Shaw Soars Late, Holds Off Kennedy in Quarterfinal Battle
by: Mike Strom // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
MARRERO, La. — The Shaw Eagles bent, but refused to break.
Pressed for 48 full minutes by John F. Kennedy, top-seeded Shaw drove 69 yards for the winning touchdown in the final 3½ minutes and then withstood a furious offensive charge by the No. 8 Cougars in the remaining 40 seconds to record a 21-14 Division I Select state quarterfinals victory Friday night at cold and breezy Joe Zimmerman Stadium.
Quarterback Mason Wilson scored the winning points with his third touchdown, a 6-yard run with 40 seconds remaining that capped an 8-play, 69-yard possession which Henry Cardenas topped off with his third successful PAT kick to propel the District 9-4A champions to their ninth consecutive victory and second straight trip to the Division II Select semifinals.
The victory wasn’t secured, however, until the Eagles defense repelled a final Kennedy drive covering 74 yards that reached Shaw’s 6-yard line in what seemed like a blink of an eye. It was there in the final 9 seconds that Shaw defenders forced two incompletions before defensive linemen Gibson Lumene and Caden Valentine sacked Kennedy’s mercurial quarterback, Amyne Darensbourg, for a 9-yard loss on the game’s final play.
“That was a tremendous, tremendous win,’’ Tierney said afterward. “(Kennedy is) real good. They’re real athletic. I think they stopped our running game in the middle of the game, which we didn’t think they could do, so we had to lean on our defense.
“Our defense bent, but they didn’t break. They stopped (Kennedy) three times in the shadow of the goal line. That was the key to the game.’’
Shaw (10-2) advances to the semifinals for a second straight season, ironically, after defeating Kennedy in a quarterfinals shootout for a second consecutive season. The Eagles will play host to No. 5 seeded Madison Prep next Friday at Joe Zimmerman Stadium. Madison Prep defeated No. 13 Istrouma, 14-6, Friday night in Baton Rouge.
Kennedy (7-5) had a seven-game winning streak broken after rebounding from having its first three regular-season victories reversed by forfeits due to Louisiana High School Athletic Association rules violations. Those forfeits spoiled what on the field represented a third consecutive 9-1 regular season that produced a third consecutive trip to the quarterfinals.
“It’s tough’’ ending like this again, Kennedy coach Lynarise Elpheage said. “It’s another tough one. Coach Hank has got a hell of a football team and we went down to the wire. We fell a little short. I think we made more mistakes than them and that was the difference in the game.’’
Kennedy scored both of its touchdowns in the second quarter via Darensbourg scoring passes to wide receiver James Evans covering 5 and 15 yards to overcome a 7-0 deficit and take a 14-7 lead that Shaw then answered to forge a 14-14 tie at intermission.
Following a scoreless third period, each side’s offense perked back up with Kennedy driving 75 yards to Shaw’s 18-yard line before the Cougars self-destructed. A holding penalty on first down, a loss of 1 yard on the next play, and then a botched shotgun snap which produced a wild incompletion resulted in a 42-yard field goal attempt by kicker Nahun Lalin that sailed just left of the left upright to leave the score tied at 14.
Each offense then had a three-and-out possession before Wilson and the Eagles answered with their 69-yard scoring march in the final three minutes, 29 seconds. The game-winning drive came with tailback Jasper Parker hobbled by a sprained ankle that he had injured on the previous possession, leaving the heroics up to Wilson and slot-back Gavin Richard.
Wilson and Richard did not disappoint with Richard ripping off 13 yards on the drive’s first play. Wilson and Richard then connected on a clutch 15-yard completion to convert third-and-5 from Kennedy’s 41-yard line. Wilson accounted for the final 26 yards with runs of 14, 6, and 6 yards to put Shaw ahead, 21-14, after Henry Cardenas kicked his third successful PAT with 40 seconds remaining.
Cardenas’ subsequent kickoff through the end zone put the Cougars 80 yards away from potentially tying or going for the win, but only 40 seconds remained. Darensbourg opened the drive with a 12-yard completion to wide receiver Kingston Jones before scrambling and finding wide receiver Jonathan Strowder with a 46-yard deep lob down the middle of the field on the next snap.
Darensbourg immediately raced 16 yards to the Shaw 6-yard line on the third play with 12 seconds remaining to set up the final frenetic three downs. Darensbourg threw incomplete on first-and-goal and Evans threw incomplete on a halfback pass intended for Strowder in the end zone on second down before Lumene and Valentine bull-rushed their blockers to sack Darensbourg back at the 15-yard line as time expired.
“I think our key guys came through,’’ Tierney said of Wilson, Parker, and Richard. “I’m particularly proud of our defense because (Kennedy is) a powerhouse offense and we held them to 14 points.
“It was just a great game. I feel sorry for those (Kennedy) guys. They did everything that they needed to do. I think we were just this much (holding his thumb and forefinger one-half inch apart) better.’’
