Erath Bobcats pitch two rare shutouts

LEROY - The North Vermilion defense could not stop Erath tailback Elijah Mitchell in Erath’s 34-0 district victory over the Patriots. But the bigger story of the night was the Bobcats’ defense.
While Mitchell got his yards, 259 yards and three touchdowns, it was the defense that may be the unsung heroes.
For the second game in a row, the Erath defense pitched a shut out, a goose egg and a zero when the game ended.
The last time Erath had two straight shutouts was in 1995. EHS shut out Delcambre 6-0 and North Vermilion 41-0 to begin the 1995 football season. Last week’s shutout of Vermilion Catholic was the first EHS shut out since 2009 when Erath defeated Vermilion Catholic 20-0.
The Patriots gained 196 total yards, compared to Erath’s 358 total yards.
Erath junior linebacker Caleb Jagneaux said, “We pounded the line of scrimmage. By the second quarter North Vermilion had not scored, that is when I began thinking about not letting them score at all. These bunch of guys are the best around.”
The mastermind man behind the defense is second-year EHS defensive coordinator Keith Calvert. Prior to transferring to Erath, Calvert was the defensive coordinator at Class 5A Lafayette High.
“We have a great group of kids on defense,” said Calvert. “You always want to pitch a shutout. North Vermilion is a good team, but we made plays when it counted.”
The defense came up with three fumbles, a couple of sacks and had two interceptions. Free safety Mason Granger had both interceptions, including his first in North Vermilion’s end zone to kill the Patriots first threat.
Erath set the tone on its first drive by going 80 yards and took five minutes off the clock. Mitchell had 10 carries for 79 yards on the drive.
The Bobcats’ second score was a combination of players getting involved, other than Mitchell. Granger had a 10-yard run. Jagneaux, who also saw playing at fullback, added a nine yard run. Tailback Coy LeBlanc capped off a 67 yard drive with a 3-yard TD run that put Erath ahead 14-0.
With 1:27 to play in the second quarter, Hunter Hulin missed a 37-yard field goal for NV, and Erath went into the lockerroom leading 14-0.
Erath scored on its two first second half drives, making it, 27-0.
Granger broke a long run for a 53-yard touchdown run that put EHS up 20-0.
On NV’s third possession in the second half, the Patriots went for it on fourth down, 22 yards away from the end zone.
NV quarterback Garrett Becker began to roll right but was caught behind the line of scrimmage by EHS senior defensive tackle Joseph Knight.
Erath’s offense responded by going 75 yards for another score. Mitchell had a 30-yard run on the drive, and Granger punched it into the endzone from 16 yards out to make it 34-0.
For the second game in a row, Mitchell ran for 250-plus yards and scored three touchdowns.
“Our game plan was to keep our defense off the field and just grind it out. We needed him (Mitchell) to carry us and he did,” said EHS head coach David Comeaux.
Erath has a homecoming game Friday against 4-0 Berwick Panthers, which is a also a big district showdown.