VC gets good news, bad news on Friday

OPELOUSAS - Vermilion Catholic’s Friday started out with solid news: Senior quarterback JT Lege is not out for the season after all.
“It’s been a roller coaster of a week, that’s for sure,” VC head coach Brady Thomas said. “I’m happy that he got that good news today.
“It is going to depend on therapy and how well he responds to that,” he added.
However, a tough Friday night for the Vermilion Catholic Screamin’ Eagles ended with a 22-6 loss to the Opelousas Catholic Vikings.
Thomas, who is 1-1 at the beginning of his coaching career, admitted that a less-than-stellar week of practice for offense translated to a sluggish Friday night performance.
However, he did praise the Eagles’ defense for playing a good game against a bigger Viking offensive line and backfield. “You guys gave us a chance,” he told the team after the game.
The opening drive for the Eagles ended prematurely on a fumble, and that seemed to have set the stage for the first half. Both teams turned the ball over multiple times, and neither seemed to get much momentum on offense.
VC’s fumble didn’t turn into anything for the Vikings, who ended their drive with a turnover on downs. The back and forth kept going through the first quarter, which saw two VC interceptions and several OC fumbles, prevented either team from scoring until the second quarter.
VC sophomore quarterback Andrew Marceaux was finally able to connect with Kris Constantine with a 30-yard touchdown pass that gave Vermilion Catholic the early lead, 6-0.
Four minutes later, Viking running back Ryan Lewis drove the ball in, and a point-after kick put his squad up over the Eagles, 7-6.
The Vikings would score three more times that night with two more touchdowns and a 3-point kick.
The biggest struggle of the night for the Eagles was on offense. Marceaux struggled with frequent Viking raids in the backfield and getting the ball to his skill players. Freshman Drew Lege, younger brother of the injured senior quarterback, JT Lege, came in during the fourth quarter, but faced similar struggles.
Thomas, however, took the blame on himself. “We were a little inconsistent at the quarterback position, which is my responsibility,” he said. “That’s what we’re going to have to work on starting tomorrow.”
Thomas, a former quarterback himself, notes the struggle of being a younger quarterback having to play without much experience. “For down the line, there’s no better way to develop than being in the line of fire,” he explained. “It’s one thing [for Marceaux] to get thrown into the game and go in there like he did last week and win a game for us, and it’s another to go the whole week training as the starter.”
The Eagles picked up 80 total yards in 41 plays. Passing-wise, Marceaux and Lege went a combined 7-20 for 81 yards and one touchdown.
The Eagles play at home for the first time this coming Friday in a heated parish rivalry. The Erath Bobcats will visit the Eagles fresh off their own loss to E.D. White last week.