St. Martinville ends Iota’s playoff run in regionals

Iota coach Josh Andrus knew his team had a steep hill to climb Friday when the Bulldogs hosted No. 3 St. Martinville in a Class 3A regional playoff game.
And they were at the peak of that hill briefly when they erased a 14-0 deficit and claimed a 21-20 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
But the explosive Tigers responded from there by scoring 42 straight points to reclaim the lead and knock off the Bulldogs, 62-28.
The victory sends the Tigers to the quarterfinal round where they will host No. 6 Lutcher next Friday.
“We knew that they were a very good team coming in,” said Andrus, whose team finished the season with a record of 8-4. “They played so hard and our guys played so hard knowing that.
“It’s all about matchups in the playoffs, you get good ones and you get bad ones; this one was a bad one for us.”
St. Martinville’s explosive offense was on display nearly the entire night. The Tigers racked up 580 total yards and 16 first downs while punting just twice, each time late in the fourth quarter with the reserves on the field.
“They (St. Martinville) have two or three Division I guys on the offensive side of the ball and we knew it would be hard to stop them,” said Andrus. “We thought we would probably have to go blow-for-blow with them but they just have so many weapons and that makes it tough.
“For the most part, I thought we did a pretty good job. Again, it was just a bad matchup for us.”
Tanner Harrison gave the Bulldogs fits both through the air and on the ground. The standout quarterback completed five of seven passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns and he rushed 12 times for 117 yards and two more scores.
When Harrison wasn’t doing the damage, it was sophomore running back Steven Blanco who did, rushing for a whooping 247 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries.
Harrison guided the Tigers on a six-play, 59-yard drive to start the game and scored on a 6-yard scamper.
The Bulldogs fumbled on their ensuing drive and Harrison struck again, this time on the very next play when he hit Cullen Charles on a 63-yard scoring strike to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead just three minutes into the game.
The Bulldogs answered back with a 63-yard touchdown pass of their own from quarterback Dawson Wallace to Owen Harmon to get within seven at 14-7.
The Tigers snatched the momentum right back when Blanco returned the kickoff 69 yards and then scored from two yards out to push the lead to 20-7 after a missed extra point attempt.
The Bulldogs didn’t panic.
Instead, they started their next drive at their own 32 and marched down the field before Tyler Charlot punched it in from two yards out.
Nicholas Simmons gave the Bulldogs another big boost when he recovered an onside kick right after the touchdown.
Charlot scored from 27 yards out on the very next play and after Eli Ardoin’s extra point, the Bulldogs led 21-20 with 41 seconds left in the quarter.
“Our guys never give up and I think they showed that tonight,” said Andrus. “We were up 21-20 at the end of the first quarter and it was just amazing that we fought like that.
“I know we didn’t get much after that but we fought the whole time and that’s what I’m proud about.”
The Tigers were quick to respond after losing the lead. They scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter on a 4-yard run by Blanco, a 13-yard burst by Harrison and a 7-yard scamper by Charles to take a 41-21 lead into the locker room.
The Tigers added two more scores in the third quarter and one early in the fourth to put the game away.
Iota scored its final touchdown with just under four minutes remaining in the game when Wallace connected with junior receiver Isaac Manuel on an 18-yard scoring strike.
Charlot paced Iota’s ground attack with 26 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
Wallace completed 11 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns. His leading receivers were Harmon (2-90, TD), Dylan Callahan (3-32), Connor Daigle (2-22), Manuel (1-18), Seth Guillory (1-8) and Charlot (2-4).
“We had a lot of adversity to fight through this year and I thought they (players) did a great job, especially those seniors,” said Andrus. “I thought they did a great job in the playoffs and it showed character for the guys that stayed out here.”