Inspired Westgate holds off Patterson

The Patterson Lumberjacks went toe-to-toe for four quarters with the Westgate Tigers Friday night but couldn’t overcome the inspiration an injured player gave the home team in a 28-20 loss to Westgate for its homecoming game.
Patterson scored with 8:05 remaining on quarterback Dajon Richard’s six-yard touchdown run to pull within 21-20 and opted to go for two points and the lead, but Richard was stopped short on the conversion attempt in a collision in which Westgate senior defensive back Shannon Deal was injured.
Deal was on the ground for around 20 minutes being attended to by trainers and emergency personnel before being taken off the field on a backboard and driven off in an ambulance. Visibly shaken Westgate players were asked by Coach Ryan Antoine to put the game away for their injured teammate and responded with a 65-yard drive for a clinching touchdown.
The teams huddled at midfield after the game, arms on each others’ shoulder pads, as Antoine praised the Lumberjacks for their sportsmanship and the class they showed in kneeling respectfully as Deal was seen to.
Antoine said Saturday that Deal had sustained a hairline fracture and was at home and doing well. Though his senior season is done while the injury heals, no surgery is necessary, and Deal still has a chance to play college football, Antoine said.
After the injury, Antoine said the team didn’t want to waste the sacrifice Deal made to preserve a slim lead.
“That was tough,” Antoine said. “They were very emotional. Some guys were kind of out of it, but we had to bring them together and let them know, if we go out here and get this drive, we have a great chance to win this game. Those guys went out there and did a hell of a job.”
Patterson coach Ryan Stewart said his team was without several starters, including those at quarterback and tailback, but the Lumberjacks again showed they won’t give up despite being greatly outnumbered by the Tigers.
“Our kids fought hard,” Stewart said. “I’ve been telling people all year long, this team’s got so much fight in ‘em. They don’t ever give up, and they didn’t give up tonight here either. We were down some guys. We had about 40 guys dressed out, and they had about 115 dressed out, but our kids fight till the end. It was a real impressive battle. We just fell a little bit short.”
Antoine credited the Lumberjacks for their play.
“Hats off to Patterson,” he said. “They fought. I know they had a lot of guys that were out. Thank God they were out because we didn’t play very sound on defense, and we didn’t do a very good job of running the ball either.”
Despite having its starting tailback and quarterback out for the game, the ‘Jacks totaled 228 yards rushing, led by Richard’s 140 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. Allen Langston added 65 yards on 22 runs, and Jaymioun Butler had 42 yards and a touchdown on six rushes.
“We ran the ball well,” Stewart said. “We had a backup running back in, Allen Langston, and he ran the ball pretty hard.”
Antoine said Richard was a challenge for his defense.
“We just had to corral him and try to make some plays,” Antoine said. “We got through with the win. It was tough, and I’m happy for our guys for that.”
The Tigers improved to 4-1 with their fourth straight win while Patterson fell to 2-3.
Westgate primarily used big passing plays to score after the running game struggled and starting tailback Tyreese Jackson was forced to sit out the second half with an injury. Quarterback Darien Charles completed only three passes in 13 attempts, but all three went for touchdowns of 20-plus yards. His lone interception came on what was effectively a punt, a fourth-and-13 heave that was picked off by Kam’ron Nicholas at the Patterson 3-yard line late in the third quarter. Nicholas, a sophomore, was in for a starting corner who missed the game, Stewart said.
Sophomore receiver Kayshon Boutte caught a 24-yard touchdown pass over the shoulder in stride with 3:37 remaining in the first quarter, giving Westgate a 7-0 lead following the point-after by Connor Scott.
Patterson answered with an eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive to knot the score. Butler carried twice for 35 yards, including a 20-yard run up the middle before cutting left to find the end zone with 11:54 remaining in the half.
A high snap on a Patterson punt with under a minute remaining in the second period opened the door for Westgate to take the lead at intermission. The 19-yard loss that resulted from the high snap gave the Tigers possession at the Patterson 22, and Charles connected with Keith Lopez for a touchdown on the first snap after Westgate took over.
Westgate made it 21-7 to start the third quarter with a 57-yard scoring drive after the second half kickoff. Boutte snagged a throw from Charles for a 42-yard touchdown despite being double covered, and Scott’s point-after-attempt made it a two-touchdown lead.
Patterson again proved its mettle by answering that score. Richard had runs of 11, 21, 11 and 14 yards on an eight-play, 66-yard drive, the last run reaching the end zone with Bryce Daigle tacking on the point after to make it 21-14.
Deondre Diggs recovered a Westgate fumble at the Westgate 34 just a few plays into the fourth quarter to give Patterson a chance to pull even. It took the Lumberjacks six plays to reach the end zone, with Richard carrying on five of those, including a six-yard run for a touchdown. Patterson’s Kiama Jones also had a fumble recovery.
Richard’s carry to the left on Patterson’s attempt for 2 led to the fateful collision with Deal that helped Westgate maintain its 21-20 lead and eventually earn the win.
On the ensuing Westgate drive, Jansen Mayea punched it in on a fullback dive from the 1 with 4:22 left in the game.
Dontre’ Antoine recovered a fumble on Patterson’s next possession, and after a Westgate punt with 1:30 remaining, Westgate gave up a little yardage but no points on the final Patterson possession.
Boutte finished with two catches for 66 yards, both for touchdowns, and rushed four times for 39 yards, tops on the team. Jackson had 36 yards on nine first-half carries, Dequan Dejean had 33 yards on nine second-half runs and Ja’Tyrin Allen had three carries for 22 yards, two of those runs on the game-clinching drive after Deal’s injury.
“One of Shannon’s best friends, Ja’Tyrin Allen, got into the game at running back,” Antoine said. “He had tears and said, ‘Coach, put me in, I won’t go down.’ And he came in there and played his tail off, and also had a real good block on one of the runs as well.”
Patterson opens District 8-3A play at home this week against North Vermilion.
“We continue to get better,” Stewart said. “We had a little hiccup last week, but this team keeps getting better and better and better and better, so hopefully we’re going to be ready to roll in district.”