For the first time since 2014, St. Michael the Archangel defeated their crosstown rivals Plaquemine 45-27 in an emotional victory.
With the win, the Warriors earned their first 5-0 start since 2014 and first win over Plaquemine since 2019. However, the 2014 St. Michael squad did not beat Plaquemine.
“We talked to them about what that 2014 team did not, which beat Plaquemine,” St. Michael head coach Zach Leger said. “We don’t want to shy away from pressure. We have a saying, ‘Pressure makes diamonds.’ We want to get some diamonds. They showed up tonight, they played four quarters of football and they played every phase of the game.”
St. Michael quarterback Preston Sentino was the difference maker in the Warriors’ victory. Sentino went 5-for-10 with 72 yards and two passing touchdowns. However, he made a huge impact in the ground game as well and he rushed for 84 yards on 12 along with three touchdowns.
St. Michael running back John Martinez was another big-time performer for the Warriors. Martinez carried the ball 31 times for 195 yards and a touchdown.
Plaquemine struck first very early in the first quarter when quarterback Nico Victorian scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak to take a 7-0 lead.
Although the Plaquemine would force St. Michael to punt, the Warriors pounced on a muffed punt by the Green Devils. In the very next play, Sentino would find Gavin Landry for a 24-yard touchdown pass to tie the game.
On the next St. Michael possession, Sentino kept it himself to put the Warriors ahead of Plaquemine 14-7 with 3:48 left to go in the first quarter.
However, Plaquemine running back Tyrese Mosby would break several tackles en route to a 25-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 14-14 before the end of the first quarter.
Midway through the second quarter, St. Michael would drive down the field to take the lead again after Sentino finished the drive on a three-yard keeper to make the score 21-14 for his second rushing and third overall touchdown of the game.
Fortunately for Plaquemine, Mosby kept the pace and scored his second rushing touchdown of the game after he burst up the middle untouched for a 13-yard touchdown to tie the game.
However, the Warriors would stop the Green Devils on a fake punt attempt and they would take a 28-21 lead with under a minute left in the half when Sentino found tight end/linebacker Matthew Beall for a five-yard touchdown pass.
Sentino would score his fifth and final touchdown on a 17-yard run with just under two minutes into the third quarter.
However, Mosby would score his third touchdown run of the game after he broke several would-be tackles and raced 48 yards for a touchdown. However, Plaquemine missed the kick, making the score 35-27. This would be the last time the Green Devils would score. Mosby finished with 26 carries for 198 yards with three touchdowns. He averaged a staggering 7.6 yards per carry.
After the Warriors would kick a field goal with just under seven minutes to play to make the score 38-27, St. Michael clinched the victory when they stopped Plaquemine on fourth down the ensuing drive and iced the clock. St. Michael’s historic night was capped off by a 39-yard touchdown run by Martinez.
“I think culturally and community-wise, this win is huge,” Leger said. “Plaquemine is a great team, I can’t say that enough. They know the past. They know the history. To come out to produce the way we did and show them we are a quality, big-time football team that can do some great things keeps them bought in.
St. Michael will have a chance to be in the driver’s seat on the road to a district championship when they travel to Saint Francisville to take on defending district champions West Feliciana.
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