Kaplan travels to play West St. Mary

The Kaplan Pirates are on the road to face the West St. Mary Wolfpack Friday at 7 p.m.
Kaplan (4-2, 1-0) carries a four-game win streak into the game following a 41-14 victory over North Vermilion.
After Kaplan’s first two losses to Lafayette and Church Point, the team has hit their stride, especially in the run game.
“You just keep playing,” said head coach Stephen Lotief. “That’s all we have been doing. We are just trying to get better.”
It does seem that the team has gotten better with each game.
The last two outings against St. Martinville and North Vermilion, the team has rushed for 381 yards and 363 yards respectively.
Leading the charge over the last two games is Julius Johnson.
He has been on a tear, racking up 322 yards and four touchdowns in those two games.
The return of Jade Herpin at quarterback, after missing two games with a concussion, has paid dividends for the Pirates. Daniel Lotief filled in efficiently in Herpin’s absence. He was able to lead Kaplan to wins against Westminster and Iowa.
Last week, Herpin rushed for 48 yards and a touchdown, as well as throwing a touchdown to Grant Frick.
The defense has flourished in the winning streak as well. The Pirates are only surrendering 10 points per game in the last four.
Kaplan’s Wing-T offense allows the team to spread the carries and yards around, which is why they have four out of the top 11 rushing yard leaders in the area: Johnson, Frick, Justin Stoute and Darren Istre.
Johnson is second in the area with 549 yards rushing on 112 carries, while Frick is third in the area with 401 yards on 61 attempts.
Frick has five total touchdowns on the season while Johnson has four.
Stoute enters the game with 274 yards rushing on 51 attempts, and Darren Istre has racked up 168 yards with only 21 carries.
Defensive end and tight end Jalen Bates is the top receiving threat for the Pirates when they decide to throw.
West St. Mary enters the game with an 0-6 mark. The Wolfpack most recently lost 58-0 to district frontrunner Notre Dame.
Despite a winless season thus far, Lotief explained the problems that the Wolfpack presents.
“They get in a whole lot of different formations,” he said. “They have a lot of speed, and they try to catch you lined up incorrectly.”
Lotief was asked the question of taking the opponent likely considering the directions the two teams are headed in.
“We shouldn’t take them likely,” he said. “They beat us 72-22 three years ago, we beat them 21-20 and then 14-10. There is no reason we should take them likely, and if we do we will get beat.”