By Malcolm Butler
Catholic Pointe Coupee advanced to the second round of the playoffs Friday night as the 12th seeded Hornets defeated the 21st seeded Cedar Creek Cougars 42-0 in New Roads in the Select School Division IV playoffs.
Creek (4-6) committed six turnovers, including losing five fumbles, and never found an offensive rhythm as its 2023 season came to an end. Catholic Pointe Coupee (8-3) advances to face No. 5 seed Riverside Academy.
The Cougars battled through the season with just 26 players on the roster, and head coach William Parkerson said he will always be appreciative of their effort and heart.
“I hated it ended tonight, but I thought the kids gave us everything they had,” said Parkerson. “They competed at a high level all year, and maybe to some degree overachieved a little. It was a fun year, and I hate to see it end.”
The story of the game came in the trenches where Catholic Pointe Coupee controlled the trenches all night long on both sides of the football, holding the Cougars to just 62 total yards of offense and five first downs. Creek rushed 26 times for just 36 yards.
Creek was a combined 0-for-10 on third and fourth down conversions.
“They came out in some stuff they hadn’t shown on tape,” said Parkerson. “They gave us some fits. They just won the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The team that blocks better and tackles better always wins, and they did those things.”
Hornets quarterback Hayden Elliott completed 6-of-13 passes for 131 yards and three touchdowns — all to Hudson Moore — while Catholic Pointe Coupee rushed for 181 yards as a team. Elliott gave the Hornets an 8-0 lead on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and then hit Hudson on TD throws of 37, 53 and 7 yards.
Catholic PC held a 29-0 lead at the half before adding a pair of TDs in the fourth quarter.
Gray Worthey led Creek with 15 tackles while Lawson Lillo added 12 tackles and a fourth quarter interception. Ladd Thompson totaled eight stops and Blake Robinson seven.
It was the final game for eight Cougar seniors: Lillo, Blake Wade, Worthey, Thompson, Noah Durrett, Landon Amidon, Conner Rolen and Brett Johnson.
“I told them whether it is now or in the state championship game, taking that jersey off for the last time is always hard,” said Parkerson. “I appreciate everything they did and for buying in and being leaders. I wish we could have done more for them.”
