NV Patriots run over Loreauville

LOREAUVILLE — The North Vermilion Patriots got their running game going in a big way Thursday night, rolling up more than 300 yards and five touchdowns on the ground to upend Loreauville High, 35-21.
“I challenged our offense before we came out here,” NV coach Brett Blakey said after his team evened its record at 2-2. “I told them our defense has been carrying the load, it’s time that we do our job and show up. I think we did.”
A 94-yard scoring drive that started late in the third quarter sparked a three-touchdown fourth quarter rally for the win.
The Patriots jumped ahead 14-0 in the first quarter on an 83-yard touchdown romp by Kiaron Rudd and two-yard run by Tucker Denais to cap a 55-yard scoring drive, but saw Loreauville rally for a 21-14 lead with a pair of TD runs by Evan Simon and a 19-yard scoring pass from quarterback Hayden Benoit to tight end Jack David Martin over the second and third quarters.
But North Vermilion held the Tigers scoreless the rest of the way and scored three times in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Denais finished the game with 116 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries and Rudd had 104 yards and two TDs on 11 totes.
“We’ve been talking for the last three or four weeks about being one block away, one missed assignment away,” Blakey said. “I feel like tonight we got those blocks, we got those assignments. There were a couple of times where we missed it but for the most part, it was there.
“We jumped into a couple of crazy formations because we thought it might allow us to gain some advantage, but at the end of the day it was our base stuff that allowed us to continue to push the ball down the field.”
After Loreauville missed a 24-yard field goal attempt on its opening drive, North Vermilion lost a few yards on a first-down play but Rudd broke down the right sideline on the next carry and went 83 yards to the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead following the PAT by Ian Schexnider.
After Denais scored the first of his three touchdowns on the next NVHS series, the Tigers went to their ground game behind Simon, who finished with 245 yards and two TDs on 28 carries, mixing in the touchdown pass, to take a 21-14 lead at the 7:12 mark of the third period.
Blakey said he out-thought himself with his playcalling in the second quarter, which slowed down the Patriots offense.
“If I don’t get cute in the second quarter with all those stupid formations, I’d like to believe that we couldn’t continued to drive the ball,” he said. “As a coach I feel I took a little momentum away from us.”
NV had planned before the game to use the passing game to set up the run, but the buck sweep and speed sweep were so successful at setting up the trap game that the Patriots didn’t have to pass, Blakey said. NV had a long 33-yard completion from Jag Broussard to Norris Benoit for its lone completion in five attempts.
“It’s a beautiful thing when it works the way it needs to work,” Blakey said of the run game.
North Vermilion got back on track offensively with the 94-yard drive to tie the score after a punt by the Tigers. A 44-yard run by Isaiah Whitlock on the first play got the Patriots to midfield, and an 18-yard carry by Whitlock a few plays later was enough to overcome a holding penalty against a receiver on the end of the play — a call disputed by the NV coaching staff. Whitlock added an 18-yard run later in the series.
“Man, it feels good,” Whitlock said of the win. “We went back to the basics (on offense), kind of just did what we could, and that’s what helped in the long run.”
Denais scored on a 31-yard carry with 11:06 remaining in the game and the PAT made it 21-all.
“Driving that ball 94 yards was huge,” said Blakey. “I think it’s just a will to fight in these kids. This is a special group of kids.
“I think we went three and out the second time and punted to them. To force them to punt back to us was huge for us. I looked at Jag and I told him, ‘You go tell these guys that we’re driving this ball 96 yards.’ And the very first play, we crossed midfield, and it was over after that. The confidence and the never-quit attitude that these guys showed tonight was amazing and unreal. I’m so proud of them. I’m super proud of them.”
The Tigers coughed the ball up on their second snap after the ensuing kickoff on a bad exchange between Benoit and Simon, and Noah Stelly pounced on the ball for North Vermilion at the 28 to set up the go-ahead drive. Denais capped the series with a 14-yard TD run, and Rudd added a four-yard touchdown run on the Patriots’ next series after the defense forced a three-and-out punt.
“We got the fumble right there, we were able to score, then turned them over on downs and then basically it was pretty much run out the clock and score,” Blakey said. “That run by Kiaron at the end, he’s hit in the backfield and basically dragged everybody three yards. That’s just wanting it more. We sat down with the seniors yesterday and said we’ve got to have a fire in us at all times, especially going into district play.”
“I just want to thank the crowd and everybody for coming out to support us,” Whitlock said.