Rallying Points: Dunham, Catholic-NI Have Found Turning Points That Have Led Them to D3 Select State Title Game
by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Friday, Dec. 13 | 3:30 p.m. | Caesars Superdome | New Orleans, LA
Tickets | Watch – NFHS Network ($)| Watch – LHSAA Network TV App (Free)
Distance To Caesars Superdome: Catholic-N.I. (131.2 miles), Dunham (74 miles)
There were painful memories associated with The Dunham School’s visit to St. Charles Catholic earlier this September.
The Tigers twice had their season end at the hands of the Comets in a three-year span when they traveled to LaPlace and rallied for a 20-15 victory.
If Dunham needed a catalyst for the 2024 season, they found it and rode the momentum and confidence to one of the school’s greatest seasons, returning to the state championship game for the second time in three years, falling in that 2022 appearance to St. Charles.
Top-seeded Dunham (13-0) is one of the five undefeated teams and is in search of its second state title in Friday’s Allstate Sugar Bowl Prep Classic against seventh-seeded Catholic-New Iberia (12-1).
Kickoff for the Division III select state championship is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in the Caeser’s Superdome in New Orleans.
“Our defense was fantastic the whole game,” Dunham’s 11th-year coach Neil Weiner said of the St. Charles game. “The offense caught fire in the second half and scored on three of their last four possessions. The ability to have that success made a huge difference in our kids’ mindsets. They believed they could win, but until you go out and do it, sometimes you can’t go all in. That made a big difference.”
Although Dunham plowed through its district, the Tigers have shown some resilience over the past two weeks to advance to the state title game.
The Tigers rallied from a 17-point deficit with 21 unanswered points over a six-minute span for a 34-30 quarterfinal victory over state power Lafayette Christian Academy.
They followed last week, surrendering an opening-play touchdown and trailing Bunkie by a point at halftime, to put together a stretch of 31 unanswered points – 24 of those in the second half – for a 46-22 triumph.
“Our kids stayed cool, calm, and collected,” Weiner said.
No team sent a bigger message to the rest of Division III than Catholic-NI which has won its last 11 games since a 14-10 loss to Division IV select finalist Vermilion Catholic.
The Panthers, who last won a state title in 2017, traveled to Shreveport and unseated reigning state champion Calvary Baptist, 33-31, in a back-and-forth game that came down to the leg of their placekicker.
Calvary overcame a 21-10 deficit in the third quarter and grabbed a 31-24 lead with 1:57 remaining in the game.
Catholic quarterback Luke Landry pulled his team to within 31-30 on an 11-yard TD pass. Following a failed two-point try, the Panthers recovered their first onside kick of the season and Bennett Boudreaux kicked a game-winning 26-yard field goal with a second left.
“We talked about it being a 48-minute battle and it was going to be a dogfight the entire time that would come down to the very end,” Catholic coach Matt Desormeaux said. “We talked about looking at the scoreboard in the final two minutes and finding a way to come out on top and that’s exactly what our kids did.”
The defenses for Dunham and Catholic have stern challenges presented by the other’s quarterback.
The 6-foot, 180-pound Landry has thrown for 2,621 yards (on 173 of 272 passing) for 37 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
“The quarterback will be the best quarterback we have faced,” Weiner said. “He’s just a great quarterback. He knows where to go with the ball pre-snap. He knows what’s coming up and anticipates throws. He’s kind of like a magician in the pocket. You think you’ve got him and somehow he sneaks out and makes a throw.”
Desormeaux credits the decision-making of his quarterback and his ability to spread the ball around instead of honing in on one primary target.
“He’s done a phenomenal job,” he said. “He doesn’t pick one receiver. He takes what defenses gives him. He’s thrown some good balls to good positions and good places on the field to where other teams really don’t get many opportunities.”
Dunham has the nation’s No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2027 in sophomore quarterback Elijah Haven.
Haven has accounted for 843 yards of offense and 11 touchdowns in wins over LCA and Bunkie. His 3,475 yards and 54 touchdowns are a testament to his dual-threat capability – 178 of 284 passing for 2,753 yards with 35 TDs and six interceptions 722 rushing yards and 19 TDs on 126 attempts.
