High-Stakes Matchup: Undefeated Vermilion Catholic, Ascension Episcopal Clash in Game with Plenty of Implications

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

For the past two seasons, Ascension Episcopal challenged Vermilion Catholic in a pair of spirited non-district games. A year after a 48-24 decision, the result was tighter in the Eagles’ 30-28 over the Blue Gators, further heightening this year’s matchup of two of the top Class 1A teams with visions of a District 6-1A championship and beyond.

It’s a November-type encounter taking place in the middle of October when Ascension Episcopal (6-0, 1-0) visits Vermilion Catholic (6-0, 1-0) at 7 p.m. Friday in Abbeville.

“One of the points I made, everyone in our program knows how good a team and program they’ve been,” Ascension Episcopal coach Stephen Hearen said of VC. “That’s not a shock and I didn’t undersell that. The recipe for winning a football game’s the same. You’re going to have to go out and execute. 

“You’re going to have to be on assignment and limit mistakes,” Hearen said. “You have to realize that win or lose your season is continuing. You have to remain steady. It’s a long 10-week grind in the regular season. This is a big game for sure, but you can’t allow yourself to get too high or too low.” 

Ascension Episcopal and Vermilion Catholic are two of the state’s remaining 26 undefeated teams that among the top four in the Division IV select power ratings. This could also potentially be the first of two matchups depending on the postseason.

The Blue Gators are ranked No. 7 in the GeauxPreps Class 1A Top 10 and No. 9 by the LSWA, while the Eagles are No. 1 in both polls and riding a 31-game undefeated streak in the regular season.

“With both schools having unblemished records, I think both communities are going to show up in droves,” VC coach Broc Prejean said. “It’s going to be an exciting atmosphere and we’re looking forward to it.”

Prejean wants an even-keeled approach from his team this week. The Eagles host top-tiered Class 1A team Opelousas Catholic next week and close out the regular season with district games at Gueydan and against Westminster Christian-Lafayette at home.

“Consistency’s going to be our message all week,” Prejean said. “It’s something that we talk about a lot and it’s something that’s difficult to beat in life, much less high school football. Showing up every day and putting in the work and being ready on Friday nights. We want to have a consistent performance, especially from an assignment standpoint. That’s what it’s going to take with all the different wrinkles that they’re going to throw at us on both sides of the ball.”

Hearen, in his ninth year at the school and third as head coach, doesn’t dispute the electricity in the atmosphere that will surround the game but expects his team to treat the week ahead and the game in the identical manner they have in their previous six victories.

“It feels like a Week 10 kind of game,” he said. “It’s exciting and it’s one of those games where we’re going to have to come out and do things right every play. They’re a team that plays hard every play. You look at a team that’s not going to take any plays off and it shows. That’s probably a huge key to the success they’ve had in the last several years. They take pride in what they do.

“The formula for winning a football game is the same no matter what the week is,” he said. “You’ve got to be sure your kids get the install (installation) stuff, that they can align correctly and know their assignments, and trust everybody around them will do their job. You’ve got to be able to do the same things every week to win football games.”

Good Start Leads to Collision Course 

Ascension Episcopal moved from Class 2A to Class 1A for the first time since winning the 2016 state championship. The Blue Gators were 7-5 and lost to St. Charles Catholic in the regional round of the Division III state select playoffs last season. With 12 starters almost equally divided between offense and defense, this year’s team had a good foundation to build on for a successful season.

“It’s been exciting. I was excited about the team we had coming back,” Hearen said. “I felt like if we could have some young guys step up and fill in some spots, and also stay healthy, that we could have a pretty good football team. A lot has to go your way to have a special kind of season. So far, we’ve been fortunate with those kind of breaks.”

Both teams registered Week 1 victories that have chartered a positive course.

VC managed to handle tricky conditions brought on by inclement weather and a difficult assignment at Catholic High-New Iberia for a 14-10 victory. The Panthers (5-1) have not lost since and are No. 4 in the GeauxPreps Class 2A Top 10.

“It was a tough non-district schedule,” Prejean said of his team’s wins over Class 4A Breaux Bridge (45-0), Class 2A Loreauville (47-36), Class 3A Erath (41-34) and Class 1A power Riverside Academy (49-34). “It was a schedule we anticipated having difficult games in. We want to win every game, but we knew that was going to be a challenge. The kids had to show a ton of resiliency and we’re proud of the resolve, and hope that it pays dividends moving into the second half of the season starting with Ascension.”

Ascension Episcopal opened with a 23-6 triumph over a Kaplan team that hasn’t lost since. The Blue Gators followed with victories over Class 4A Archbishop Hannan (31-7), Class 3A Abbeville (38-14), Class 2A Rosepine (42-8) and Class 4A North Vermilion (50-18).

The two teams combined to win their district openers last week by a combined 106 points.

