Last week's St. Ed's 78 points motivates VC's defense

 The number 78 was special for the Vermilion Catholic defense on Friday. Throughout the week before the game, they kept seeing the number 78 all over social media. But rather than intimidating them, it seemed to fuel their fire even more.
By game time, the VC defense had one goal: to prevent the St. Edmund’s offense from doing what it did against St. Martin’s in the second round of the playoffs. St. Edmund’s won 78-32. Many thought the 78 was a statement for their next opponent.
With eight minutes left in the game and VC leading 47-6, the Blue Jays scored two late touchdowns, bringing the final score to 60-20.
Twenty points was the least scored this season by St. Ed’s.
At the end of the third period, St. Ed’s quarterback had minus 20 yards of offense by himself.
St. Ed’s QB Kane West had minus yards because of defensive line Gabe Boudreaux. Boudreaux was in the backfield for three periods and gave West fits.
      “I was thinking about how they put up 78  points against St. Martin’s,” said Boudreaux.  “Yeah, the 78 points was my main motivation. Their offense was pretty good, and they thought they would beat us.”
Well, that did not happen.
However, the Blue Jays did look like they would give the Eagles a game. On its opening drive, St. Edmund marched 78 yards in 16 plays for a touchdown. With three minutes left in the first period, the score was 6-0.
The VC defense kept St. Ed’s from doing anything offensively in the first half. After the opening drive for a touchdown, St. Ed’s punted in its next three possessions, and VC scored on its next three possessions for  20-6  lead in the first quarter,
Seth Boudreaux and Jackson Trahan teamed up in the first quarter to sack the quarterback.
VC freshman Trevin Hebert, who plays cornerback, came up big for the defense. On third down and seven on St. Ed’s 34-yard line, Hebert stepped in front of a pass for an interception that he converted into a 34-yard touchdown after outrunning the defender. His TD made the score 27-6.
 “As soon as I saw him (St. Ed QB) wind up, I threw it, and I came up and jumped in front of it,” said Hebert. “It was an amazing feeling.”
That was Hebert’s first varsity interception. Hebert said he did not care what St. Ed’s did the week before.
“They have to come to our house and play our defense,” he said. “We do not believe anyone can come here and dominate us like that. Especially in our house.”
The Eagles defense got a big interception, which resulted in VC scoring another touchdown to make the score 60-12. Jyrin Bessard had the interception on the VC 10-yard line, and he ran it back 76 yards to set up another VC touchdown. 
 St. Ed’s had just over 250 yards of total offense and scored two touchdowns in the game’s final eight minutes. 
VC’s defense will face a significant challenge next week in the semifinals. The Kangaroos (10-3) come into the game averaging 47 points during the playoffs and 34 points in the regular season.