The Westgate Tigers shook off a sluggish start with the help of two big special teams plays to remain unbeaten and atop the District 7-5A standings Friday night with a 28-18 win over the South Lafourche Tarpons.

South Lafourche coach Terry Farmer could only be left wondering “What if” following two bad punt snaps that led to a pair of touchdowns for the Tigers. WHS improved to 3-3 overall and 3-0 in district, while the Tarpons fell to 2-4 and 1-1.

Westgate had to go only three yards for its first score after punter Felipe Juarez mishandled a low punt snap late in the second quarter, leading to a 15-yard loss on the fourth-down play. One false start penalty and two snaps later, WHS quarterback D’Nerius Antoine found tight end Duval Jackson with a short pass that Jackson powered into the end zone. The point-after kick by Aaron Bird gave Westgate the lead for good at 7-6.

Early in the third quarter another bad snap, this time to Reagon Dufrene, allowed Jackson to block the ensuing punt, and Westgate took over at the 19. A six-play scoring drive ensued, capped by Antoine’s nine-yard toss to tight end Chris Peter, to make it 14-6.

“The punt block was on,” said Westgate coach Brian Fine of Jackson’s block. “Both of them (the special teams plays) were big. That gives you a short field and a great opportunity to score. We were able to convert.”

“That was the difference in the whole game,” said Farmer. “Take those two plays away, we win.”

The teams swapped touchdowns in the fourth quarter, each putting two on the board, to make the final 28-18. But it was the special teams plays, and big stops early by the Westgate defense after South Lafourche had penetrated the Tigers’ 10-yard line, that made the difference.

Twice SLHS got inside the 10 and each time, Westgate held the Tarpons to a field goal — 26 and 27 yards by Juarez — leaving the Tigers only a single score behind midway through the second quarter. A high snap in shotgun formation led to an 11-yard loss on a first-and-goal play from the 7, forcing SLHS to settle for a field goal the second time around.

Antoine also made an interception to stop a South Lafourche drive and WHS took over on downs on another possession.

“We made the stops we needed to make to win,” said Fine, breathing a sigh of relief after a tough game. “We just weren’t sharp.”

Fine said his team may have suffered a letdown after an emotional 31-14 win over crosstown rival New Iberia the week before, and the facts seem to back that up. Westgate was penalized five times before South Lafourche had snapped the ball three times to open the game, including four offside penalties and a personal foul when a defensive lineman ran over an offensive lineman on one of the offsides calls. Westgate was flagged eight times for 60 yards in all, though only once after halftime.

The Tigers also struggled to move the ball consistently, finishing the first half with only 52 rushing yards and putting together only one scoring drive that covered more than 33 yards. Brandon Malveaux rushed for a team-high 82 yards on 17 carries, and Antoine completed four of eight passes, with three going for touchdowns. The last was a nice 34-yard toss to Marcellus Thibodeaux, who caught the ball in the end zone just behind tight coverage from a South Lafourche defensive back.

“They had a great gameplan,” said Fine, adding that the adjustment from New Iberia’s wide-open offense to South Lafourche’s attacking ground game was difficult. “You come from playing NISH, which spreads it all over space, to somebody who comes in and it’s all (running) downhill.”

Though his team played well outside of the two special teams problems, Farmer said there are no moral victories at this time of year. “That was for the district championship,” said Farmer. “That was our playoff shot.”

Westgate plays host to Central Lafourche (1-5, 1-2) next week in another district game. SLHS plays host to New Iberia (4-2, 2-1).