Pios get rolling late for season opening victory

LAKE CHARLES – It may not have been what Pios fans have come to expect from their team, but it was a win none the less. Undefeated state championship seasons tend to raise those expectations.
For about seven minutes of Friday night’s game in Lake Charles, Notre Dame looked like not much had changed from last season. What came before and after that brief span revealed the growth process is still in progress.
“It’s the first game and there are a lot of things you need to look at and work to get better at,” explained Pios head coach Lewis Cook after his 13-6 win over Lagrange. “We weren’t the only one in this situation but when you have 18 new faces in the lineup and don’t get any scrimmages, you are still covering things you would have already handled. So, we will learn a whole lot from this game.”
After exchanging punts, Lagrange pieced together a 15 play, 63-yard drive to the Pios twenty-yard line. ND cornerback Jordan Owens intercepted a third down pass from Gator QB Colton Frank at the ten to stop the scoring threat.
Three plays later, Notre Dame punted from its eleven-yard line and Lagrange had the ball back in Pios territory. Frank completed three passes to the Pios 29, but his fourth attempt met with a converging defense to cause a fumble recovered by linebacker Thomas Stevens.
“We were fortunate our defense kept finding a way to get them stopped,” added Cook. “They had their backs to the wall several times and came up with big plays.”
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the fumble recovery again put the Pios backed up against their own goal line. Another three and out followed by a high punt snap resulted in a blocked kick and the Gators took over at the Notre Dame nine-yard line.
Two incompletions later, Pios defensive end Wynn Olinger sacked the Gators quarterback for a six-yard loss. Lagrange then returned the favor by fumbling the snap on a fourth down field goal attempt that was blocked by the Pios. Notre Dame took over on the Pios nine and quickly found itself punting from the three.
“We couldn’t get anything going offensively and our defense was out there most of the half,” said Cook. “They were moving around on defense, turning a few guys loose and we had to get that figured out because we couldn’t get them off the field on offense.”
Lagrange started from the Pios 38 and again punted after losing seven yards on backfield stops from Thomas Stevens and Wynn Olinger and a QB sack from Nicks Hanks and Olinger. From midfield, Lagrange punter Adam Nunez saw the snap sail over his head and Notre Dame took over at the Gators 22-yard line.
“We had to turn the field over,” Cook added. “We were getting backed up because they were moving the ball before we could get them stopped.”
From the Lagrange seven, Steven Zaunbrecher swept the right side led by tackle Doug Leonards for a touchdown. The point after failed on a bad snap and the Pios led 6-0 with 1:07 to play in the first half.
Just that quick, a first half that saw Notre Dame run just 16 plays and gain 26 yards with two first downs also saw the Pios go in at halftime with a 6-0 lead. Through all the turnovers, penalties and special teams problems, Cook found his team once again with the halftime lead and preparing to receive the second half kick.
“They don’t have the lead, so you don’t want to take any chances and just give it to them. We spent the half backed up and it kind of limits what you can run. You have to take your hats off to our kids. To find a way to win the game with the way the first half went says a lot about them.”
Senior quarterback Bryant Thevis converted the first third down of the second half with a 14-yard completion to Zack Miller. On fourth and two at the Pios 32, Cook rolled the dice with his power package and fullback Justin Guidry smashed for three yards and a first down.
Thevis next hooked up with tight end Hunter Lejeune on a sideline post for a 12-yard completion to midfield. Mason Romero gained eight and Steven Zaunbrecher went off the edge for 11 yards to the LaGrange 35-yard line.
“We have a lot of new guys up front and they were having a hard time in the first half with everything LaGrange was doing on defense,” Cook explained. “We were able to formation them a little bit and we just picked two or three things in the run game that we felt would work.”
The first down play from the Gators 35 was one that really worked. Junior runningback Steven Zaunbrecher, who led the Pios with 74 yards rushing, slashed off the right side, cut back inside, stepped past the safety and turned on the burners for a 35-yard touchdown run, his second score of the night. John William Lamm added the extra point for a 13-0 lead.
The 11 play, 75-yard scoring drive took over six minutes off the third quarter clock. Coach Lewis Cook didn’t have to tell anyone how huge that characteristic Pios drive was.
“People need to understand, these 4A teams, they have players. We have a lot of new guys in new positions, we weren’t executing, we were missing blocks, getting hit in the backfield. We didn’t hit any of those third down passes early in the game. So, we were finally able to mix up some nice throws from Bryant (Thevis) and huge catches from our receivers.”
Lagrange stormed back with QB Frank completing short passes to Michal Jackson and Jordan Wilson. Frank completed 20 of 30 passes for 140 yards. He was also scrambled for 65 yards on the ground but was sacked six times for 47 yards in lost yardage.
After crossing midfield, Frank ran into trouble with a Pios defense led by the 11 tackles of linebacker Pat Burleigh and seven stops each from Thomas Stevens and Cam Nelson.
Nick Hanks hurried Frank into an incompletion, Stevens sacked the Gator QB for a 10-yard loss and Nelson came up from his safety position on a flare pass to stop the receiver for no gain. Lagrange was forced to punt after taking the third quarter clock under a minute.
Notre Dame came up empty on a 13 play, 59-yard drive to the Gators 21. The Gators pressured a fourth down pass incompletion, but the Pios were still able to keep the ball for over six minutes.
“We didn’t score, but we were able to drive the ball, eat up some clock and win field position. I just wish we could have got a first down on the next series and not had to punt it.”
The Pios defense stopped another Gators penetration with just under three minutes to play, but had to punt it back when three straight runs gained seven yards. Lagrange pressed the middle and blocked the punt, taking over at the Pios 35 with 1:20 to play.
On the first play, the Gators split receivers to both sidelines and the Pios defense pressured the edges and forced QB Frank to scramble up the middle where he found nothing but open grass. The 35-yard TD run made it a one score game with a minute to play.
On the ensuing onside kick attempt, David Schmid grabbed the loose ball. The Pios ran out the final seconds for the season opening win.
“It’s a nice win to come over here and get,” Cook concluded. “They have good sized kids, good athletes, they played hard and they were ready to play us. Their coaching staff knows how to prepare them. We will be a better team after this game.”