Patriots set for Thursday home game vs. Loreauville

MAURICE — North Vermilion head football coach Joe Heintz expects another competitive game on Thursday when his team takes on Loreauville at Patriot Stadium.
the Patriots have been within a touchdown of their opponents in each of the first three weeks, falling to Kaplan 18-14 on a late touchdown to open the season, going three overtimes to beat Erath 23-15 in week 2 and then falling 22-18 to Abbeville in week 3.
“The first four games on our schedule are highly competitive games,” Heintz said. “I feel like for the average fan going in, you can flip a coin and it could go either way. We’ve played some pretty good teams, and we’re right there. A couple of plays, and we’re on the other side of the scoreboard.”
Heintz said that against Abbeville, the Patriots did nothing on offense in the first half, and fell behind.
“If we do anything and put any points on the board in the first half, I think it might be a different game,” he said. “We were able to score three consecutive touchdowns in the second half, but we were down two scores already at halftime. We’ve got to figure out a way to put points on the board in the first half.”
North Vermilion has had a few breakaway TDs this season, including a 63-yard reception by Norris Benoit against Kaplan in the opener and a 71-yard run by Benoit against Abbeville.
“We’ve got a couple of kids, especially one in Norris, he’s the type of kid that on any given play when he gets his hands on the ball, he’s got the capability to make a big gain,” Heintz said. “It’s just to keep trying to keep getting him some touches. We’ve just got to keep working.”
Heintz said that linebacker Noah Stelly has had phenomenal games the last two weeks for the Patriots.
“We moved him last week from outside linebacker to inside linebacker, and he reminds us on the field of Sam Mills (the Hall of Fame linebacker who spent nine seasons with the New Orleans Saints, anchoring the famed Dome Patrol linebacking squad) on the field at inside linebacker,” Heintz said. “He’s small, he’s short, but he’s playing way above what he looks. In my mind, he dominated on defense this past week.”
Loreauville is explosive on offense with some big-play capabilities, Heintz said. The Tigers can run and throw the ball.
“They’re dynamic,” he said. “On defense, they don’t do anything that’s going to fool you, but they’re just sound and solid in what they do on defense.”
The Patriots have set a goal to try to score on a couple of possessions in the first half.
“That’s the biggest thing,” Heintz said, noting the defense has been on the field a lot in the first half and the offense must help them out.