WCA Effectively Runs Past OCS
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting
Westminster Christian Academy didn’t visit the archives of old-school football to devise an offensive game plan for Opelousas Catholic on Friday night.
The Crusaders, said head football coach Byron Porter, just kept it simple in order to achieve effectiveness and efficiency.
“We wanted to be physical and make (OCS) tackle us,” Porter said, following the Crusaders’ 42-25 district win over the Vikings.
It was evident that his team agreed with those suggestions.
Westminster used a 436-yard rushing game that kept devouring the game clock in order to help defeat the Vikings in football for the first time since 2012 and gain some leverage in the District 5-1A standings.
The Crusaders (4-2, 2-1) featured six running backs who worked behind blockers from a variety of direct snap formations to secure the key victory at Crusaders Stadium.
OCS (4-2, 1-2) lost a district game for the second time in as many weeks.
The Vikings, ranked No. 8 in the weekly Class 1A Louisiana Sports Writers Association poll, rushed for 310 yards against WCA, but failed to keep the Crusaders out of the end zone on each of their second half possessions.
WCA featured two backs — Michael Cunningham and Joseph Brown – who each gained over 100 yards, while Kyle Horde obtained 98 on 14 carries.
Cunningham, a senior, ran for 131 and scored twice on runs of 22 and 52 yards. Brown accumulated 140 rushing yards, also scored on a 52-yard TD, while Horde also had a pair of scores in the second half. Quarterback Stephen George gained 66.
Neither team seemed in the mood for aerial theatrics.
The Vikings completed five of 13 passes and had three of the throws intercepted by WCA’s Damian Thomas, Darian Brown and Jamari White,
George threw only once and completed that pass for 17 yards.
For the second straight week, OCS senior Rowen Bergeron carried the Vikings’ offense which lost starting quarterback Kross Gillen and running back Royce Butler to injuries for the remainder of the season.
Bergeron, who has switched from running back to quarterback, rushed for 291 yards on 22 carries and scored four times. Bergeron also threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Luke Minyard.
Against St. Edmund last Friday night, Bergeron rushed for 200.
Porter credited his offensive line with enabling the rushing game to flourish against the Vikings.
“All week we kept after them to be aggressive. I was proud of them, considering we have three sophomores there. Their performance was a by-product of how they practiced all week,” Porter said.
OCS head coach Cullen Matherne noted the Vikings struggled with offensive cohesion.
“I thought we came out rather flat and without as much juice as we usually have. Give Westminster credit, though. They came out physically and made more plays.
“With (Gillen and Butler) we lost some big plays in the passing and running game. We’ve also lost a lot of our leadership and now we have to find ways to readjust what we are doing on offense,” Matherne said.
The teams traded touchdowns for most of the first half.
Two Bergeron first quarter TD’s kept the Vikings ahead (13-7) at the end of the period.
In the second quarter bolted ahead on the two long touchdowns by Cunningham and Horde, to give the Crusaders a 21-13 advantage following an extra point kicked by Mac Proffitt.
WCA ended a 21-19 halftime lead in the third quarter on consecutive scoring drives that ended with two more touchdowns by Horde and Cunningham.
