The St. Mary’s Tigers went on the road in a 12 vs. 21 seed first round Division IV Select matchup against the St. John Eagles and all the Tigers did was control the flow of the game from start to finish never relinquishing the lead in a 30-14 upset victory.
Through three quarters, it was a defensive battle with the Tigers taking a 10-7 lead into the fourth quarter, but in the final stanza, it was the Tigers that pulled away thanks to 20 unanswered points to stretch the lead and get the win. Entering the game with a 5-5 record, head coach Kedrin Seastrunk was quick to point out that the Tigers did not look like a .500 team and played winning football.
“Man, I am very proud for a lot of reasons. We had a tough schedule and some of the seniors thought they had the short end of the stick. A few games early on in the season, we played tough opponents and we lost three games by a touchdown. I told them that we aren’t a 5-5 team. This was our redemption game to show that we can play good football for four quarters and still win. That was something that I was happy that I was happy that they did today.”
St. Mary’s HC Kedrin Seastrunk
The defense was stifling a St. John offense that was entering this game averaging 36.5 points per game. The only touchdown scored for majority of the game was a touchdown run by QB Tyler Edwards, who also had an interception on defense in this game. Nathan Burleigh had a late touchdown run when the game was out of hand, but in all, the Tigers’ defense made it tough for the Eagles run heavy offense to muster anything.
“The defense came in with a vengeance. The defense wanted to show people what we had. We wanted to show people that they can play ball at this level. That’s what we did. The fourth down stand at the beginning of the game was a big play. I am happy for the seniors. We wanted to show the people what this team is made of before the end of the season, and I think they did that tonight.”
St. Mary’s HC Kedrin Seastrunk
While the defense was holding the fort down, it was the offense that came to life in the fourth quarter. The Tigers found creative ways to get the ball in the end zone throughout the course of the game. Ashton Johnson threw two touchdown passes with one going to tight end Dennison Morgan and the other one to Jacob Thibodaux. The Tigers had a double pass touchdown from Johnson to Chalin Gandy to Cole Yopp in order to get St. Mary’s some separation. Then, John Paul Thibodaux, who was a workhorse all night, busted one for a 45 yard touchdown run to put the icing on the cake.
“It’s throwing the kitchen sink. We weren’t going to hold anything back. We know every week is every week in playing these juggernauts. The goal is to get the playmakers the ball in their hands and see what they can do with it. Big time players make big time plays in big games and that’s what they did tonight.”
St. Mary’s HC Kedrin Seastrunk
Both teams were trying to find their footing early as St. Mary’s had a turnover on downs and an interception while St. John had a fourth down and goal and got stuffed, but it was the Tigers that were able to put it all together at the very end.
The Tigers spoiled what was one of the best seasons for the St. John Eagles in recent memory as head coach Bryan Troxclair led his alma mater to their first home playoff game since 2011 with a 7-4 overall record.
Meanwhile, St. Mary survives and advances to the second round of the Division IV Select Playoffs improving their record to 6-5 on the season. Next week, the Tigers will have another big challenge in the #5 seed Ascension Catholic Bulldogs.
“These are the type of games that we play for. I’ve been saying this year, “Why not us?” We are playing Ascension Catholic. They put 11 guys on the field just like us. We got to play hard and, in the end, we hope that we are on this side of the game once again.”
St. Mary’s HC Kedrin Seastrunk
Check out Jace’s stops throughout the season for Gridiron Football!
Week 4: Dunham vs. Ascension Catholic
Week 5: Jewel Sumner vs. Franklinton
Week 6: North Iberville vs. St. John
Week 8: Teurlings Catholic vs. East Ascension
Week 9: VSN Doubleheader
Weel 10: Westminster Christian (Opelousas) vs. St. Edmund
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