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Morgan City High School's Devonta Grogan runs with the football during the Tigers' 48-0 loss to South Terrebonne in District 8-4A action in Bourg Thursday. Grogan led Morgan City's offense with eight carries for 33 yards and he completed 2-of-4 passes for 32 yards with an interception. Morgan City will close its season Oct. 8 when it travels to Houma to meet Vandebilt Catholic in district play. (Submitted Photo/Keyon K. Jeff, The Houma Courier).

South Terrebonne defeats MCHS, 48-0

Looking for their first District 8-4A win on Halloween, South Terrebonne composed a complete and dominant performance Thursday night against Morgan City at South Terrebonne Memorial Stadium.
The Gators forced five turnovers on defense and special teams while holding the Morgan City Tigers to under 70 yards of total offense in a 48-0 victory.
South Terrebonne produced over 400 yards of offense, sparked by quarterback Christian Arceneaux with 191 total yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.
“Overall, we made some plays and played a good ballgame,” Gators head coach Richard Curlin said. “We also made a lot of mistakes, and we got to get those cleaned up.”
Morgan City coach Chris Stroud said his team played hard early in the ballgame.
“They had to use fake punts and all kinds of nonsense to beat us,” Stroud said. “We stunk on special teams. Our kids didn’t execute on special teams. We just didn’t play well.”
South Terrebonne (5-4 overall, 1-3 in district) capitalized on Morgan City mistakes to score twice in the first quarter
The Tigers mishandled a punt snap at its 18-yard line on their initial drive. Three plays later, Colby Chelette ran eight yards for a touchdown. Shea Pitre hit the upright on the point-after attempt, keeping the score at 6-0.
The ensuing Gators kickoff hit a Morgan City player, and South Terrebonne’s Peyton Parr recovered the ball at the Tigers 38.
On a quarterback draw, Arceneaux sprinted up the middle and broke several tackles en route to a 24-yard touchdown run. Michael Gautreaux ran in the two-point conversion for a 14-0 lead.
Morgan City (0-9, 0-4) put together two drives that went deep into Gator territory but produced no points. First, Tiger quarterback Khai Hartley was intercepted in the end zone by Carter Hebert.
After Arceneaux was picked off by Morgan City’s Taji Delaune, the Gators defense forced a turnover on downs.
Stroud said the Gators “did play good defense right there to keep us out of the end zone. I probably made a bad play call.”
South Terrebonne went 79 yards in the final minutes of the first half, capped by a Chelette taking a screen pass from Arceneaux 28 yards for a touchdown.
The Gators led 20-0 at intermission.
“(Areneaux’s) getting better every game,” Curlin noted. “We were going to try and work him in as the season went on, and then (our) starting quarterback went down. He was out for a few weeks, so we had to throw Christian in there. We got Colby back tonight, which helped. We’re getting healthier. We’ve been racked by so many more injuries than I can remember in any season. It’s been unreal. Our starting lineup has been a merry-go-round.”
Chelette finished the game with eight carries for 49 yards and a touchdown and had two receptions for 63 yards and two touchdowns.
The Gators stampede continued in the second half with Hartley being intercepted by Lance Pellegrin on the opening possession, and it was returned to the Tigers 24-yard line.
South Terrebonne capitalized as Gautreaux ran in a two-yard touchdown. The next Gators drive ended when Arceneaux hit Chelette down the seam for a 35-yard touchdown pass.
Arceneaux finished the game completing 7 of 13 passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
Morgan City fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Pellegrin recovered it at the Tigers 33. Five plays later, Javon Ricks plowed into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Brandon Breaux scampered 15 yards for a touchdown. Pitre made four point-after attempts in the second half.
South Terrebonne sealed the victory in the final minutes as Brendan Belanger intercepted Morgan City’s Devontae Grogan.
Grogan led Morgan City’s offense with eight carries for 33 yards and he completed 2 of 4 passes for 32 yards with one interception.
Morgan City’s leading receiver was Hayden Barron, who had two receptions for 40 yards.
“The defensive coaches had a good game plan, and the kids did a good job executing it. We tackled well,” Curlin explained. “Our defense hasn’t been playing poorly. It was just our offense. We pretty much had our JV backfield for the last few weeks. It’s been a struggle finding some way to move the ball.”
Stroud said its tough preparing to defend the Wing-T in just a week of practice.
“We also have a defensive line that’s inexperienced and not playing well up front,” he said. “(South Terrebonne) just dominated up front.”
South Terrebonne ends the regular season next Friday against archrival and district opponent Ellender, while Morgan City will conclude its season at district foe Vandebilt Catholic in Houma.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jeff is a Sports Correspondent for The Houma Courier. Additional reporting by Review Sports Editor Geoff Stoute.

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