What a Finish: Combination of Babin-to-Elisar lifts St. Amant past Cecilia in final seconds
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
ST. AMANT – It was as simple as a wink and a nod.
That’s the kind of chemistry St. Amant quarterback Cooper Babin and wide receiver Quinten Elisar enjoy after four years together.
“We looked at each other and we knew what was happening,” Babin said. “We knew we were going to get it.”
With St. Amant trailing for the first time in the game, the Gators put together a heart-pounding final drive that will be remembered for years.
The senior totaled 498 of his team’s 569 total yards, completing 20 of 33 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns. He was equally dangerous on the ground with 121 yards and four scores on 12 carries.
“I’m looking and going, ‘get me the ball’,” Elisar said. “He’s looking and saying, ‘it’s coming to you’. We just have that connection that’s just special.”
Cecilia got the ball back for one final play, where Collin Dore, who was under duress, found Raymond Calais, who was tackled for a seven-yard gain at his own 39. That signified the end of a three-hour contest that featured 17 touchdowns – including nine in the second half – 1,056 total offense and 53 first downs.
“We always talk about three keys to victory,” St. Amant coach David OIiver, who coached from the press box. “Play the next play was one of them. You have to have a short-term memory, look adversity right in the eye, and win as a team. We never got down on each other. We never started pointing fingers. When we had a chance to make a play, we made some plays. We made just one more than Cecilia did because we had the ball last.”
There were plenty of heroes on both sides that made the Week 2 regular-season game memorable.
Babin, who accounted for 334 yards and four touchdowns in a season-opening 49-6 win over Byrd, flirted with 500 yards to help St. Amant (2-0) remain undefeated heading into next week’s home game with John F. Kennedy.
The senior totaled 498 of his team’s 569 total yards, completing 20 of 33 passes for 374 yards and four touchdowns. He was equally dangerous on the ground with 121 yards and four scores on 12 carries.
“The way he’s operating our offense right now is at an extremely high level, whether that’s in the run game or throwing game,” said Oliver, the school’s winningest coach with 111 wins. “We have dangerous receivers and a dangerous running back, and when you throw him in, he was nearly perfect. When we needed him in the biggest times, the biggest moments, he was there.”
Cecilia (0-2) overcame a 21-0 first-quarter deficit and trailed by double digits in the second quarter (33-13 at halftime) and twice in the last 13 minutes of the game. The Bulldogs not only caught the Gators but took their first lead with 1:22 remaining on Calais’ 3-yard touchdown, and Dore’s two-point pass to Deondre Briscoe.
That drive was aided by a targeting call against St. Amant, coupled with Calais’ 18-yard gain around end. He also caught an 11-yard screen pass from Dore and before lifting Cecilia to a 56-54 lead on a 3-yard run on a direct snap.
“In hindsight, we could have sat on the ball a little bit longer,” said Cecilia’s first-year coach, Cody Champagne, whose team kept the ball for almost three minutes on their scoring drive. “I felt we had to score. We still had two timeouts left. I could have run some more clock. But at the end of the day, it was a great game.”
Babin picked up three first downs in the first four plays of the winning drive, connecting with three different receivers, when a pass interference call against Cecilia moved the ball to the Bulldogs’ 18 with 30 seconds to go. A 13-yard completion to Jermichael Millien got the Gators to the 5, where on second down, Elisar lined up in the slot, Babin rolled to his left and found Elisar breaking toward the corner pylon.
He delivered a perfect strike, and Elisar beat man coverage.
“They finally played man,” Elisar said. “We kind of looked at each other. I knew what was going to happen. We have that trust in each other. Any four of our receivers could have caught that ball. We have complete trust in one another. We know every time we touch the field, it’s going to be a connection no one else has.”
Cecilia, which played in the last two Division II non-select state championships, winning the 2024 crown against last season, had 61 yards of offense in the first quarter and Dore was sacked three times for 24 yards in losses into the second quarter.
Dore, the heir apparent to dynamic all-state quarterback Diesel Solari, helped engineer an offense to 426 yards and six of seven touchdowns over the last 36 minutes. He totaled 290 yards and four touchdowns – passing for 227 yards and 2 TDs, rushing for an additional 63 yards and 2 TDs.
Dore’s ability to escape pressure allowed him to find Malik Joseph all alone for a 42-yard TD, drawing his team to within 53-48 at the 9:32 mark of the third quarter.
Discounting the final two plays of the first half, the two teams combined for a score on 12 consecutive possessions that included Davis’s kickoff return for a touchdown after St. Amant led 47-34.
“He’s played a lot of football,” Champagne said of Dore. “He was our H-back. He got a chance to play some big-time football.”
Calais, the state’s sixth-rated prospect and four-star recruit in the Class of 2027, accounted for 214 all-purpose yards with his lone touchdown at the end of a 9-play, 78-yard drive, giving his team a two-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs had other difference makers that played a part in their comeback, with wide receivers Jayden Lewis and Jermaine Davis combining for three second-half touchdowns.
