Cormier runs for 327 yards, five TDs in Kaplan win

KAPLAN - The Kaplan Pirates won their homecoming game in shootout-fashion, 51-42, over the Patterson Lumberjacks Friday night at Ed Douglas Memorial Stadium.
De’Maurion Cormier carried the load for the Pirates’ rushing attack. The junior running back ran over and around Lumberjack defenders on his way to 327 yards and five touchdowns.
“Last game I got injured, so this game the beast came out of me,” Cormier said.
He was also a force on defense for the Pirates, ending the game with a quarterback sack.
“I had to trick them,” Cormier continued. “I acted like I was going through the B-gap. I did my little move, went through the C-gap, and got to the quarterback.”
Kaplan (4-2) jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the first quarter. Gannon Smith booted a 24-yard field goal to cap their first possession and Cormier broke loose from 40 yards away for his first touchdown on their second.
Patterson (0-6) answered when quarterback Hayven Keller connected with Jamall Pollard from 37 yards out. The extra point made the score 10-7 after one quarter of play.
Cormier scored the only touchdown of the second quarter when he broke the plane on a five-yard run with 4:07 on the clock. Smith’s extra point made the score 17-7 at the break.
Pirates’ head coach John Thompson was proud of the effort of his defense in the first half.
“We had them bottled up,” Thompson said. “We had them taken care of in the first half. The second half was a different story.”
Early in the third quarter, it looked like Kaplan was going to run away from the Lumberjacks. Cormier scored his third touchdown from 20 yards out only 10 seconds into the quarter. Then Kaplan quarterback Sabe David dropped a dime into receiver Owen Marceaux’s breadbasket for a 69-yard touchdown pass. Smith made both extra points to give Kaplan a commanding 31-7 lead with 6:34 left in the third.
Patterson answered only 12 seconds later when Pollard picked up a squib-kick and outran the Pirates’ defense for an 80-yard kickoff return touchdown. The extra point made it 31-14 with 6:22 remaining.
Cormier scored his fourth touchdown on Kaplan’s next possession. On first down from the Patterson 32-yard-line, Cormier took the handoff going left, squirted through the hole, and then raced to the end zone. Patterson blocked the extra point to keep the lead at 37-14 with 4:19 left in the quarter.
The Lumberjacks scored again when Keller threw a 49-yard bomb to Gregory Johnson for the touchdown. Johnson finished the game with 11 receptions for 202 yards and a score. The extra point made it 37-21 at the end of three.
The Pirates started the scoring in the fourth quarter when David hit Jeremy Roy for a six-yard touchdown pass. Smith added the extra point for a 44-21 Kaplan-lead with 11:19 left in the game.
Keller answered the Kaplan score with another 49-yard bomb. This time he connected with Jaylen McDaniel for the touchdown. The extra point made the score 44-28 with 9:23 left.
On the ensuing kickoff, Patterson recovered the onside kick at the Kaplan 32-yard-line. On the following play, Keller found McDaniel again for the 32-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion failed to keep it 44-34 with 9:16 left.
Kaplan took over on its own 32 and methodically marched downfield, eating 3:27 off the clock. Cormier scored his fifth and final touchdown of the game from 18 yards out with 5:49 left on the clock. Smith tacked on the extra point to make it 51-34.
Patterson added one more scored when Keller hit Pollard with a 56-yard bomb. They also added the two-point conversion to provide the final margin. Keller finished 21-of-32 for 420 yards and five touchdowns.
“They kept beating us deep,” Thompson continued. “They threw the ball up there and their athletes went and got it. They made six plays the whole game. Other than that, we dominated. They couldn’t run the ball on us at all. We won the game and I’m proud of our boys for that.”
Van Guidry joined Cormier in triple digits rushing with 110 yards on 20 carries. Roy added 36 yards on six carries. David finished five-of-nine for 97 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Marceaux finished with 69 yards and a score on one reception while Roy had three catches for 14 yards and a touchdown. Taven Townsend also had one catch for 14 yards.
The Pirates hit the road next Thursday as they travel to Baton Rouge to tangle with Southern Lab (3-3). The Kittens lost 32-14 to Madison Prep in week six. Last season, Kaplan defeated Southern Lab 40-20 at home.
Thompson believes his team must be focused to get win number six.
“Everybody has no choice but to lock in,” Thompson said. “We need to come in with a sense of urgency. This is not a road trip to have fun. It’s a business trip to win a football game. If we get that, we’ll beat them.”