Patriots fall to Loreauville

MAURICE — The North Vermilion Patriots were oh-so-close to pulling their record to .500 on the season Thursday night before a long touchdown pass gave Loreauville the lead, and a fumble with less than 35 seconds remaining sealed a 17-10 win for the visiting Tigers.
It was another tantalizingly close loss for the Patriots, who are 1-3 with two 4-point losses and one 7-point loss now.
“That’s the story of our season right now,” NVHS head coach Joe Heintz said. “We’re about four plays from being 4-0, but instead we’re 1-3. We just can’t seem to get out of our own way at times — it’s self-inflicted wounds.”
North Vermilion outrushed the Tigers 211 yards to 93 on the night, and even outgained Loreuville 246 total yards to 241 after LHS passed for 148 yards. Eighty of those yards came on the long TD pass, however, which was on the first play after North Vermilion turned the ball over on downs at the 20 with 8:28 remaining in the game.
“Now, they’re a good football team,” Heintz was quick to say. “I don’t want to take anything away from them. I think they’re a good football team and they’re going to make some noise in (Division IV).”
The Patriots also were flagged seven times for 80 yards in penalties to Loreauville’s six penalties for 60 yards.
“I just want them to call the right game, and I think they did,” Heintz said of the officials. “It’s just part of us not getting out of our own way right now.”
North Vermilion got off to a good start, marching 46 yards in 12 plays to open the game, with Tucker Denais scoring on a seven-yard run to cap the drive. The Patriots converted two fourth-down plays on runs by Denais and Grant Wise to keep the drive alive, and led 7-0 after the PAT kick by Jacob Lattier.
Denais led North Vermilion with 69 yards on 17 runs. Wise added 35 yards on nine carries.
NVHS had a chance to make it a two-TD lead midway through the second quarter when Jace Baldridge chased down Loreauville QB Trevor Dooley for a sack that resulted in a fumble. The Patriots’ R.J. Meaux recovered the strip sack at the LHS 11-yard line.
North Vermilion gained only five yards in three plays from there, however, and settled for a 23-yard field goal by Lattier to lead 10-0 with 6:57 remaining in the half.
Loreauville took advantage of two penalties on its next drive and went 65 yards for a touchdown in eight plays. Maddox Savoy, who led the Tigers with 79 yards on 11 rushes, went in from the 4 and Logan Templet kicked the point-after to make it a 10-7 game with 3:02 to go.
The Tigers tied it up on their first possession of the second half, driving from their 23 to the North Vermilion 10 before settling for Templet’s 27-yard field goal with 7:33 remaining in the third period.
Loreauville missed out on its own chance to take the lead later in the quarter. Taking over at their 48 following a punt, the Tigers drove to the NVHS 10-yard line, but a high pass on second down, a tackle for a 2-yard loss by Brody Lambeck and a pass broken up a the goal by Rece Gyles turned Loreauville away and the Patriots took over on downs at the 12.
North Vermilion steadily marched into scoring territory on the ensuing drive, with Logan Thompson keeping for 11 yards on the first snap, Devin Galley rambling for 30 yards two snaps later, Denais also breaking off an 11-yard carry and Andrew Heintz carrying three times for 18 yards.
Heintz rushed for 47 yards on 11 carries and Galley added 43 yards on eight rushes.
But the drive stalled at the Loreauville 20 and the Tigers took over on downs. On the next snap, quarterback Hayden Benoit lofted a pass deep downfield to John Munnerlyn, who caught the ball in stride behind the defense and outran them to the end zone for a 17-10 lead with 8:17 remaining, following the Templet PAT.
North Vermilion didn’t go down without a fight, getting one last opportunity to pull even after taking over at their own 23 after a Loreauville punt with 3:37 remaining in the game.
Denais broke loose for 11 yards, but slipped while making a cut, on the first play. Three plays later, facing a third down and nine yards to go, Thompson hooked up with receiver Owen LeBlanc for 20 yards on a slant pass.
The two connected again for 15 yards on the next play, the Patriots only pass completions of the night, to get the ball to the Loreauville 10-yard line with 51 seconds left on the clock.
A two-yard gain on first down got the ball to the 8, but on second down, North Vermilion fumbled and Loreauville recovered, running out the last 34 seconds with one final offensive snap.
“We’ve got to turn this thing around somehow,” Joe Heintz said. “At the end of the day, the kids are playing hard. They are. They’re giving everything they have. That’s all we want as coaches. It’s not fun being 1-3. That’s where we are.
“Sports is a testament to character, and we’ll see what kind of character we have next week.”
The Patriots play at home next Friday against Beau Chene.