One win away

The Vermilion Catholic Eagles are on the verge of making it to the State Championship game.

The only thing that stands in the way of the Eagles making a trip to the Super Dome, is the Cedar Creek Cougars.

Cedar Creek enters the game as the number four seed.

“Cedar Creek is a good football team,” Eagles Head Coach Russell Kuhns said. “I mean they made it to the semi-finals of the state championships, they are a good team. We can’t and won’t take them lightly.”

The biggest concern for coach Kuhns and his coaching staff is the little things and mental preparation of his team.

“We are just treating this game as business as usual,” Kuhns said. “We have been working on tightening everything up. We want to make sure that everyone knows where they are supposed to be. At this point in the year the mental preparation is more important than the physical preparation.”

One thing coach Kuhns is not concerned about is his team looking forward on the schedule and overlooking the Cougars.

“Yes, everyone is excited that we are in the semi-finals, and they should be,” Kuhns said. “The one thing everyone needs to remember is that we aren’t there yet. We still have a lot of work to do before we get to that point.
That’s something that the kids understand.”

Kuhns went on to say that the VC team was in this situation only a couple of years ago and couldn’t seal the deal.

“Nothing matters but the next game,” Kuhns said. “I’m not fielding questions from anyone about the championships until we get there. Cedar Creek is our main focus, and teams get in trouble when they look past opponents
and I’m not going to let that happen.”

Now, looking forward to the game itself, coach Kuhns is concerned with the Cougars ground game and defense.

“They have a really good running back,” Kuhns said. “Along with the running back, they have a really good running quarterback. We are going to have to stay sound in our defensive sets because if we don’t they can and will
burn us.”

The running back that Kuhns is alluding to is Donald Jenkins.

Jenkins has 1,507 rushing yards on 182 carries, during the regular season. He also added 19 rushing touchdowns.

Along with Jenkins running the ball, the Eagles need to worry about Mark Van.

Van is the quarterback for the Cougars, and running the ball he has accrued 1,090 yards on 150 carries. He has found the end zone 14 times running the ball.

Along with his rushing prowess, Van has thrown for 1,073 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Kuhns also went on to mention that the defense for the Cougars is the thing that concerns him the most.

“They play really well defensively,” Kuhns said. “They put a lot of pressure on the quarterback and tackle very well. On top of all, they are really big. We are going to have to be on top of our game offensively.”

The defense for the Cougars has only allowed 15 total points in the two playoff games it has played.

The Eagles aren’t the only ones that are preparing for a good football team.

“They are very well coached,” Cedar Creek Head Coach Michael Haddox said. “They play a very physical style of football. They can throw so many things at you offensively, we are going to have our hands full.”

Coach Haddox went on to say that the defense is very sound, and always keeps the other teams guessing.

“It’s hard to gameplan around a defense like theirs (VC),” Haddox said. “Defensively they are very sound in what they do. They give you a bunch of fronts, and they are just so physical.”

This is also the first time in Cedar Creek’s history that they have made it to the semi-finals of the state championship tournament.

“We are all very excited,” Haddox said. “We just have to remember that, yes, it may be our first time but we still have a game to play against a very good football team,”

During the playoff run, the Eagles have been led by the stellar play of quarterback Brennan Gallet.

Over the course of two playoff games, Gallet has 501 yards passing. He also has added eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions.

On the receiving end of almost half those yards from Gallet is Emile Trahan.

Trahan leads the team in receptions with nine, yards with 205 and touchdowns with four.

Mike Campbell leads the way on the ground for the Eagles. He has accumulated 263 yards on 27 carriers, with four rushing touchdowns.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at VC’s stadium.

Andy Bullard
Sports Editor