Washington, Richards combine at Fire on the Bayou

Desmon Washington and Daylon Richards combined on big plays to propel the West St. Mary Wolfpack to an 18-8 win over the Franklin High School Hornets in the renewing of the Fire on the Bayou contest Friday at J. C. Dry Stadium.
Washington, who gave the Wolfpack a 6-0 lead on a 47-yard touchdown run, helped the Wolfpack preserve the victory after Franklin rallied for an 8-6 lead in the final period on his 75-yard kickoff return.
Richards put the Wolfpack ahead to stay with a nifty 56-yard catch-and-run touchdown late in the fourth period.
“This was a long overdue win of which was well-deserved and much-needed,” West St. Mary Head Coach Cliff Armelin said. “This was a tough win because whenever you play Franklin in a rivalry game, you must match their intensity and we were able to do that.”
The win enabled the West St. Mary Wolfpack to take possession of the Fire on the Bayou trophy for the 2017 season and bragging rights for one year.
During the trophy presentation, Franklin High Principal Tybus Burdett along with West St. Mary Principal Dr. Derrick White spoke briefly while West St. Mary receiver Daylon Richards proudly held the Fire on the Bayou trophy as both teams kneeled.
West St. Mary (1-3, 1-0) held onto a narrow 6-0 lead early in the second quarter on Washington’s 47-yard touchdown run in the renewing of the friendly rivalry.
Franklin (0-4, 0-1) fought back for an 8-6 lead in the fourth quarter of the hotly-contested game when wide receiver Isreal Washington caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zariq Perry. One play later, Perry made good on the two-point conversion, giving Franklin an 8-6 lead with 11:02 left to play.
Franklin’s lead was short-lived as Washington brought back the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown, giving the Wolfpack a 12-8 advantage.
A short time later, Richards was on the receiving end of the 56-yard aerial strike from WSM quarterback Taylun Druilhet, sending the Wolfpack home with the Fire on the Bayou Trophy along with a 1-0 District 7-2A record and the first win of the season.
Washington led the Wolfpack with 13 carries for 97 yards with one rushing touchdown along with the 75-yard kickoff return.
Franklin’s Jairus Boyd rushed 15 times for 75 yards while teammate Malik King finished with 4 carries for 34 yards.
Druilhet connected on 9 of 17 passes for 139 yards and no interceptions. Perry hit on 8 of 19 passes for 73 yards and no interceptions.
Richard led WSM in receiving with 5 catches for 81 yards with one TD. Washington hauled in three catches for 51 yards and 1 TD for Franklin.
Defensively, the West St. Mary Wolfpack strung together some impressive numbers on the night: Kejuan Biggles, 6 tackles; Anthony Shields, 3 tackles, 1 sack; Desmon Washington, 5 tackles, 1 sack; Jamiyon Bolden, 2 tackles, 1 fumble forced; Daylon Richard, 2 tackles; Jacyric Robertson, 10 tackles; Dondre Johnson, 5 tackles, 1 sack; Trey Biggles, 4 tackles, 1 sack; A’Zhylon Brown, 1 tackle, E.J. Davis, 4 tackles; Tristan Harris, 1 tackle, Ray Johnson, 4 tackles and Kobe Phillips, 3 tackles.
Franklin will continue District 7-2A action on the road at Loreauville on Friday.
West St. Mary will play host to the Delcambre Panthers for homecoming on Friday in District 7-2A play.