District Standard: Catholic High’s DeMoss lights fuse in win over Zachary
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
BATON ROUGE – With his team playing for the outright District 4-5A championship against one of the state’s renowned programs, Catholic High linebacker John Russell DeMoss reached the kind of heights most players dream of.
The No. 7 Bears led 14-7 early in the second quarter when DeMoss scored the first two touchdowns of his career – the first on a fumble recovery, the second on an interception return – to effectively put the game away out of reach by halftime and help his team cruise to a 41-7 victory Thursday at Memorial Stadium.
“I was just focused on what I’m supposed to do,” said DeMoss, one of 24 seniors honored afterward. “I’d like to thank God, and my coaches got me right because I’d been messing up on my last drops (into coverage).”
Catholic High (8-2, 5-0 in 4-5A) closed with four straight wins, secured its seventh consecutive district title, and extended its district winning streak to 21 games.
The Bears have an unofficial power rating of No. 4 and will get a first-round bye in the Division I select playoffs that begin next week.
“For us, every week we’re trying to get better, and we see district as kind of its own season,” Catholic head coach Hudson Fuller said. “We’re trying to go into November and December playing our best football, and we feel like we’re in good position to do that.”
Catholic’s defense, which has allowed one touchdown in its last 20 quarters, was pivotal during the team’s 27-point second quarter that turned a 14-7 game into a comfortable 34-7 halftime advantage.
Ohio State commitment Blaine Bradford ignited a span over the last 6:47 of the first half with an interception of Zachary quarterback Michael Kirby near the sideline at Catholic’s 29.
The Bears scored three straight touchdowns with junior running back Jayden Miles taking a handoff around right end and scoring untouched on the fourth-and-two play from 34 yards out.
Junior defensive lineman Jayden Vessell closed on a scrambling Kirby on a third-and-nine play, knocking the ball loose, which DeMoss scooped and regained his balance for a 12-yard score – the first of his career – with 2:37 left in the half.
“I give all the glory to God,” DeMoss said. “I saw the ball and had to go make a play. J-Vess (Vessell) knocked the ball out, and I had to go pick it up and score.”
DeMoss wasn’t finished.
Zachary (6-3, 2-3) went to reserve quarterback Willie Johnson, who moved the Broncos into a Catholic territory when DeMoss, dropping back in coverage, intercepted a third-and-three attempt and brought it back 61 yards to make it 34-7 with 1:06 left in the half.
“I almost tripped on the pick,” DeMoss said with a laugh. “It was a blessing that it was thrown right by me and I had to go make a play, and Blaine had the great block and (Pierson) Carmouche came from behind and blocked him and helped me score.”
It was a sobering first half for Zachary, which ran twice as many plays (41 to 18) than Catholic and held a 220 to 151 edge in total yards and still trailed by 27 points.
The Broncos had a punt blocked by UL commitment Harrison Kidder that led to a touchdown for the Bears, and missed a field goal with 2:56 left in the first quarter after a 10-play drive stalled.
“We didn’t score when we were in the red zone, and those things are important,” Zachary head coach David Brewerton said. “Three turnovers in the first half with a blocked punt, after the punt was down at the four-yard-line before the illegal formation (penalty), those situations will cost you in big football games.
“I told the guys at halftime I know what the scoreboard says, but it’s not indicative of how you guys were playing,” Brewerton said. “We ran 40-something plays to their 18. We had more yards than they did and just couldn’t convert when we got down there close. Those are things that need to get fixed moving forward.”
Miles opened the third quarter with 58 of his game-high 122 yards on his team’s opening series. He scored from a yard out five plays later, and Tanner Forbes added his fifth extra point to account for the final score at the 9:02 mark.
“The guys did a nice job of attacking the next play,” Fuller said. “We wanted to come in firing on all cylinders in all three phases and to play a four-quarter game. I feel like we did a lot of really good things, and there’s still improvement we can make.”
Zachary ended a total of five series on Catholic’s side of the field, including the second half at the Bears’ 11, 24, and 38.
“I think we’re the best defense in the nation,” DeMoss said. “Nobody can compare to us. Our team is top-tier. I think we can beat anybody in the state, and I think our defense, I don’t think anyone can play with us if we’re playing our game and we’re playing right. We’re great.”
Kirby was 20 off 33 for 191 yards with an interception with Ethan Kimmie (8-76), Trikoby Rheams (6-61), and UL commitment Kristion Brooks (3-49) his top receivers. Tylek Lewis (13-71) tied the game at 7-7 early in the second quarter on a 33-yard run.
“You’re in a situation where none of those games matter now,” said Brewerton, whose team lost for the third time in their last four games. “The only one that matters is next week, and we’re guaranteed to play next week, and that’s all we can concentrate on right now. If you win that one, then all you have to care about is the following week. Our teams have traditionally played better in the postseason. I can only hope that’s the case this year.”
Kidder’s punt block resulted in excellent field position at Zachary’s 40-yard line. Two plays later, the Bears were in the end zone on quarterback Baylor Graves’ 32-yard keeper over the left side.
Following Zachary’s missed field goal, the Bears drove 80 yards in seven plays with Miles picking up a first down to the Broncos’ 33 with a 15-yard gain out of the wildcat formation.
The Bears wound up facing third-and-12 when Graves stepped up in the pocket and spotted tight end Jude Chambelain for a 16-yard touchdown and 14-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter.
“Once I saw the corner move over, I’m running the ball,” Graves said of his touchdown run. “I made a move and went and scored. (On TD pass) We motioned a guy, I saw space in the pocket to step up and did my job.
“It’s a big deal,” Graves said of the district title. “It goes to show all of the hard work we put in. This is just the cherry on top. The work and the journey is where the fun is.”
Catholic 41, Zachary 7
Score By Quarters
Zachary 0 7 0 0 – 7
Catholic 7 27 7 0 – 41
Scoring Summary
CHS – Baylor Graves 32 run (Tanner Forbes kick)
CHS – Jude Chamberlain 16 pass from Graves (Forbes kick)
ZHS – Tylek Lewis 33 run (Boston Bentley kick)
CHS – Jayden Miles 34 run (Forbes kick)
CHS – John Russell DeMoss 15 fumble return (Forbes kick)
CHS – DeMoss 61 interception return (kick failed)
CHS – Miles 1 run (Forbes kick)
ZHS CHS
First Downs 17 12
Rushing Yards 30-93 30-206
Passing Yards 198 73
A-C-I 21-37-2 10-13-0
Punts-Avg. 1-0 3-33
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards 6-60 6-65
Individual Leaders
Rushing – ZHS: Tylek Lewis 13-71-TD, Jeremy Patton 10-30; CHS: Jayden Miles 8-124-TD, Baylor Graves 6-43-TD, Justin Batiste 8-24.
Passing – ZHS: Micael Kirby 20-33-1-191, Willie Johnson 1-4-1-7; CHS: Turner Goldsmith 4-6-39, Baylor Graves 5-5-0-36, TD, Turner Goldsmith 3-5-0-37
Receiving – ZHS: Ethan Kimmie 8-76, Trikoby Rheams 6-61, Kristion Brooks 3-49; CHS: Jude Chamberlain 2-28-TD, Dyer Chambers 2-20.