Kaplan edges Abbeville 22-14

The ninth straight victory for the Russo Trophy did not come easy for the Kaplan Pirates Friday night.
Kaplan (7-2, 4-0) defeated rival Abbeville 22-14 for their seventh straight victory this season.
In a fairly sloppy game, Kaplan was able to overcome a bevy of mistakes to grind out a win.
“We did everything wrong,” said Kaplan head coach Stephen Lotief. “We didn’t take care of the football, and we had some penalties. We took some steps back, but we made some plays.
“We dominated pretty good. I think our enemy was Kaplan High School more than Abbeville, and I know they will play hard. They are coached hard and they work real hard, but we got it done.”
The Wildcats did not waste anytime to get the scoring started.
Travion Moore took the opening kickoff 88 yards to give Abbeville a quick 7-0 lead.
Kaplan responded on their first drive of the game with a drive capped off by a 10-yard touchdown run by Julius Johnson. A missed extra point gave Abbeville a 7-6 lead.
Sixteen seconds later, the Wildcats scored again, this time on a 68-yard pass from Demarcus Collins to Malik Small to put Abbeville up by eight points with less than three minutes gone by in the opening quarter.
After the 20-point barrage in less than three minutes of action, the scoring ceased for a long stretch with both teams trading turnovers along the way.
Kaplan stopped the scoring drought in the second quarter with 8:55 left on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Jade Herpin to Kerry Kass. A successful two point conversion tied the game at 14 heading into halftime.
Grant Frick was able to take a handoff and with one cut, he was able to take it 52 yards for a touchdown to give Kaplan the 22-14 lead with 1:06 left in the third.
Looking to hold the lead, the Kaplan defense, led by Arizona State commit Jalen Bates, continued to terrorize Collins.
He was sacked six times and was not comfortable in the pocket for most of the night.
Collins threw for 101 yards with one touchdown and one pick.
Abbeville’s rushing attack was held to -32 yards and the Wildcats were able to only muster up 99 yards of total offense thanks to the stout Pirate defense.
Herpin threw for 100 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Johnson led the Pirates with 105 yards and a touchdown, followed by Frick with 81 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts.
“When you’re playing the Wing-T and you are disciplined, it’s not that hard to defend,” said Abbeville head coach Chris Towery. “It’s when you get caught up in all the eye candy and the motions is where they get you. I thought we did a really good job on defense tonight.”
Both teams combined for nine turnovers, with Kaplan committing five.
Abbeville (0-9, 0-4) was on the verge of pulling off the upset, but inopportune mistakes led to their demise, according to Towery.
“We played a hell of a game,” he said. “We gave everything tonight. We just couldn’t make plays when we needed to. Hats off to them. They’re a good football team.”
Next week, Kaplan travels to play Notre Dame for the District 6-3A title, and Abbeville will travel to Baldwin to play West St. Mary looking for their first win in the Towery Era.