Prepared to shine: Second-half explosion sends Catholic past Alexandria, 44-6

by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

BATON ROUGE – Catholic High of Baton Rouge’s Harrison Kidder said to trace the Bears’ path to its ninth straight state semifinal, you have to look back at the rugged journey they endured.

Catholic was 3-2 through the first five games of the season with wins over tradition-rich programs Destrehan, St. Thomas More and University High. There were also a pair of losses totaling four points to West Monroe and Madison-Ridgeland, which was No. 1 ranked team in Mississippi at the time of their matchup.

The last seven weeks have been an example of Catholic’s progress, including an undefeated run to the District 4-5A championship over such programs as Zachary and Central. When they trailed by three points at halftime in Friday’s Division I select quarterfinals, the Bears were never out of their element, putting together a scintillating nine-minute stretch that carried them to a 44-6 victory over fifth-seeded Alexandria at Memorial Stadium.

“We’d been here before,” said Kidder, a UL commitment. “That’s why we play a gauntlet of a schedule during the regular season. We trust each other and we got out there and keep executing.”

The familiarity with the semifinal round brings about a recognizable opponent for Catholic (10-2) which travels to top-seeded and nationally ranked Karr (12-0) in next Friday’s semifinal at 7 p.m. It marks the second straight year the teams collide in the semifinal round with Karr, the eventual state champion, eliminating Catholic, 21-19, the Cougars’ narrowest margin of victory last season.

“It’s a great job by our players of playing the next play,” Catholic coach Hudson Fuller said. “We know what this team’s capable of. Sometimes it just takes a little time.”

Alexandria (9-3) forced Catholic into a pair of first-half fumbles. The Bears had lost only three of 10 fumbles in their previous 11 games with Raymond Harris and Ethan Richard making recoveries for the Trojans in the first 13 ½ minutes of play.

Alexandria had established solid credentials over the past two seasons, making its second state championship appearance in 2024. The Trojans, the undefeated District 2-5A champion that included a sweep of West Monroe, Ruston and Neville, advanced to the state title game with a semifinal win over John Curtis.

“Missed opportunities,” Alexandria coach Thomas Bachman said. “We had an opportunity to have a couple of scores lead at halftime and we didn’t. That’s kind of the story of the game. It’s 6-3 instead of 17 or 21 if we hit on a couple of things.”

Placekicker Eli Fung connected on field goals of 21 and 27 yards in the second quarter for a 6-0 lead. The Trojans ran 27 plays in Catholic territory, getting as close as the 3-yard line before having to settle for a second field goal from Fung.

“We preach conviction, bend but never break,” Kidder said. “Make them snap the ball again and again. It’s part of our culture to never give up, constantly pushing back and never quitting.”

Catholic, which closed the half with a 22-yard field goal from Tanner Forbes, scored on five consecutive possessions, setting in motion a torrid stretch that led to 41 unanswered points in the second half.

Running back Jayden Miles had a game-high 112 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries, while quarterback Turner Goldsmith passed for 209 of his 256 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.

The Bears did the majority of their damage over a nine-minute stretch that bridged the third and fourth quarters with Ian Locklar’s 32-yard return of Karsen Sellers’ interception the final salvo with 11:28 left in the game.

“We were driving down the field at the beginning of the game and couldn’t finish,” Goldman said. “We talked about that all week and that was to finish our drives. In the second half we found ways to finish drives and had some explosive plays that resulted in touchdowns.”

Miles’ seven-yard score out of wildcat formation capped his team’s opening series of the third quarter – a 92-yard drive that provided Catholic with a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

The Bears, which had an interception from Pierson Carmouche in the first half, went on to pick off three passes against Sellers, who had been picked off three times in 174 attempts coming into the game.

Fumble recoveries from Liam Myers and Jack Stokes were also part of a defense that produced five turnovers and led to 27 points.

“They stress you, get you thin in some areas with some of things they do by formation, and the way they use their personnel,” Bachman said. “Turnovers and missed opportunities are the story of the game. Credit them. This is what it is at this time of the year. You’ve got to make the plays. Credit to their staff and their kids, putting them in position and making the plays.”

Alexandria, which averaged 42 points and 383 total yards per game, was held to a season-low in points and managed 245 yards on 73 plays. Sellers was 21 of 38 for 175 with Alex Fontenot leading the way with seven catches for 68 yards and Jakyrin Griffin adding five grabs for 49 yards. Noble Williams had a team-high 48 yards on 17 attempts.

Goldsmith found running back Justin Batiste wide open for a 5-yard touchdown pass following Myers’ fumble recovery. Kidder added an interception – laying out to make the play on first-and-10 – and Goldsmith hit Miles behind coverage in the end zone for a 32-yard scoring pass and 22-6 lead with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

“We practiced that play all week, we planned on using it whenever we needed to take a shot,” said Goldsmith, who completed 12 of 17 passes overall with tight end Jude Chamberlain making six grabs for 115 yards. “The opportunity presented itself and we capitalized on the chance.”

Catholic took advantage of excellent field position following a deflected punt, driving 32 yards in six plays with Miles crashing in from five yards out, and Stokes’ fumble recovery two plays later led to Miles’ third rushing touchdown, an inside handoff over the left side in which he was untouched on the second play of the fourth quarter.

The scoring barrage continued where on second-and-10, Sellers overthrew his intended target, a pass Locklar intercepted and scored untouched, and Forbes added his fifth extra point.

“Just a lot of great moments where we may have given up a play or two in a drive, but they didn’t finish the drive,” Hudson said. “You’re not going to be perfect but can you play as hard as you can for the next play, which is what we’re asking them to do, and they did a great job of that.”

Yardstick

Catholic 44, Alexandria 6

Score By Quarters

Alexandria 0 6 0 0 – 6

Catholic 0 3 27 14 – 44

Scoring Summary

AHS – Eli Fung 21 field goal

AHS – Fung 27 field goal

CHS – Tanner Forbes 22 field goal

CHS – Jayden Miles 7 run (Forbes kick)

CHS – Justin Batiste 5 pass from Turner Goldsmith (kick failed)

CHS – Miles 32 pass from Goldsmith (Forbes kick)

CHS – Miles 5 run (Forbes kick)
CHS – Miles 32 run (Forbes kick)

CHS – Ian Locklar 32 interception return (Forbes kick)

                                        ASH                        CHS

First Downs                    16                            17

Rushing-Yards                35-70                       41-126

Passing Yards                  175                          275

A-C-I                              21-38-3                   13-20-0

Punts-Avg.                      6-34.2                      3-27.3

Fumbles-Lost                  3-2                           2-2

Penalties-Yards               6-46                         1-10

RUSHING

ASH – Noble Williams 17-48, Kason Williams 15-41; CHS – Jayden Miles 21-112, 3 TDs, Baylor Graves 7-19.

PASSING

ASH – Karsen Sellers 21-38-3-175; CHS – Turner Goldsmith 12-17-0-256, 2 TDs, Baylor Graves 1-3-0-3.

RECEIVING

ASH – Alex Fontenot 7-68, Jakyrin Griffin 5-49; CHS – Jude Chamberlain 6-115, Beau Thomas 3-91.