Lewis caught four passes for 138 yards and a TD, and Davis added touchdowns on a 68-yard sweep and 76-yard kickoff return. Joseph had a TD reception among his three catches for 74 yards.
“I think they decided to get the ball to 13 (Calais) and 12 (Lewis), and that made a huge difference for them because both of those guys are very talented players, and that freed up 9 (Dore),” Oliver said. “Those guys did a whole lot of damage. We had another special teams breakdown that killed momentum. We like to say you either win or you learn, and hopefully we can learn from this because if not, JFK will be a long night.”
Babin, who scored the game’s first two touchdowns on runs of 27 and 36 yards, threw touchdowns to three different receivers.
Millien led the way with 9 receptions for 132 yards, Elisar added four grabs for 35 yards and 2 TDs, and Landon Blanchard had three catches for 88 yards and a TD.
“I love my receivers to death,” Babin said. “Shoutout to the offensive line. They played their butts off. They gave us the time. I love having a lot of guys that I can spread the ball to. It’s very nice. Credit them for showing up for work every day. We work on our craft, and the results show on Fridays.
“Our defense had some troubles tonight,” Babin said. “They were coming off the field saying they needed us tonight. That’s the attitude we kept. We had to fight for our brothers and had to make plays for them.”
Babin accounted for 304 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, including three straight scores to open the game, and St. Amant opened with a 21-0 start for the second straight week. His final run – a 53-yard keeper – made it 33-13 before Cecilia closed with a 23-yard score from Dore, his second of the half, to make it 33-20 at halftime.
The Gators’ 21-0 burst over a nine-minute stretch featured scoring runs of 27 and 36 yards in consecutive possessions. His 72-yard pass to Riley Rizzuto along the sideline set up Jourden Hickerson’s 3-yard touchdown run, and Paxton Leblanc added the third of his six extra points.
Calais began the team’s second series of the second quarter and accounted for 48 of 61 yards on the scoring drive that Dore, who re-entered at quarterback, capped with a 16-yard scramble with 6:30 remaining before halftime.
That was part of a stretch where the two teams traded five touchdowns in the last six minutes of the quarter.
“I think this was coming down to whoever had the ball last,” Oliver said. “It was one of those games where it was exciting. I can’t recall being in one this tight and high scoring. I told our team they would have to face adversity and play the next play. I was proud that they did that. There’s a lot to fix, especially on defense. But both offenses were elite. We’ve got plenty to fix, but it’s nice to do it with a win.”
St. Amant 60, Cecilia 56
Score By Quarter
Cecilia 0 20 21 15 – 56
St. Amant 21 12 20 7 – 60
Scoring Summary
SA – Cooper Babin 27 run (Paxton Leblanc kick)
SA – Babin 36 run (Leblanc kick)
SA – Jourden Hickerson 3 run (Leblanc kick)
CHS – Collin Dore 16 run (run failed)
SA – Jermichael Millien 36 pass from Babin (Kick failed)
CHS – Dore 7 run (Jace Knott kick)
SA – Babin 55 run (kick failed)
CHS – Dore 23 run (Knott kick)
CHS – Jermaine Davis 68 run (Knott kick)
SA – Quinten Elisar 3 pass from Babin (Leblanc kick)
CHS – Jayden Lewis 67 pass from Dore (Knott kick)
SA – Babin 4 run (Leblanc kick)
CHS – Davis 78 kickoff return (Knott kick)
SA – Landon Blanchard 73 pass from Babin (kick failed)
CHS – Joseph 42 pass from Dore (Knott kick)
CHS – Raymond Calais 3 run (Deondre Briscoe pass from Dore)
SA – Elisar 5 pass from Babin (Leblanc kick)
CHS SAHS
First Downs 24 29
Rushes-Yards 30-236 22-195
Passing Yards 251 370
A-C-I 13-23-0 21-33-0
Punts-Avg. 1-31 2-30.5
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 7-53 10-111
Rushing: CEC: Raymond Calais 14-106-1, Collin Dore 13-63-3, Jermaine Davis 2-69-1, Layne Champagne 1-(-2) ; SAHS : Cooper Babin 12-121-4, Jourden Hickerson 10-74
Passing: CEC: Collin Dore 9-20-0-227, Raymond Calais 2-2-0-19, Layne Champagne 1-1-0-5; SAHS – Cooper Babin 20-33-0-4 TDs
Receiving: CEC: Raymond Calais 4-30, Jayden Lewis 4-138-1, Malik Joseph 3-74-2, Jermaine Davis 2-4, Deondre Briscoe 1-5; SAHS: Jermichael Millien 9-132-1, Quinten Elisar 4-35-2, Landon Blanchard 3-88-1, Kaven Taylor 2-22, Riley Rizzuto 2-90, Jourden Hickerson 1-3.