VC rushes past Highland for first win of 2016

If you need a first win of the season, there’s no better one than in district play. That’s exactly what the Vermilion Catholic Eagles picked up Friday night in a 44-39 win against the Highland Baptist Bears.
It was the first win of the year, it was a district win, and it was head coach Ossie Blaize’s first win as a head coach in more than 15 years.
For Blaize, it was a bittersweet win.
“It’s a win, and you’re happy for the kids,” he said about the victory. “But, penalties and turnovers hurt us. Give [Highland] credit. They had some tremendous guys, but there is no way we should have let them stay in the game like that.”
The Eagles put up the first points of the game early when Cade Boudreaux put away a 3-point kick halfway through the first quarter. However, a fiesty Bears squad returned the subsequent kickoff back for a touchdown, taking the lead.
VC’s young squad found their confidence and found a couple of power players in their running game. Kalix Broussard and Alex LeBlanc did the bulk of the work on the offensive side of the ball for the Eagles.
Blaize did compliment Broussard and LeBlanc for their level of play in the game. “Kalix did great, but he did turn the ball over,” he admitted. “But, he did a great job out there. You also had [LeBlanc] out there with a great game, and I think the stats will show that.”
And, they do. LeBlanc ran 13 times for 111 yards. The rushing leader for the night was Broussard, with 29 runs for 201 yards and four touchdowns. Lege picked up 28 yards of his own in just four carries. He also went 11 of 21 in passing with 183 yards.
Broussard would pick up two touchdowns after Highland’s kick return.
Highland picked up another kick return for a touchdown, but a penalty pushed their point-after kick back and caused them to miss the extra point, leaving the game at 17-13.
Broussard would put VC on the board again on the next drive to make it 24-13.
Then, in a move to stop the kick returns for a touchdown, VC kicked an early onside kick, recovered it, and drove down the field.
This time, it would be the passing game that would shine. Quarterback J.T. Lege found Chris Constantine for a touchdown.
Highland would find its first offensive touchdown of the game after a long and slow drive down the field. A missed point-after kick left the score at 31-19.
Highland would then try its own onside kick, but failed to recover. However, what would have been great field position for VC ended up being pushed back about 30 yards after a double penalty. The Eagles were called on a personal foul and an unsportsmanlike conduct.
Two plays later, it was a fumble that handed the ball to Highland, who took advantage and drove the ball in for another touchdown. Highland would score again two minutes later, taking the lead for the second time in the game, 33-31.
And that was just in the first half.
A pass from Lege to LeBlanc and a run from Broussard would finish up the scoring for VC in the second half, and Highland would only score ones more, leaving the final score at 44-39.
On the receiving side, LeBlanc had 64 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Matthew Fontenot caught four for 62 yards and Constantine caught four for 56 yards.
The Eagles are looking to get stronger in terms of keeping possession and reducing penalties. “It was a lot of youth an inexperience in what we were doing,” Blaize explained.
Hopefully, it’s a problem they can overcome next week as district play continues at Hanson Memorial.
“Say whatever you want about our team,” Blaize said after the game. “But, I do believe the district championship still runs through Abbeville.”