BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
There’s always tomorrow, but for the Westminster Christian Academy football team, that also means there is not much time to improve.
The Crusaders were scheduled to begin preparation work Saturday for the season opener at Jeanerette High this Thursday night, following a 14-0 jamboree loss to Vermilion Catholic at Donald Gardner Stadium.
WCA head football coach Byron Porter wasn’t pleased with the Crusaders’ performance against Vermilion Catholic, which used two nearly identical drives of about 70 yards to score on the Eagles’ first and last possessions.
Westminster finished with negative total offensive yards (minus 28 rushing) and 18 total yards passing, while allowing the Eagles to pass for 90 (9-of-12 passing) and gain another 39 on the ground.
The Crusaders also didn’t advance beyond their own 36-yard-line, while quarterback Stephen George was sacked twice for 13 yards in losses.
Porter and his assistants assembled the team for a long discussion before leaving the stadium.
“I thought we could have played a lot better. We didn’t finish. We’re starting off with a number of younger players, but we have to get better,” Porter said.
The Vermilion Catholic spread offense was effective in creating a number of one-on-one open field matchups for the Crusaders’ defense.
Meanwhile George, a sophomore who started all 10 WCA games last year, was faced with persistent pressure when he attempted to throw.
WCA converted only one third down situation on five possessions and for most of the contest, the Crusaders were confronted with third-and-long problems.
Porter said the short week of preparation for Jeanerette does not make the start of 2023 any easier.
“Jeanerette is a team that is much-improved. They have a Division 1 player that has already committed to Tulane,” Porter said.
Porter said his concept for the WCA football program is to elevate the Crusaders to perform at Vermilion Catholic standards.
“What we want to do (at WCA) is to eventually be on that level,” Porter said.
