Big First Impression: Catholic takes 20-0 jamboree win over U-High
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
BATON ROUGE – When asked about his junior quarterback Cameron Estep, Catholic High football coach Hudson Fuller had the following assessment after Friday’s 20-0 victory over University High in the Capital City Kickoff at Memorial Stadium.
“He’s a big-time player,” he said.
A year after sitting out following his transfer from Parkview Baptist, Estep led the Bears on three first-half scoring drives that included a pair of touchdowns to Stanford tight end commitment Jude Chamberlain.
“These guys are great,” Estep said. “It’s just a brotherhood here. A big thank you to our defense. They played great.”
Catholic played complimentary football at its finest, building a three-score lead that stood in the second of the 12-minute halves.
“That’s going to be something we depend on all year,” Fuller said. “We’ve got a lot of new guys in the back end, so we need those guys up front to step up.”
Conversely, Catholic started all three of its drives inside of U-High territory, scoring on drives of eight, four, and seven plays. They were also converted each time on fourth-down plays in each series, including Estep completing two passes in the second and third series to keep those possessions alive and turning them into scores.
“I’m a pocket passer, but I can move,” said Estep, who was 7 of 14 for 103 yards.
Junior running back Greg Williams, whose two-yard gain on fourth-and-one helped Catholic maintain its opening drive, capped the team’s opening 8-play, 49-yard drive, bouncing outside a first-and-goal carry for a 9-yard score to cap a three-plus minute drive. He led the Bears with 36 yards on five carries.
“I feel great about the quality of guys in play and the depth we have up front on both sides of the ball,” Fuller said. “We have a lot of new guys in new spots, so it’s key for them to get more experience. There will be things for them to work on and correct, and I’m encouraged to see them handle that.”
Estep showed his ability to side-step pressure up the middle. He avoided the defender and found Chamberlain on fourth-and-four, and the 6-foot-5 senior delivered a stiff-arm to complete a 32-yard touchdown with 5:48 left before halftime.
“As the year goes, his play will get better and better,” Fuller said of Estep. “As I’ve watched him develop in the offseason, he just doesn’t repeat mistakes. He’s a competitor, and I think once you look at his body of work this year, people are going to realize he’s a special kid.”
Catholic’s scoring drive took just over a minute after another short punt left the Bears on the Cubs’ 38.
“Cameron underthrew me a little bit,” Chamberlain said with a laugh. “I caught it, made a stiff arm and got in the end zone. It was a great play from him because he was under pressure. We worked together and made the play.”
The duo wasn’t finished after a missed 47-yard field goal attempt; the Bears put together a 7-play, 44-yard drive that took almost the remainder of the half.
The running of Florida State commitment Jayden Miles (7 rushes, 19 yards) and Justin Batiste (2-19) combined for 19 yards down to the 15, and after an incompletion near the back of the end zone, Estep found Chamberlain open in the end zone for a 10-yard score just before the tight end absorbed a hit that drew a flag.
“We did all of the work that we could possibly do to establish this connection,” Chamberlain said. “When it comes to Friday nights, we can hit what we need to hit. What we’ve done has really paid off. It really showed tonight. I got a little separation.
“Cam knows he can trust me,” Chamberlain said. “He hit the tight window that I knew he could hit, and I made the play. The Southside scrimmage (the previous week) showed that we have a great connection. That’s when we first saw it and what we could be together as an offense. We carried that over until now, and everything’s paid off.”
Graham Nassif, who kicked all four of his kickoffs into the end zone, added his third extra point.
Catholic held a 153-19 advantage in total yards at the half and 197-104 for the game.
“I told the guys after the game we’ve got to stop spotting people,” U-High coach Andy Martin said. “Defensively, I didn’t think we played bad in the first half. We were just on short fields the whole time; they converted on fourth downs, and the offense just couldn’t get anything going. We’re breaking in a lot of new starters, and some of the different things we’re doing on offense take a little bit of time, and you’re going against a good team. Catholic’s front seven is pretty good.”
U-High responded in the second half, advancing its opening drive 71 yards in 13 plays and taking more than five minutes off the clock.
Senior running back Corbin Odell, who closed the first half with a 14-yard run, was part of the team’s first effective drive of the evening.
Quarterback Knox Kiffin’s 9-yard keeper on third-and-two included a five-yard facemask penalty, and the Cubs crossed midfield for the first time when Catholic was guilty of roughing the passer. Odell then figured heavily in his team’s reaching the 10-yard line with a 10-yard reception from Kiffin on a screen, and a six-yard carry and facemask penalty.
A holding penalty backed the Cubs to the 16 when Kiffin (2 for 10, 17 yards) showed his elusiveness, getting away from pressure back to the 30, and cutting it upfield for 21 yards and the Bears’ 9-yard line.
Kiffin, on fourth-and-goal, had pressure in his face and threw a pass toward the goal line that was intercepted by Howard Beach, whose return, which reached the end zone, was negated by an illegal block in the back penalty.
U-High forced Estep into an incompletion on fourth down and moved its next series to the Bears’ 42 on Odell’s 13-yard gain. He led the Cubs with 43 yards on six attempts.
“They did beat us in the first half,” Martin said. “I’m not as worried about that part; I just want to see how we compete, and I like that in the second half we kept competing, and that’s what I want to see with a new team and trying to build a good culture here. We started playing football in the second half. I think guys were nervous, amped up, and in the second half you settle in and we start playing football.
“When you have a bunch of new guys that are first-time starters, they’ve got to figure out the speed of the game,” Martin said. “Even Knox and (wide receiver) Kevin (Smith Jr.) and guys that are coming from other places, the speed of the game here is different. When you’re playing good teams like that, that are well coached, you’ve got to do everything right.”