“It’s not easy just moving down in classification,” Hearen said. “The Division IV select bracket has so many quality programs such as VC, Ascension Catholic, and Southern Lab. Just because you’re moving down in classification doesn’t mean things get easier for you. The idea is you want to be better at the end of the week than when we started, and they’ve really bought into that. That’s been a key for us.”

Will Offense Continue to Rule the Day?

VC has one of the state’s headliners on offense with the return of senior Jonathan Dartez, the Class 1A All-State quarterback in 2023, directing an offense averaging 42 points a game and 429 yards an outing.

“I’m his No. 1 fan,” Prejean said. “There are times on Friday nights, and we sit there and enjoy the opportunity to see what we’ve gotten to see over the last four years. He’s exactly what you would want in a superstar player. He’s super humble, he’s about the team. He couldn’t tell you a single stat line he has right now. He continues to get better. What’s been lost is how efficient and dynamic he’s been in the passing game. He wears that captain’s patch for us, and he does it justice.”

Dartez has become the school’s career leader in rushing, total yards, and total touchdowns this season. He’s rushed 146 times for 1,200 yards (8.2 per carry) with 18 touchdowns. He’s also completed 46 of 76 passes for 1,036 yards with 10 TDs and one interception for 2,236 total yards and 28 TDs.

“Offensively, their quarterback doesn’t really need any introduction,” Hearen said of Dartez. “That’s how good of a playmaker he is. He goes because of how good their offensive line is, and they’ve got some really good complementary skill guys. 

VC’s video-game-like statistical numbers on offense have also been the result of an offense with a terrific supporting cast. Running back Luke McLain (31-220, 2 TDs) has benefitted from the push created up front by senior center Jackson Trahan, an honorable mention all-state choice last season, and a group of receivers led by Ross Dartez (13-215, 2 TDs), Hudson Hebert (12-217, TD) and Allen McLain (9-353, 6 TDs) have presented Jonathan Dartez with reliable targets.

“If he’s the focal point and the only guy that can get something going, we’re going to have a tough night,” Prejean said. “We know we’ve got to distribute the ball and we’ve done a better job of that. We started searching for answers when we had a couple of players go down, but (tight end) Allen McLain has emerged as one heck of a big-time passing threat. If we’re going to say we’re spread we’ve got to spread the ball around and that’s something we look to continue to do.” 

Langlinais has also been a steady force on defense at linebacker and with Allen McLain, Trahan, and Gabe Boudreaux, the Eagles are allowing 19 points a game.

Ascension Episcopal has averaged 35 points a game behind a running game that’s producing 190.2 yards per game, including 6.8 yards per game.

Junior quarterback Branon Mitchell has completed 33 of 63 passes for 606 yards and 10 touchdowns. Mitchell, the son of former NFL player and current Ascension Episcopal defensive line coach Brandon Mitchell of Abbeville High, is also a big part of the team’s rushing attack with 37 attempts for 416 yards (11.2 per carry) and five TDs. Junior running back Andrew Abshire tops the Gators with 477 yards on 69 carries (6.9 per carry) and 12 TDs.

Former honorable mention all-state middle linebacker Preston Peebles has become one of the team’s top receivers at tight end with eight catches for 131 yards and a team-high 5 TDs. Junior Andrew McCormick (12-270, 3 TDs) leads a balanced receiving corps that also includes sophomore Jack Boudreaux (8-140, TD).

“We had a lot of guys working to get comfortable at those positions and now those guys have more than a half of a season under their belt,” said Hearen, whose team lost the services of sophomore wide receiver DJ Kelly in the season opener. “Jack Boudreaux, Hayes Trotter, and Christian Singleton have now gotten comfortable in some different roles and that’s made all the difference.”

Hearen said the emergence of sophomore middle linebacker Owen LeBlanc (40 tackles) in Peeples’ place has been a key for Ascension Episcopal’s defense which returned all of its starting linebackers – Peeples, Beau Domengeaux, and Luke Curry – from a year ago. Domengeaux is the team’s leader with 50 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks, while Curry has 44 tackles, 6 TFLs, 2 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown. 

Domengeaux and Curry were both first-team all-district selections in ’23, while sophomores Braxton Woodring (36 tackles) and free safety Sport Gros (3 of his team’s 9 interceptions) have been key contributors.

“It’s been huge having those guys, especially Beau and Luke,” Hearen said. “They approach the game in the same kind of fashion. They take it seriously and are both great students of the game that watch a lot of film. When you have guys like that leading and directing things, it allows you to do a few more things defensively when they can help communicate it from the sideline to the field.” 

Prejean gave a sizable advantage to Ascension Episcopal special team’s play which he says adds to the degree of difficulty his team faces.

“We’ve just got to be consistent with our approach and with our assignments Friday,” he said. “It’s been a great matchup with two great communities. The kids are very similar and very familiar with each other.”