Parker rushed for a game-high 111 yards on 21 carries to pace a rushing attack that accounted for 253 of Shaw’s 275 total yards while Wilson ran 19 times for 99 yards and three touchdowns covering 16, 1, and 6 yards in addition to completing 2 of 6 passes for another 22 yards without being intercepted. Wilson directed scoring drives of 74, 70, and 69 yards.
The Cougars out-gained the Eagles, 336-275, in total yards thanks in large part to Darensbourg’s brilliance as a scrambler and passer. The Cougars senior quarterback completed 14 of 21 passes for 218 yards and both of Kennedy’s touchdowns to Evans without being intercepted.
Evans totaled four receptions good for 81 yards with touchdowns covering 5 and 15 yards while Strowder had three receptions good for 84 yards. Running back Kenneth Chelsea carried 8 times for 79 yards to pace Kennedy’s 118-yard ground game.
“We’ve got a hell of a team,’’ Elpheage said. “I’m proud of the guys. I knew it coming in, the work they put in this offseason and during the season. We were on a mission. We really, really felt that we had a chance to win a state championship. We came up a little short, but I’m still proud of my guys.
“Our ultimate goal wasn’t met, but they gave me everything they had and that’s all you can ask for as a coach and as a mentor, just to give everything. And they did that. I think they did a good job with that.’’
The two sides, which each recorded 16 first downs in the game, played to a 14-14 stalemate in the first half after Kennedy scored two second-quarter touchdowns on consecutive possessions to overcome a 7-0 deficit.
Both of the Cougar’s touchdowns came via scoring passes from Darensbourg and Evans covering 5 and 15 yards. The first touchdown culminated an 8-play, 76-yard drive that began with runs of 25, 27, and 15 yards by Chelsea.
Kennedy next recovered a Shaw fumble to set in motion a quick 5-play, 26-yard possession that Evans capped with a nifty toe tap just inside the right pylon of a 15-yard pass from Darensbourg. In a key play after the fumble recovery, Darensbourg and wide receiver Nahun Lalin connected on a 15-yard completion to convert third-and-12 two plays before the touchdown.
Wilson ran 16 and 1 yards respectively to cap Shaw’s first two scoring drives covering 74 and 70 yards that consumed 12 and 14 plays. The first scoring drive featured all running plays while the second had 11 runs and 3 pass attempts, with Parker carrying 14 times for 76 yards on the two possessions.
“We were playing it close to the vest,’’ Tierney said of Shaw’s second-half strategy. “As long as the game was close, we weren’t doing anything crazy. We were waiting for a turnover and just trying to run the ball and run the clock and keep their offense off the field. As it turned out, we had to stop them and we did.
“I think the key was when it was 14-14 and they got down there and we held them. They missed the field goal. Then the other key, I thought, was the last drive when Jasper was hurt, we were just using Jasper as a decoy. We were letting Mason run and Mason really picked up the slack for us.’’
Wilson, Tierney said, “He is a tough, epitome of a Shaw West Bank guy. He is a tough, tough guy. He had knee surgery from a wrestling mishap in the spring and he didn’t practice the whole summer or all of fall camp. He just got cleared for the jamboree, so he had to get back in shape (as the season started).
“But he is a threat running and throwing. We didn’t throw much today because we were trying to keep them off of the field. But the way he played tonight, he’s played like that for two years. When the going gets tough, he gets going.
“He’s a tough guy who wants to run the ball and wants to mix it up. Just a physical West Bank kid. It showed tonight when we needed him to be like that when Jasper was out, he did it for us.’’
The Eagles now advance with a home game in the semifinals rather than the away game that they drew last season which resulted in a 69-30 loss at top-seeded and eventual state champion St. Thomas More.
“I feel a little better about our team this year, too, because we’re older,’’ Tierney said. “Last year we went to the hornets’ nest at St. Thomas More against a great team with a lot of young guys playing. But we’ve got seniors now. They’ve been through the battles. They’ve played against the Rummels and the Karrs.
“So I feel real good about where we are right now. Then we’re home again. We’re tough here. Our crowd was great, they got behind us. So I feel real good about where we are. But, again, give those guys (Kennedy) a lot of credit. Two years in a row, it’s a game anybody could have won and we managed to win it. When we gave up that long pass, I almost had a heart attack.’’
SHAW 21, JOHN F. KENNEDY 14
John F. Kennedy 0 14 0 0 — 14
Shaw 7 7 0 7 — 21
JFK SHA
First downs 16 16
Rushing 118 253
Passing 218 22
Total offense 336 275
Passes 14-21-0 2-6-0
Punts 2-40.5 3-41.0
Fumbles/lost 2-0 2-1
Penalties 8-48 1-10
SCORING:
S: Mason Wilson 16 run (Henry Cardenas kick).
JFK: James Evans 5 pass from Amyne Darensbourg (Nahun Lalin kick).
JFK: James Evans 15 pass from Amyne Darensbourg (Nahun Lalin kick).
S: Mason Wilson 1 run (Henry Cardenas kick).
S: Mason Wilson 6 run (Henry Cardenas kick).