Lafayette High pulls off thrilling comeback victory in overtime over Ascension Episcopal – The Advocate

Lafayette High and the Ascension Episcopal squared off in a rare Saturday afternoon game after neither could find a Week 1 opponent, and it did not disappoint from an excitment standpoint.

The Mighty Lions used their physicality up front to make a late push in a 30-23 come-from-behind overtime victory over the Blue Gators.

The Mighty Lions offense struggled early, but they cooked up some late-game magic with quarterback Grayson Saunier throwing the game-winning touchdown to Ethan Jean in overtime.

Anytime you win, its good, Mighty Lions coach Cedric Figaro said. The way you win, thats the tough thing. Weve got coaches coaching their butts off, and our kids are trying their butts off, but sometimes it just doesnt mesh. Today it looked like the signals were a little crossed between the coaches and the players, especially in that first half.

"The second half we came back a little bit and ended up winning the game, but Ascension is a tough team. They gave us everything today.

Saunier cramped up in the third quarter and had to sit out a few plays, but he finished strong, throwing for 197 yards and two touchdowns along with 45 yards rushing and a touchdown.

It (the win) is a great feeling, but at the same time we definitely shouldve done better offensively, Saunier said. Im pretty disappointed in my performance, so weve got to get back to work this week.

"The coaches tried to pick me up at halftime telling me what Im doing wrong, what to correct. I tried to come out stronger in the second half, and it helped for the most part.

The Mighty Lions made offensive adjustments at halftime, and while they still werent up to Figaros liking, they did what they needed to do to win as running back Jakaylib Anderson stepped up with 108 yards rushing.

We were able to pound the ball a little more and run the ball offensively, Figaro said. We still missed some wide plays that if were going to do well in our league and district, we have to make those plays. (Saunier) stressed and ran too much. Thats probably why he cramped up, but hes young. This is his first start, so theres growing pains. Weve got to grow together.

The Lions defense was stout against the run, but they struggled against long passes, as Blue Gators quarterback Cade Dardar hit wide receiver Britt Campbell on several big plays. Campbell finished with four catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns.

We thought our DBs wouldve been a little bit better covering guys one-on-one, Figaro said. But like I said, Ascension had some good guys. When we didnt get the pressure on, that guy (Dardar) put it up in the air. I thought it was 50-50 balls that receiver came down with, and thats a tribute to them and their coaches.

It was a hot, physical where both teams battled cramps in, but it turned out to be a learning experience for both considering the alternative was not playing.

Im so proud of my kids' effort, Blue Gators coach Matt Desormeaux said. Our guys competed for over 48 minutes and battled with a lot of guys having to go both ways and battling through cramps and this and that. Im so proud of our effort. Obviously you never want to lose a game, but I couldnt be more proud of our guys right now even if we wouldve won.

Next up for the Mighty Lions is another strong 2A opponent in reigning four-time state champion Lafayette Christian. The Blue Gators wont have to face another 5A school, but they will be facing a formidable Class 1A foe in Catholic-Pointe Coupee.

Our kids fought hard today on both sides of the ball, Figaro said. It was a good game. The jamboree didnt go how we wanted it to go, so that's why we needed this game. We missed plays, and we figured we pick this game up, maybe well make those plays, but we missed them again. Now were playing a state championship team where we cant miss these plays. You cant miss that against a team like that (LCA), theyll take advantage of it.

Read the original here:

Lafayette High pulls off thrilling comeback victory in overtime over Ascension Episcopal - The Advocate