“He’s special,” Desormeaux said. “Hopefully we don’t see him the next two years in the playoffs because he’s going to be as close to unstoppable as you can get the next couple of years.”
A significant amount of fuel was added to Catholic’s season in the fifth and sixth week of the season when the Panthers dispatched Notre Dame of Crowley (42-28) and Lake Charles College Prep (38-27), the latter which had knocked the Panthers out of the playoffs the past two years.
Catholic, like Dunham, was extremely dominant in District 7-2A play and won its league by an average of 45 points.
This year’s team, though, had to wait until a 59-22 regional victory over Northlake Christian to celebrate their first postseason victory since 2020.
“Not much negative to say about the season,” Desormeaux said. “There are things we’ve could have done better at times, but they’ve always battled. They’ve shown so much grit and they’ve come to work every day.
“It doesn’t just happen on Friday nights,” Desormeaux said. “They come to practice. We lift on Monday mornings; we lift on Wednesdays and Saturdays. They complain sometimes but they get it done. I’m so proud of the way they’ve fought.”
Junior running back Owen Morris leads Catholic’s rushing attack with 114 carries for 744 yards and 10 TDs.
Landry has a talented receiving corps led by senior Jaiden Mitchell (49-906, 15 TDs), tight end Joseph LeBlanc (43-591, 13 TDs), and wideout Gavin Roy (26-408, 4 TDs).
“It will be totally unique,” Weiner said facing Catholic’s offense. “They use route concepts that we haven’t faced this year. The tight end is fantastic and No. 1 (Mitchell) in the slot is their big-play guy and gets the ball a good bit.
Dunham counters with a defense led by junior defensive lineman Eliot Trahan (72 ½ tackles), senior defensive end Harrison Malik (55 tackles, 6 TFLs), junior outside linebacker Trevor Haman (66 ½ tackles), and senior linebacker Rives Johnson (61 tackles, 2 interceptions).
Senior cornerback Grant Morgan tops the Tigers with three interceptions and 11 passes broken up followed by junior cornerback Richard Montgomery with two interceptions and 10 PBUs.
“The quarterback’s so good, he can move in the pocket and still keep his eyes downfield,” Weiner said. “They’re (passing game) very timing oriented. He gets the ball out quick and if protection breaks down, he’s really good about finding guys open downfield.”
Dunham averages nearly 340 yards a game on offense with junior Collin Pecue (115-598, 9 TDs) trailing Haven in rushing yards.
The Tigers rival the Panthers with a deep group of wide receivers led by juniors Jarvis Washington (42-826, 9 TDs), Haman (41-685, 15 TDs) and Kris Thomas (36-432, 2 TDs).
“This year we have four wide receivers to spread the ball around,” Weiner said. “Elijah’s ability to truly spread the ball around and recognize they can’t take away everybody is a sign of maturity. He’s not locking in on one kid the whole time.”
Catholic’s defense, which limited pass-heavy teams in Newman and Calvary the past two games, is led by senior inside linebacker John David Hidalgo with 139 tackles, 16 ½ TFLs, five forced fumbles, and four sacks.
Senior middle linebacker Izaac Andre has 79 tackles, 7 TFLs and three forced fumbles with fellow linebacker Bennett Woodring, a senior, recording 60 tackles and two forced fumbles, senior noseguard Michael Bertrand (44, 7 TFLs), junior defensive end Xander Labauve (56 tackles, 10 TFLs) and sophomore free safety Karon Eugene (38 tackles, 3 blocked punts, 7 interceptions, 3 TDs).
“They’re a heck of a ball club,” Desormeaux said of Dunham. “Coach Weiner’s always done a great job there as long as I’ve been coaching. They’ve got a solid team that’s good all the way around. It’s going to be a full team effort from us to have a chance to win. We have to go out and play fast and hard from the beginning until the very end. It’s going to be a four-quarter, 48-minute game and hopefully we’ll be able to find a way in those last two minutes to come out on top.”