Vermilion Catholic manhandles Jeanerette

JEANERETTE – Vermilion Catholic piled up 400 yards of offense, and its defense was relentless in a 42-8 win over Jeanerette on Friday that kept the Eagles unbeaten on the season at 7-0 overall and 3-0 in District 7-A action.
VC moves up to No. 2 in the Select Division IV Power rankings.
The Eagles scored on all six of their first-half possessions to lead 42-0 at halftime, triggering an automatic running clock for the second half. Jeanerette was held to 202 total yards and scored on the game’s last play with under a minute remaining on the running clock.
VC coach Broc Prejean said the defense has been playing well because the players are listening to and trusting the coaching staff to prepare them and communicating on the field.
“And then just playing our brand of football, which is just gritty, 11 men to the football kind of play,” he said.
Junior linebacker Allen McLain said the defense worked hard over the summer. The defensive players watch film avidly and go into each game aiming for a shutout.
“We came into this week thinking we were going into a state championship game, and we came out hot, hot, hot, and we put a shutout to them, and they just couldn’t do much to us,” he said. “We come out focused.”
VC was No. 3 in the most recent unofficial select Division IV power rankings, while Jeanerette was second in non-select Division IV. Prejean said that though the score was lopsided, he respects what coach C.C. Paul is doing at Jeanerette.
“Coach Paul is doing a great job, and I’m genuine when I say I respect what he’s doing with Jeanerette, and I’m glad to see them on the uptick,” Prejean said. “But again, I think coach Brodie (Savoie) had them prepared for every front we saw tonight, and we kind of had answers for what they jumped into.”
Paul said his team (5-2 overall, 2-2 district) is learning how to win right now, while VC, which reached the state championship game last year, already knows how to win. Though the Tigers went 1-2 in a brutal stretch of games against district opponents Central Catholic, Hanson and VC over the last three weeks, that experience is helping his team improve, he said.
Quarterback Jonathan Dartez had a hand in five of the Eagles’ touchdowns, rushing for 80 yards and two TDs and throwing for 185 yards and three touchdowns.
“(Number) 1 (Dartez) can do a lot of things,” Prejean said. “He’s not a one-trick pony. He showed up and made some big throws in some big spots, and our wide receivers were tremendous with yards after catch.”
Ross Dartez led the Eagles with four catches for 82 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown. Andrew Prejean had a 52-yard TD reception, and Jyrin Bessard added a 23-yard touchdown catch. Dane Richoux (15 yards) and Ethan Landry (13 yards) also had catches of more than 10 yards.
“Andrew Prejean did great, slipped open to open the game, Jy with a big fourth-down catch, and then we have Ross on the screen,” Broc Prejean said. “We distributed the ball. That’s who we want to be.”
The Eagles opened the game with a nine-play, 60-yard scoring drive that took nearly four minutes off the clock. Jonathan Dartez scored on a one-yard run after Tyjh Williams had brought the ball to the 4-yard line with a 25-yard carry. The Eagles tacked on a 2-point conversion carry by Dartez for an 8-0 lead.
Dartez threw to Prejean for 52 yards and a touchdown on the next series for a 15-0 lead following Richoux’s point-after.
Bessard scored on a fourth-down catch, breaking a tackle to get to the end zone from 23 yards out on the next series to build the lead to 22-0.
After VC forced a fumble that Ross Dartez recovered, Jonathan Dartez threw a screen pass to Ross Dartez on the next snap for a 45-yard touchdown play.
VC made it 35-0 on another one-play scoring drive after forcing a shanked punt with good pressure on the kicker. Williams broke loose from the 41 to give the Eagles a five-touchdown advantage. Williams finished the game with a team-best 121 yards on eight carries.
Jeanerette finally got its offense moving after that touchdown, driving from the JHS 18 to the VC 16 before turning the ball over on downs.
The Eagles responded by driving 84 yards in nine plays, capped by a five-yard carry from Jonathan Dartez, that made it 42-0 after Richoux’s kick.
“We prepare like we want to (score on every possession),” Broc Prejean said. “That’s what I say. The expectations I leave on the kids. We prepare. We want to do those things. We want to be efficient and tonight we were.”