Mutual Respect: D4 Select Matchup Filled with Plenty of Admiration between Vermilion Catholic, OCS
by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Thursday, Dec. 12 | 12:00 p.m. | Caesars Superdome | New Orleans, LA
Tickets | Watch – NFHS Network ($)| Watch – LHSAA Network TV App (Free)
Distance To Caesars Superdome: Ouachita Christian (286.6 miles), Vermilion Catholic (149.6 miles)
Two of the state’s top Division IV programs, separated by 200 miles, will cross paths for the third time in five years – including the second time to decide a state championship.
Top-seeded Vermilion Catholic (13-0) will attempt to complete the 148th perfect season in state history, facing the challenge of nine-time state champion and No. 11 seed Ouachita Christian (12-1) at noon Thursday.
The Division IV select state championships begin the three-day Allstate Sugar Bowl Prep Classic in the Caeaser’s Superdome in New Orleans.
“This is going to be a tough challenge, regardless of who it was,” said VC’s fifth-year coach Broc Prejean, whose team is trying to become the first No. 1 seed to win the Division IV title since they did it in 2013. “I think this season has cleaned the slate. What we’re doing is about 2024. We’re not digging into the past other than to watch a little bit of film. It’s an entirely new ball game.”
Ouachita Christian has defeated Vermilion Catholic in each of its previous three meetings featuring a 28-14 victory over the Screaming Eagles in the 2022 final.
“Our kids battled, their kids battled,” OCS coach Steven Fitzhugh of the first battle with VC, a 36-34 semifinal in a 2020 semifinal. “It was just a mutual respect and admiration from the kids for each other and the coaches for each other after that ball game.”
It was Fitzhugh’s postgame conduct after that state semifinal that caught the attention of Prejean, a former player at VC who was in his first season at the Abbeville school.
“We lost in overtime, but my biggest takeaway from the game was watching coach Fitzhugh operate,” Prejean said. “He’s a class act. From that point on in coaching you have choices in how you handle things and between (St. Thomas More Hall of Fame coach) Jim Hightower and how coach Fitzhugh handled that game.
“When the game ended, he was instantly on the field consoling our quarterback,” Prejean said. “To a degree, I’ve tried to mirror my path the same as his because I have nothing but respect for him and his program and what they’ve built.”
Fitzhugh has enjoyed a career at the Monroe-based school that’s mirrored some of the state’s best.
He’s spent 31 years at the school, this being his 27th season, guiding the Eagles to a 263-81 record and six of the school’s eight state championships.
This year’s trip to the state final may rank among Fitzhugh’s best work, taking a team that graduated 17 starters that had started for two-three years, advanced to the 2023 state semifinals, and finished second to Oak Grove in District 2-2A standings.
The losses in personnel were substantial for the Eagles with nine starters gone on defense and eight on offense.
“That is what is so rewarding, to see guys that have stuck it out and persevered through it all and just kept believing, kept dreaming and waited for their turn and they’ve made the most of it,” Fitzhugh said. “This senior class has been great with their work ethic, leadership, and love for each other.”
It’s been the kind of season Prejean’s come to expect from a Fitzhugh-coached team. The Eagles could become the highest-seeded team since No. 15 White Castle defeated OCS 32-20 to win the Class 1A title in 2010.
“Coach Fitzhugh has standing reservations there in New Orleans in December and deservedly so,” he said. “I think everybody in the state knows better than to think Ouachita Christian’s an 11 seed.”
VCs spent part of the season trying to atone for a loss to Riverside Academy in last year’s road-soaked semifinal, a 34-7 home loss.
The Eagles, led by a 12-member senior class, began on the road for a soggy 14-10 victory at Catholic-New Iberia, a team that’s advanced to the Division III state championship against Dunham on Friday at 3:00 o’clock.
They followed with a convincing 47-0 win over Class 4A Breaux Bridge and recorded triumphs over Loreauville (47-36) and Erath (41-34) with the latter two schools facing each other in the Division III non-select state playoffs.
But it was a Week 5 road trip to Riverside that provided the greatest clarity for a team motivated to atone for last year’s state playoff exit and validate itself as a postseason contender this season.
“Surviving the gauntlet of those first five games,” Prejean said of his team’s regular-season high point. “That was incredibly impressive. Going into Riverside, a team that we knew would have something to say about how all of this would shake out, and going on that field and competing with them.
“Knowing that we belonged with those guys was a confidence builder,” Prejean said. “We were glad to be able to pull that win off, but the way that game shook out and knowing that we can match a team that was on that dome floor last year, was big for the confidence of this group.”
