Vermilion Catholic defense shines in win

The titans of the vaunted district 7-1A clashed at Vermilion Catholic Stadium Friday night.
The Screamin’ Eagles escaped with a 29-22 victory versus Central Catholic of Morgan City.
In a game between two teams widely regarded as the front runners for the district championship, Vermilion Catholic wanted to send a message to the rest of the district that they are still the reigning district 7-1A champions.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my team,” said VC head coach Russell Kuhns. “We have a bunch of guys that are getting better and better each week.”
The defense of Vermilion Catholic scored the first points of the game on a 36-yard interception return by Andre Girouard. A missed extra point try gave VC a 6-0 lead.
Vermilion Catholic’s defense continued to flex their muscles with 4:32 left in the first half when William Noegel tackled Stefano Guarisco for a 3-yard loss and a safety to extend VC’s lead to 8-0.
Central Catholic responded with 28 seconds left in the half on a 35-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Blake Byrne to Jalen Johnson. Byrne’s pass to Matthew Barbier converted the 2 point conversion to tie the game at 8 at the half.
In the third quarter, Hunter Frith intercepted a pass and returned it to the Central Catholic 20-yard line for Vermilion Catholic, and two plays later, Frith connected with Tyler Derouen in the back of the endzone for a 1-yard score.
With 6:57 left in the third quarter, Byrne found Guarisco on a 24-yard screen pass for a touchdown to narrow the deficit to 15-14.
An Emile Trahan interception, set up a 12-yard touchdown run by Derouen to extend Vermilion Catholic’s lead to 22-14.
With 10:10 left in the game, Vermilion Catholic delivered what was considered the back breaking play of the game when Frith found Trahan on a wheel route for 89 yards and a touchdown to give them a 29-14 lead.
A three-and-out by Central Catholic turned the ball back over to the Screamin’ Eagles. A few plays later, Frith’s pass was tipped and intercepted by John Parker and returned to the VC 20.
A few plays later, Guarisco connected with Samarick Paul on a halfback pass to cut the margin in half to 29-22. Central Catholic’s hopes came down to the final drive, where they were unable to convert a fourth down with 57 seconds left.
Frith earned his fifth straight 200 plus yard passing game. He finished the game 12-31 for 212 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Derouen led the Screamin’ Eagles rushing attack with 75 yards and a touchdown on 14 attempts. Chris Campbell added 28 yards on 10 carries. Trahan was the leading receiver with 102 yards on three receptions with a score. Derouen chipped in with 85 yards and a touchdown with six receptions.
“Our defense played great tonight,” said Kuhns. “They really grew up. Im proud of the defense and how they played. It feels good to get a win against this team who is historically on top of the district. It’s great to get a win in week 5 moving forward into the rest of the season.”
Vermilion Catholic is in action next Friday when they travel to face the Gueydan Bears, who opened district play Friday night with a 56-0 loss to Highland Baptist.