Central Catholic defense gets tough; Patterson falls to 2-3

FRANKLIN — Central Catholic and Hanson Memorial put plenty of points on the scoreboard Friday night, but it was key defensive stops in the third quarter that helped the Eagles distance themselves from the Tigers in an eventual 50-36 victory.
Central Catholic (1-3 overall, 1-1 in District 8-1A) stopped Hanson (3-2, 0-2) twice in the Eagles’ territory on fourth down, the first with the game tied at 28 on the Tigers’ first possession of the quarter and again late in the third quarter with Central Catholic leading 35-28.
Central Catholic responded to both stops with scores on offense.
Both teams had big individual performances.
Hanson’s Eugene Foulcard rushed 35 times for 335 yards and three touchdowns, while Central Catholic’s Caleb O’con completed 16 of 27 passes for 319 yards with four touchdowns.
“We did what we had to do,” Central Catholic coach Tommy Minton said of the Eagles’ first win of the season, noting his team “picked each other up” on both sides of the ball. “We played hard for four quarters, and that’s the first time I can say that this year. … We made plays in the pass game to defeat the man coverage and all the guys they had up in the box, and we made stops when we had to make stops.”
After stopping Hanson’s first drive of the third quarter, Damondrick Blackburn scored on a 48-yard run with 6:39 remaining, and Brett Morell, who was 4-for-5 on point-after attempts, converted the extra point for a 35-28 Central Catholic lead.
Blackburn led Central Catholic’s run game with six carries for 66 yards and one score and caught three passes for 45 yards and a touchdown.
Hugh Hamer scored on a 1-yard run with 8:57 remaining in the game, and Central Catholic extended its lead to 42-28 after stopping Hanson on another drive late in the third quarter.
Hamer had nine carries for 52 yards and two touchdowns Friday.
While Hanson responded on its ensuing drive following Hamer’s 1-yard score, on a Foulcard 36-yard touchdown run and a Donald Foulcard 2-point run with 7:42 remaining to cut Central Catholic’s lead to 42-36, the Tigers got no closer.
Central Catholic closed the game with a 33-yard touchdown pass from O’con to Blackburn with 4:35 remaining, and Hamer’s two-point run for the 50-36 margin.
Minton noted the last stop on Hanson near the game’s conclusion was key, too, because the Eagles didn’t have to field another onside kick attempt in what would have been a tight game late. The Tigers routinely attempt on kickoffs in games this season.
In the first half, the game went back and forth, with the teams matching each other’s scores.
The game was tied at 14 after a quarter of play, and the teams were knotted at 28-all entering halftime.
Central Catholic finished the game with 430 yards of offense (319 passing and 111 rushing).
Ross Thomas led Central Catholic’s receivers with five receptions for 101 yards and a score. Caleb Menina had a 44-yard touchdown reception, and D.J. Lewis had a 36-yard touchdown catch.
Hanson had 417 yards of offense, all rushing.
Donald Foulcard added 12 carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers.
E.D. White defeats Patterson
E.D White sliced and diced, and Patterson had big plays.
But the Cardinals did a lot more slicing, taking a 55-23 win over Patterson at Yockey Bernard Field at Harvey Peltier Stadium Friday.
E.D. White (4-1, 2-0 in District 9-3A) did not start well, with an illegal procedure penalty and a fumble deep in its own territory. But the Cardinal defense held, and a blocked field goal attempt to set up E.D. White on its own 34.
A 42-yard completion from quarterback Cailun Griggs to John Christian Hildenbrand moved the ball to the 20, and two plays later, Griggs took it in from the 4 for a 7-0 lead.
Zach Templet recovered a blocked Patterson punt in the end zone for a score, and it seemed E.D White’s best weapon was the Patterson kicking game.
Patterson (2-3, 1-1) scored on a big play, which was the only way it scored all evening. Caylon Davis hit Tylon Walton down the middle for a 48 yard score. Patterson went for two and made it, making the score 14-8 with 5:54 left in the first quarter.
The Lumberjacks intercepted Griggs in the end zone but couldn’t move it. Yet another blocked punt put the Cardinals at the Patterson 18, and Hildenbrand hauled in his second touchdown, an 18 yard floater in the corner of the end zone.
Patterson used two big plays to go 98 yards in a three-play drive. Darion Robertson ran for 44 yards, then Davis hit Walton again, this time for 51 yards, and E.D. White led 21-15 with the second quarter halfway gone.
Griggs threw two more touchdowns before halftime — a 17-yarder to Grant Blouin and a 19-yarder off a flea flicker to Peyton McGoey to lead 35-15 at halftime.
The Cardinals made it 42-15 on a 7-yard run from McGoey, and 49-15 on a six yard William Gravois run.
Patterson scored on another big play on a 77-yard Walton run, and E.D White finished up the scoring with a pass from McGoey to Blouin.
Additional reporting by Perry Pitre, a sports correspondent for the Houma Courier and Thibodaux Daily Comet.