OCS returned to Class 2A for the first time since the 2016 season and went 9-0 before a Week 10 loss (44-14) to Oak Grove, which lost to Sterlington in the quarterfinals of the Division III non-select bracket.
The Eagles have an 11-member senior class that’s stepped into plenty of vacated roles and have helped maintain the program’s winning ways.
“I’ve been real proud of this group of guys. It’s been a dream season,” Fitzhugh said. “It’s been a close-knit team and has kept the tradition. The bond of love is what carries us the most through things. These guys are carrying that down from what was passed down from last year’s group and the groups before.”
OCS features a spread offense producing 350 yards and 41.7 points per game.
Junior quarterback Luke Vidrine is in his second year as a starter and has passed for 2,356 yards (146 of 239) with 26 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Senior running back Makin Leonard has generated the bulk of the team’s rushing yards with 199 carries for 1,618 yards (7.9 yards per carry) and 25 touchdowns. Sophomore Jude Turner has added 633 yards and 16 TDs on 80 attempts.
Junior Patrick Turpin leads a talented receiving corps with 41 catches for 649 yards and 10 TDs followed by Turner (34-484, 3 TDs) and senior Cam Volion (33-722, 9 TDs).
Junior guard Micah Mosher is the lone returning starter for the offensive line that has four senior starters.
“It all starts with those guys up front,” Fitzhugh said.
Senior middle linebacker Cooper Russell is the team’s defensive leader with 107 tackles, 10 TFL, six sacks, and two interceptions.
OCS’ defense has produced 96 TFLs, 26 sacks 19 interceptions.
“The keys have been similar in the playoffs,” said Prejean, whose team is in search of the school’s third state title. “Limiting turnovers and of course trying to create them. Winning the line of scrimmage and those are all cliches. Our path to success, we know what’s where it starts. Those big guys up front have to pave the way for hopefully a successful game on Thursday.”
VC’s offensive group of three seniors Jackson Trahan, Gabe Boudreaux, and Jackson Dubois, along with juniors Seth Boudreaux and Jayden Sons, have paved the way for an offense averaging 44.5 points.
The epicenter of the Eagles’ attack has been Class 1A All-State quarterback Jonathan Dartez, the state’s career leader with 173 total touchdowns.
“We saw him two years ago and he’s a fierce competitor,” Fitzhugh said. “That’s the thing that makes him so special. He brings that in the guys around him.”
Dartez was at his dominating best in last week’s 31-0 semifinal win over Kentwood, carrying 40 times for 213 yards and four touchdowns. He also passed for another score, accounting for five of his team’s touchdowns.
VC built a 21-0 halftime lead over Kentwood, which had dispatched reigning state champion Southern Lab in the regional round.
“It’s certainly up there,” Prejean said among the top performances he’s seen in his five years at the school. “Goose eggs are tough to come by and the defense had to make two incredible stands inside the five to make that happen. Clearly, just a group of kids that weren’t going to be denied and had prepared accordingly. It was an impressive performance.”
Last week’s effort marked the sixth 200-yard-plus rushing effort for Dartez this season. He’s carried 301 times for 2,508 yards and 42 touchdowns and has accounted for a staggering 63 scores this season.
He’s completed 85 of 135 passes for 1,556 yards and 21 TDs.
“He’s one of one,” Prejean said of Dartez. “There won’t be another one like him as far as a football competitor. He’s the best I’ve been around. We’re happy to follow him and we’re happy to have his back and there’s a whole community supporting that kid. He’s done it right every step of the way. He’s so easy to root for.”
Senior Luke McClain is the team’s second-leading rusher with 57 attempts for 496 yards and five TDs, while senior Hudson Hebert tops the Eagles in receiving with 26 receptions for 407 yards and five scores.
Prejean said that senior linebackers Joe Langlinais and Allen McClain, the younger brother of Allen, have been his defensive catalysts this season.
“They have been the voices and minds of our defense,” said Prejean, who also hailed the contributions of two-way starters Boudreaux and Trahan at defensive ends. “They understand where all 11 positions need to be and the ropes they need to be tied to.”
When it came to handicapping the Division IV select landscape before the season, Fitzhugh believed Vermilion Catholic was a good bet to show up playing in the final week of the season.
“Coach Prejean’s a class act and has a class program,” Fitzhugh said. “I’ve been impressed with what coach Prejean’s done there at VC these past five years. You know when the season starts, they’re going to be in the hunt.
“I think our kids are similar, just hard-working, tough kids and not afraid to play both ways and get after it,” Fitzhugh said. “Both are disciplined groups of kids that mirror both of our programs.”