Blazin’ Hot: Second-Half comeback sparks Lake Charles Prep over Barbe
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Erick Franklin is seldom at a loss for words.
Following his team’s second-half rally last Thursday from a 24-point halftime deficit to defeat Barbe 70-65, Lake Charles College Prep’s 11th-year head coach managed to express his thoughts.
“Head coaches preach about the will to win all of the time,” Franklin said. “You don’t know if your team has that will to win unless they actually have the opportunity. It was an unbelievable win that had me at a loss for words.”
Lake Charles Prep (1-1) dropped its season opener 28-20 to Class 4A power Westgate of New Iberia and was staring at the possibility of a 0-2 start. The Trailblazers trailed the Class 5A Buccaneers, 51-27, unable to slow down quarterback Jelandon Gray, who directed his team on seven straight scoring drives and to 375 of their 602 total yards in the first half.
“We didn’t give ourselves a chance,” Franklin said. “We didn’t play as hard as I thought we should have. We busted a lot of assignments. There really weren’t any halftime adjustments on defense. They just had to play their assignments and quit looking in the backfield, play physically, and give themselves a chance. They came out in the second half and did that.
“I told the defense that I had never coached a defense that gave up 51 points in one half in my life,” Franklin said. “They figured it out. The second half that was the defense that was supposed to be there.”
LCCP rallied behind reserve quarterback Phillip Hunter, who took over one play into the game. He replaced ailing Dylan Vital, who suffered an ankle injury against Westgate.
“Dylan could have gone back in, but I wanted to hold him out,” Franklin said. “We knew Phillip was probably going to have to play. I share everything with the kids; there are no secrets. They knew exactly what we were going to do. I told them, regardless, we were going to run the ball. Phillip said to put the ball in his hands, and we would be fine.
“I didn’t know the defense was going to play that bad in the first half,” Franklin said. “It goes back to staying with what you’re doing,” Franklin said. “Regardless of what the score is or if you’re down by 24, you build a game plan and hopefully the guys can step up and make plays, and they did.
Junior running back Ayden Carter delivered a tremendous performance when his team needed him most. After opening the game with an 80-yard pick up, he rushed a total of 14 times for a school-record 340 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning score in the final minute of play.
“When you have a guy like that in the backfield, you can score from anywhere on the field,” Franklin said. “I was waiting on the opportunity for the defense to turn it around. We wanted Carter to get the ball as much as possible. We didn’t run him as much against Westgate because of spasms, and he played wide receiver. We knew once we got the ball in his hands, we had a chance.”
Gray had 151 yards rushing with two of his three touchdowns on runs of 60 and 68 yards in the first half. Beckett Bertrand added a pick-6 for another score.
LCCP outscored Barbe (0-2) 44-14 during the second half and wound up with a staggering 712 total yards.
Carter kick-started the Trailblazers’ 44-point second-half push, scoring on a 54-yard TD run, and the team’s defense, which endured their struggles in the first half, played much better and contributed points to the team’s comeback effort.
LCCP limited Gray to 17 yards on 12 carries, later surrendering TD passes midway through the fourth quarter.
The Trailblazers forced three second-half turnovers with a pair of highlight plays that swung the game’s momentum.
Junior free safety David Thomas delivered one such play, rallying from a seven-yard deficit to catch up to Barbe wide receiver Sawyer Kuypers, who broke out of a tackle and appeared headed for the end zone and a 24-point lead.
Thomas’s hustle resulted in a punch out of the ball that went through the end zone for a touchback.
“We grade the kids off effort,” Franklin said. “Your assignment, your alignment, and execution. All those are things kids can control, and Thomas ran the receiver down. That’s a championship play right there.
The next such pivotal play for LCCP was turned in by Brenden Malveaux. He stripped the football, which caromed right to Treavon Ardoin for a touchdown that reduced Barbe’s lead to 51-50.
“A lot of things have to go your way to come back from 24 points in the second half,” Franklin said. “The bounce on the fumble was perfect. It was like a basketball going into his hands.”
The two teams, who combined for more than 1,300 yards of offense, traded the lead three times in the fourth quarter.
Gray’s TD pass to Myles Ledoux erased a four-point deficit and gave the Bucs a 65-62 lead with 55 seconds to play in the game.
LCCP needed only three plays to cover the distance for the game-winning score – handing the ball to Carter on a 55-yard score with 33 seconds still showing.
Franklin credited his offensive line with a strong second-half effort. The Trailblazers were boosted by the return of Caron Henderson and Myles Joseph, who both suffered season-ending injuries in last year’s opener against Westgate.
“We ran behind Joseph 90% of the time,” he said.
The Trailblazers, ranked No. 8 in this week’s Class 3A poll, carry plenty of momentum in Friday’s game with Opelousas at Navarre Stadium.
“I was proud,” Franklin said. “Coaches preach at every level, and that’s the will to win. You don’t give up. You can say it as much as you want to as a coach, but you never really know if the kids are going to do it until the time comes. What this means is there’s no doubt if we can win.
“Coaches preach finishing all offseason,” Franklin said. “When you come back from 24 points down against a really good team, the kids believe what you’re doing as a coaching staff. We feel we can win every game.”