Kinder couldn’t find a way to put Catholic-Point Coupee away.
The Yellow Jackets entered the fourth quarter of Friday’s road contest leading the Hornets by a touchdown, and then reclaimed the lead again midway through the fourth quarter.
Yet, the youthful Yellow Jackets were unable to close out the victory and fell 22-21.
“This game was frustrating because we felt like we let this one get away,” Kinder coach Bret Fuselier said. “We took control of the game in the third quarter but never put the game away. That’s what happens when you let a team hang around.
“But we continue to see improvement from our team,” Fuselier said. “Our young guys are starting to figure things out every week. It’s just taking us a little longer than we expected.”
Catholic-Point Coupee (3-1) opened up the game with a lengthy scoring drive, which the Hornets capped with a 12-yard touchdown run by Connor Kimball. Kinder (1-3) responded by having its defense shutout Catholic-PC the remainder of the first half.
“After that first drive we made some adjustments and shut their offense down,” Fuselier said. “Offensively we moved the ball up and down the field but turned the ball over twice on fumbles inside the red zone.”
Those red zone miscues by Kinder allowed Catholic-PC to hold a 6-0 slim lead at halftime.
Kinder opened up the second half by executing on offense.
The Yellow Jackets produced a pair of scoring drives in the third quarter as Alex Lavan scored on a three-yard run and then later Graham Fawcett scored on a one-yard run. The two-point pass attempt failed but the Yellojackets had seized a 13-6 lead at the end of the third.
“It was just better execution,” Fuselier said of the team’s offense to start the second half. “We were able to finish drives instead of fumbling them away.”
The two teams would trade scoring drives in the fourth quarter.
Catholic-PC took the lead by scoring on a 33-yard touchdown run by Kimball and successfully converting a two-point run. Kinder reclaimed the lead with a two-yard touchdown run by Fawcett and then a successful two-point run by James Roberts.
Kinder just needed to hold on for the victory but Catholic-Point Coupee had one more big play in their back pocket — a 63-yard touchdown run by Kimball and then a successful Landon Frey two-point conversion run.
“It was just breakdowns in alignment and technique,” Fuselier said about the final scoring play. “Something we preach about all the time. Be in the right position and don’t give up the big play. We just need to do a better job in those situations in staying true to that.”
Roberts led Kinder with 90 yards on nine carries, while Fawcett added 54 yards on 16 carries and Luke LeBeouf had 45 yards on 11 carries.
Hayden Elliot paced Catholic-Point Coupee with 122 rushing yards.
Kinder will travel to take on Northwest this Friday in the final non-district game before District 5-2A play begins. Fuselier believes the team is a lot closer to snapping its losing streak and kicking off a winning streak.
“I was pleased with the way our kids fought against this team,” Fuselier said. “For us, our offense has punted once in the last two weeks but we only have a total of 29 points to show for it. In the Loreauville game it was penalties. In this game it was turnovers. We will clean this up and I feel our best days are ahead of us.”
East Beauregard 64,
Elton 50
The Elton Indians are getting closer to recording their first win.
A week after losing 12-6 to Lake Arthur, Elton found itself in an offensive shootout with East Beauregard but ultimately fell short in a 64-50 defeat.
Elton (0-4) took the early lead as Jadon Ross hauled in a three-yard pass from Maddox Pierrotti. Then added to the lead in the second quarter with a 29-yard touchdown run by Sherman Bellow.
After being shut out in the first quarter, East Beauregard (2-2) responded by scoring 24 points in the second quarter and held a 24-20 lead at halftime.
Elton scored twice in the third with Bellow scoring on a 16-yard touchdown run and a one-yard touchdown dive by Maddox Pierrotti. East Beauregard though would score 24 points again in the third.
The two teams would each score 16 points in the final quarter.
Below led Elton with 222 rushing yards on 24 carries and scored four rushing touchdowns.
Elton will play at Merryville on Friday.
Oberlin 41, Gueydan 6
The Oberlin Tigers welcomed Gueydan to the gridiron for Homecoming, Friday night, September 24. They earned their second win of the season with a victory over Gueydan, 41-6. The Tigers will travel to Hamilton Christian on Friday, October 1.