On a cold, rainy night, the #16 Westgate Tigers (7-4) were able to defeat the #17 Terrebonne Tigers (7-4) the old fashion way by a final score of 27-10 with their tough running game and physical defense.
It took a team effort for Westgate head coach Ryan Antoine’s crew to survive and advance to the next round. Offensively, the Tigers were still without their five-star 2025-star Jaboree Antoine, and because of that, Coach Antoine had to rely on his big offensive line and talented skill guys. The game plan was simple and that was to run the football as Westgate did not attempt a single pass throughout the entire game.
“That’s what you got to do when you play in the playoffs. You have to play good defense, be able to control the ball on offense, and flip the field on special teams. That’s what we wanted to do. We knew the night was going to be wet and dirty, but we wanted to play physical. That’s what we wanted to do. We wanted to bring the physicality to them and I think we did a good job of that tonight.”
Westgate Head Coach Ryan Antoine
Running back Tavias Gordon led the way for the ground game as he racked up 158 yards on 22 carries while the quartet of Dytraevous “Spida” Lively, Davian “Diamond” Jackson, and tight end Gavin Hebert all scored touchdowns throughout.
“We have football players here. We don’t have a quarterback. We don’t have a running back. We have football players. Our kids want to play football so we are going to use them as much as we can. If you are getting the ball, step up and do it. That’s what we did tonight. Guys stepped up. Different guys played in different roles. Sometimes, BJ Leon played quarterback. Sometimes, Tavias Gordon did it. Sometimes, Davian Jackson did it. We used multiple guys and that’s what we had to do to be successful.”
Westgate Head Coach Ryan Antoine
While the offense grounded and pounded in the running game, the defense was just as physical led by LSU commit De’Myrion Johnson, Lively, Andre Williams, Evan Bryant, and company to frustrate a talented and explosive Terrebonne offense led by LSU wide receiver commit Kylan Billiot, who was targeted only three times and did not haul in a single catch.
Westgate controlled the first half by taking a 19-3 lead at halftime, which was highlighted by a long touchdown run by Gordon, but Terrebonne found their way back into the game in the second half as they recovered a Westgate fumble on the ensuing second half kickoff and took advantage with a Jayce “Boogie” Johnson touchdown run in order for the Terrebonne Tigers to pull within nine at 19-10.
Terrebonne continued the stellar play on special teams to keep them in the game as they blocked a punt to give the away Tigers once again great field position, but this time, the Westgate defense forced a turnover on downs to stop Terrebonne’s momentum.
In the fourth quarter, Westgate sealed the game by having a rushing touchdown by Williams plus a two point conversion by Amari Simon to give the Westgate Tigers a three-possession lead.
Westgate was able to sit on the lead and run out the clock to give them a hard-fought victory as well as a picked punched to the second round of the Division I (Non-Select) Playoffs where they will take on the number one seed Ruston Bearcats.
“We got to go and play Ruston. Like I told our kids, it is another opportunity to go play football. Not every other school has that same opportunity. Right now, Terrebonne is talking to their guys and having that tough talk. We don’t want to have that tough talk. We want to come in there and be razor focused. They are a good team. They are undefeated and one of the hottest teams in the state. We got to go up there and play one of our better games so we have to stay focused. The biggest thing is that we have to stay focused, but the biggest thing we tell our guys is that they have another week of football. Let’s go prepare and show the whole state what we can do.”
Westgate Head Coach Ryan Antoine
Scrimmage Week: Zachary vs. E.D. White, East Ascension vs. Hammond
Jamboree Week: Battle on the Ridge, Newman Jamboree
Week 1: U-High vs. Woodlawn
Week 2: Madison Prep vs. Southern Lab
Week 3: Southside vs. Carencro, U-High vs. Catholic
Week 4: Teurlings Catholic vs. Notre Dame
Week 5: Parkview Baptist vs. Glen Oaks, St. Michael vs. Plaquemine
Week 6: Acadiana vs. Sam Houston
Week 7: LCA vs. Teurlings Catholic
Week 9: St. Edmund vs. Westminster Christian Academy (Opelousas)
Week 10: Catholic High vs. Zachary
You must be logged in to post a comment.