North Vermilion Patriots look to keep up outstanding defensive play vs. Wildcats

MAURICE — Defense was the key for the North Vermilion Patriots getting their first win of the season this past Friday, a 23-15, three-overtime thriller at Erath.
The Patriots must keep up that defensive effort this week if they’re going to improve to 2-1 with a win over Abbeville, head coach Joe Heintz said.
“Defensively, I thought we played really well,” Heintz said. “To hold them to 7 points in regulation and to do that on a couple of short fields, I thought that was huge. I thought defense won us the game Friday night.”
In addition to outstanding play from defensive end Myles Johnson, linebacker Noah Stelly also had a big game. Johnson shared Gulf Coast Bank Defensive Player of the Week honors this week with seven solo tackles and six assists (13 total tackles), including 3.5 sacks and five tackles for loss, and also blocked one pass.
“Myles had an unbelievable game on defense,” Heintz said. “And Noah Stelly had a great game on defense as well. He had an interception, he had a bunch of tackles. He had a really good game defensively.”
The coach expects a third straight test from a third straight Vermilion Parish rival. The Patriots opened the season against Kaplan.
“Abbeville’s a good opponent,” Heintz said. “Like I’ve said before, on our schedule, every week we’ve got to be ready to play. Abbeville’s definitely a formidable opponent.”
Sure-handed tackling will be a key this week, he said.
“The biggest thing defensively is we have to tackle,” Heintz said. “Because they’ve got some kids that are explosive. If we don’t do a good job of wrapping up and getting more than one person to the ballcarrier, they can explode (for a big run), and a two-yard gain can turn into a 50-yard gain very quickly.”
On offense, Heintz said he’d like for his team to finish drives better.
“We started off the second half, our first possession, and we flipped the field,” he said. “We had a big 40-yard run, got inside their 30, and weren’t able to convert any points. I think the biggest thing is just consistency on offense — keeping drives going, and more importantly than just keeping drives going, scoring off of a drive.”
Heintz said the Patriots’ offensive line had a better game last week.
“I thought our offensive line played a little more physical last week than we have previously,” he said. “I think they’re starting to learn their assignments. They’re getting used to what we’re doing on offense. We’re looking to just clean that up a little bit more.”
This week is another big game, he said.
“It’s just another game we’ve got to be ready to play,” he said.