Big plays by White Castle’s Javier Batiste, Ascension Catholic’s Jai Williams help Eagles win Red Stick Bowl – The Advocate

ZACHARYThe Eagles didnt panic after surrendering their lead in the fourth quarter against the Patriots on Saturday afternoon.

Jai Williams sliced through the heart of the Patriots defense to pace the Eagles to a 27-22 win in the 18th annual Red Stick Bowl all-star football game at Zacharys Bronco Stadium.

The Patriots scratched back from a 21-10 halftime deficit and captured a one-point lead with four minutes to play on a 28-yard touchdown reception by Jack Johnson of Silliman.

But the Eagles responded by mounting a furious six-play scoring drive highlighted by a 32-yard reception from Catholic's Jackson Thomas to Derrick Varnado of Ascension Christian and also assisted by a personal foul infraction by the Patriots.

Williams touchdown run with 2:46 made the difference for the Eagles. The Ascension Catholic product finished with 58 yards on eight carries.

The Eagles' Javier Batiste of White Castle was named Most Valuable Player of the event that featured nearly 90 of the top players in the Baton Rouge area.

Batiste was an integral part of the games most electrifying play. Lining up at running back, Batiste took a lateral pass from quarterback Luke Lunsford of Denham Springs and found wide receiver Rodney White of East Feliciana sprinting down the right sideline for a 35-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a two-score lead late in the opening period.

Batiste also scored the games first TD on a 38-yard run and pulled in a 58-yard pass from Dunham quarterback Anthony Safford just before halftime.

It was a different atmosphere compared to a normal game, Batiste said. But we played hard and we were confident we could come back and get the lead after we let it slip away.

The Eagles launched a hurry-up offense and blitzed ahead with scores on their first two possessions. Behind quarterbacks Safford, Lunsford and Thomas, they appeared in control until relinquishing the lead in the fourth quarter.

Coach had us moving off the ball in practice and had us prepared. We thought that was the key to winning the game, Batiste said.

Eagles coach Ron LeJeune of East Iberville said he felt the flea-flicker play early on set the tone for most of the game.

Our coaches called a good game, especially on that double-pass play. The fans want to see the ball in the air, and we tried to make it as entertaining as possible, LeJeune said. We went back and forth at the end, but we finished strong. I was confident, but I was sweating at the same time.

Patriots coach Steven Thomas of Zachary said spotting the opposition two scores early put his squad at a disadvantage.

We just didnt start off well, but we turned it on after that, he said. We finally took the lead but just made a few errors at the end that cost us the game. We had a chance to win in the end, and thats all you can ask for.

Johnson, whose 28-yard catch gave the Patriots their only lead, was named best receiver for his team. He hauled in the pass from Walker's Ethan McMasters on a 50/50 jump ball between two defenders.

Coach just gave us a big pep talk at half time and that pumped us up, Johnson said. We had a lot of confidence in our offense and we never gave up, but things just didnt go our way. I had a blast and it was a fun experience.