Episcopal whips North Vermilion

BATON ROUGE – North Vermilon played Episcopal close the last two seasons in narrow losses and the Patriots got off to a good start by scoring on their first drive.
Consistency was then the undoing for the Patriots, who had trouble stopping Episcopal senior running back TJ Wisham. Wisham rushed for three touchdowns Friday night as the host Knights defeated North Vermilion 28-6.
North Vermilion (1-1) had shutout Hanson Memorial 28-0 last week. NVHS coach Richard Prejean said his team played much better in that contest.
“We didn’t block consistently and we didn’t pass consistently,” Prejean said. “We became one dimensional on offense and had trouble moving the ball. We had some breakdowns on defense and special teams.
“But it’s still just one game. I think we’re making progress and have a chance to be a good team.”
North Vermilion (1-1) drove 39 yards in seven plays on its opening possession. Senior quarterback Dade Dieterich had a key 20-yard run on third-and-11. On the next play, Dieterich tossed a 6-yard scoring strike to Tyler Galley. The ensuing PAT failed and NVHS led 6-0 with 5:27 remaining in the first quarter.
Episcopal’s defense stiffened and held the Patriots to just 31 yards total offense in the first half. NVHS tried a fake punt play in a fourth-and-1 situation, but Episcopal’s Kydris Washington charged hard and dropped Caleb Castro for a 13-yard loss with 1:34 remaining in the first half. That set up Episcopal’s second score.
Wisham, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound senior, scored on runs of 14, 66 and 40 yards and has five rushing TDs for EHS (2-0). Wisham ran for 186 yards on 20 carries Friday.
EHS took a 7-6 lead following its eight-play, 50-yard drive midway in the second quarter. Washington scored on a weaving 15-yard run.
Washington’s punt sack set up a five-play, 28-yard drive. Wisham had three carries in the drive. He scored on a 14-yard run where he ran right and was nearly tackled, then spun to the left. Russ St. Romain hit the PAT to put EHS up 14-6 with 37 seconds remaining in the half.
In the fourth quarter, the Patriots had two drives inside the EHS 20-yard line. A 36-yard pass from Dieterich to Connor Dupuy extended the first drive. Facing a fourth-and-6 situation at the EHS 14, Dieterich was stopped short on a run.
The Patriots picked up two first downs in their final drive. Senior running back Dylan Dent was stopped at the EHS 12-yard line on the final play of the game.
Dent rushed 23 times for 67 yards and had one catch for 16 yards. Dieterich ran eight times for 42 yards and completed 6-of-13 passes for 83 yards. Dupuy had three catches for 52 yards and Galley two catches for 22 yards.
Castro had a good punting day. He averaged 40 yards per punt, with a long punt of 51 yards.
Episcopal’s David Tatman intercepted Dieterich to set up the final score. EHS drove 65 yards in six plays. Wisham’s 40-yard TD and Trevor Bisson’s PAT put the Knights up 28-6 with 11:46 remaining.
“Episcopal stepped on the accelerator the last three quarters and we couldn’t keep up,” Prejean said. “It was too little too late.”