to know that you have a guy back there like that.”
Thomas also had an interception that he returned 27 yards in the third quarter to set up a score and he had a 9-yard reception for a first down.
One of the only dishearting things for Fontenot in the lopsided victory was his team's inability to contain Wildcat quarterback Cam Lewis.

The senior signal caller produced the bulk of Wossman’s offense by racking up 221 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. He also completed four passes for 31 yards, including a 15-yard pass to Montrail Etson for a touchdown.
“We knew he (Lewis) was special and we were ready for how fast he was. But he was faster than we thought he was,” said Fontnot. “We had guys coming from the edge and he just ran around them.”
Lewis’ play in the first half kept the Wildcats in striking distance and they trailed just 34-20 at the intermission.
That was as close as they would get, however.
The Gents were able to bottle Lewis up in the second half and held him to minimal yardage while Crowley’s offense simply took over.
The Gents kept the ball on the ground in the final two quarters and in doing so added four more touchdowns.
“In the second half, we just stopped him,” said Fontenot of Lewis. “We stopped rushing him, let him run around back there and then we got to him. Coach (Jeptha) Wall made that adjustment and it was a great adjustment.
“And offensively, we ran one play in the second half and we rammed it down their throat. Our offensive line just played great. We were outmanned on that front and our guys just battled.”
That offensive line paved the way for the Gents’ ground attack that produced 299 yards on the night.
And it started almost immediately.
Griffin scored his first touchdown of the night after Wossman fumbled on the first play of the game and it was recovered by CHS’ Marshall Wilbert at the Wildcats’ 7-yard line. Two plays later, the junior tailback punched it in from four yards out.
Griffin scored again in the first quarter, this time from five yards out before a blocked WHS punt was scooped up by Alex Ashby and returned 16 yards for another score.
CHS quarterback Pate Broussard went to work after that and hit John Marceaux in the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown early in the second quarter and Griffin added a one-yard touchdown late in the frame.
Lewis scored twice in the first half on runs of 78 and four yards before connecting with Etson for a score with under a minute to go.
The second half was pretty much all CHS.
Griffin scored on a pair of runs in the third quarter from four and three yards out before the reserves hit the field with just over four minutes remaining in the frame.
Crowley’s kicker, Andrew Simon, also had a good night. He had several touchbacks and also made six extra points, including one from 35 and another from 25 yards out following penalties.
Wilson, who finished with 47 yards on six carries, hit paydirt from two yards out and Blayne Sonnier put the finishing touches on the game with a 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Lewis added 20-yard touchdown run earlier in the fourth for the Wildcats’ final score.
Jarvis Harmon totaled 26 yards on three carries for the Gents while Sonnier picked up 19 yards on four carries. Perry Myles got in on the action with six carries for 18 yards while fullback Cardracus George had five carries for nine yards.
Through the air, Broussard was more than efficient. He completed six of his seven pass attempts for 90 yards. Marceaux followed Griffin with two catches for 31 yards.
“Pate didn’t throw it much but he made some good throws when he did,” said Fontenot. “But, hey, you throw the ball seven times and you still put up 62 points, that’s pretty good.”