Ellender pulls away from MCHS for 34-21 win

The Ellender Patriots and Morgan City Tigers were desperate to get their first District 7-4A win Friday night at South Terrebonne Memorial Stadium.

Tied at 21 at halftime, Ellender made the big plays on both sides of the ball, particularly on defense, to pull away with a 34-21 homecoming victory.

“With the distraction of homecoming, we were hoping the kids would have their minds right,” Patriots Coach David McCormick said. “The defense made some great stops, a lot of three-and-outs. The offense came together in the second half and put points on the board.”

Morgan City Coach Eric Howard said, “Ellender made a few more plays in the second half. We just couldn’t get it done when we needed to. We got deep in their end a few times in the second half and just couldn’t put it in the end zone.”

Ellender (2-6 overall, 1-3 in district) took the opening drive 60 yards in 11 plays, capped by 5-yard J’amire Mott touchdown run. Tate Ford made the point after for a 7-0 Patriot lead.

Morgan City (2-6, 0-4) got two turnovers early in the second quarter. First, Tiger defensive end Caron Marcantal recovered a Reginald Williams fumble.
On the next Patriots’ drive, Tiger linebacker Trey Derouen scooped up Patriot quarterback Lynn Parfait’s fumble and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. Tristin McCullough made the point after, tying the game at 7.

Morgan City grabbed its only lead at the 4:42 mark when Devonta Grogan hit Tate Alcina for a 6-yard touchdown pass to go up 14-7.

Ellender got the big play it needed in the final minute of the first half. Kobe Pellegrin blocked McCullough’s punt, while Dekhyri Williams recovered and returned it to the Tiger 10-yard line.

On the next play, running back Reginald Williams (16 carries, 140 yards and one touchdown) bolted for a 10-yard touchdown, tying the game at 14 at halftime.

“Morgan City took advantage of some miscues, but that block punt was a huge momentum swing for us before halftime,” McCormick said. “That was the spark that lit us for the second half. We work on special teams a lot. That’s a third of the game. We won all three phases.”

Howard said, “We’ve struggled all year with consistency on offense. Our defense has kept us games (with) turnovers and scores. That block punt really hurt us. We got to have better execution.”

Morgan City couldn’t capitalize on a 58-yard kick return by Kerwin Francois to open the second half. Ellender blocked McCullough’s 27-yard field goal attempt to keep the game tied.

The Patriots quickly went 82 yards in six plays on their initial possession. Parfait (11-of-17, 108 yards, a touchdown passing; eight carries, 24 yards, a touchdown rushing) bulldozed 4 yards for a touchdown, giving Ellender the lead for good.

Late in the third quarter, Jahon Johnson galloped for a 14-yard touchdown, increasing Ellender’s lead to 27-14.

Early in the fourth, Parfait found Kobe Hartman on screen pass, and he sprinted 18 yards for a touchdown.

The Patriots defense stifled Morgan City for most of the game; however, penalties also contributed. The Tigers had a punt return touchdown negated by a block in back and three personal foul penalties.

“Coach (Jesse) Turner did a good job adjusting to the pressure Morgan City was bringing,” McCormick said. “I’m proud of the way these kids fought. There were some situations where in the past they would have lost their cool. They stayed focused and had a good game.”

Howard said, “We did what we could defensively. We were on the field a lot. We had two touchdowns taken back by penalties. We just have to keep competing. We have a good shot against Vandebilt next week.”

Morgan City scored in the final two minutes when Alcina hit Grogan (three catches, 128 yards, a touchdown) on a 64-yard touchdown pass.

With only two games left in the regular season, Ellender travels to E.D. White this week for another district battle.

Morgan City will return to action Friday when it hosts Vandebilt Catholic in league play.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Jeff is a sports correspondent for The Houma Courier and Thibodaux Daily Comet. The Daily Review Sports Editor Geoff Stoute contributed to this story.