VC wins wild game; will still play at home in second round

Vermilion Catholic rallied to tie the game three times before taking the lead en route to a 37-36 win over Catholic High of Pointe Coupee in the opening round of the Division IV state playoffs on Friday.
The Eagles (8-3) face St. Frederick (8-2) in the second round, who beat Opelousas Catholic, 14-8. The second round game will be played at VC.
“All week, we preached this was a tough, gritty group coming in from Catholic-Pointe Coupee,” said Broc Prejean, Vermilion Catholic coach.
“I have so much respect for Coach Bullera and their program over there.
“We were fortunate enough to get more than one point,” Prejean said.
Facing fourth-and-10 at the Hornet 45, Eagles quarterback Mikie Bazar found Jonathan Dartez over the middle for the go-ahead touchdown with 1:19 left in the game.
Dane Richoux added the PAT kick for a 37-30 lead, the first time Vermilion Catholic led in the contest since it went up 7-0 in the first quarter.
“(Bazar’s) cramping up in both legs at that point, and we were wondering if we should punt,” Prejean recounted.
“Credit our defensive coordinator; he came up and said let’s go for it, and Mikie made an incredible play.”
Bazar completed 7 of 19 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns, adding 53 yards on four carries and another touchdown.
Jonathan Dartez, meanwhile, had five carries for 41 yards and a touchdown, three pass receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown and a pair of 2-point conversion pass catches.
Seth Noegel led the Eagles with 55 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown, while Travin Moore added 42 yards on nine carries.
Tied 22-22 after a scoreless third quarter, Hunter Beard scored his fourth touchdown of the game for Catholic-PC on a 1-yard run with 10:35 left.
Beard then got his second 2-point conversion run for a 30-22 lead.
Vermilion Catholic responded with a 5-play, 65-yard drive.
The key play was Bazar’s 35-yard run to the Hornet 29, where another 15 yards was added on a horse-collar penalty to the Hornet 14.
Three plays later, Bazar found Ashton Belaire in the endzone for a score, then completed the 2-point PAT pass to Dartez for a 30-30 tie.
The Hornets drove to the Eagle 9-yard line, where Vermilion Catholic recovered a fumble, setting the stage for the winning offensive drive.
Vermilion Catholic used an 11-play drive to run the clock down to 1:19, setting the stage for Bazar’s go-ahead pass to Dartez.
But Catholic-PC took to the air as quarterback Hayden Elliott completed a 30-yard pass to Andrew Jewell to the Eagle 41.
The Eagle defense sacked Elliott for a 9-yard loss, but on fourth down, a scrambling Elliott found Connor Kimball open for a 40-yard touchdown as time expired.
Catholic-PC went for the 2-point PAT, but a fumbled snap recovered by Vermilion Catholic sealed the win.
The Eagles opened the game taking a 7-0 lead on Bazar’s 7-yard touchdown run and Richoux’s PAT kick with 6:55 left in the first quarter.
Beard’s 4-yard touchdown run with 1:02 left in the quarter made it 7-6 after the Eagles stopped Elliott’s 2-point conversion run.
Catholic-PC took a 14-7 lead in the second quarter on Beard’s 48-yard touchdown run and his 2-point conversion run.
But the Eagles tied it at 14-14 on Noegel’s 8-yard scoring run with 8:01 left in the quarter.
Catholic-PC again took a 22-14 lead on Beard’s 6-yard touchdown run, followed by Elliot’s 2-point conversion run.
Again, the Eagles came back to tie the game with 1:01 left before halftime when Dartez scored on a 28-yard run then caught the 2-point PAT pass from Bazar.