A St. Frederick player kneels in front of VC's Thomas Bellaire after the game.
VC defender Rhett Taylor makes a tackle
VC's Caleb Broussard and Ashton Belaire make a tackle.
St. Frederick too much for VC
The St. Frederick Warriors used a steady run game and a stingy defense to end Vermilion Catholic’s season by a score of 31-7. In the Division IV semifinals, the 9-2 Warriors will travel to Baton Rouge to take on Southern Lab, a 39-6 winner over Country Day. VC finishes the season at 8-4.
The Eagles knocked St. Frederick out of the playoffs last year.
St. Frederick’s run game, which ate up nearly 33 minutes of clock, was led by running back Michael Thompson, who rushed for 195 yards on 32 carries. The Warrior defense held VC to 85 yards of total offense.
The Warriors started the scoring in the first quarter with a nine-play drive that began at their one-yard line, with a 27-yard field goal by Ty Newman.
On the first play of the 2nd quarter, St. Fred quarterback Connor Breen connected with James Mayronne on fourth down for an 18-yard touchdown to put the Warriors up 10-0, a lead they would take to halftime.
VC would receive the football to start the third quarter and fail to convert on a 4th and 1, which would give the Warriors great field position at the Eagle 23-yard-line. Five plays later, Mayronne would punch it in from three yards out to give St. Frederick a 17-0 lead and at that point, never looked back.
The Eagles’ lone score would come with 20 seconds left to play when Rhett Taylor recovered a blocked punt in the endzone.
The VC run game, which had a hard time getting going all night, was led by Jonathan Dartez with four carries for 21 yards. Travin Moore would add 10 yards on four carries.
The Eagles’ passing game wouldn’t fare much better.
Quarterback Mikie Bazar ended the night 12 of 35 for 45 yards and two interceptions. Dartez was the leading receiver with 11 catches for 34 yards.