LOREAUVILLE — With 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Calep Jacob tossed a 35-yard touchdown pass to his twin brother, Collin Jacob, to boost the Loreauville Tigers to a 12-10 win over Catholic High on Saturday afternoon.

The game was moved to Saturday because of prolonged lightning strikes in the area on Friday evening.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Panthers (1-3, 1-2 in District 7-2A) appeared to be on the verge of running out the clock.

On fourth down near midfield, however, CHS turned the ball over on downs and a 15-yard penalty for hurdling a defender gave Loreauville (4-0, 3-0) the ball on the CHS 35-yard line.

On the next play, Jacob checked down from his primary receiver and found his brother in the end zone to complete a stunning last-minute comeback. It marked the first win for the Tigers over CHS since 2001.

“That’s a play we’ve run over the last two or three years,” LHS coach Terry Martin said. “It’s a read play. We look for the underneath guy in front of the safety. If we have it, we take it.

“If the safety comes down on that inside guy, we go over the top. It’s a double-post route I got years ago from Cam Cameron at LSU. It was something they always ran from the 35-yard line on in.”

In Week 1 last year, Calep Jacob threw the game-winning pass to his brother in a last-minute win over Central Catholic. On Saturday, the junior was 8-of-14 for 107 yards and two TDs.

“Calep did a hell of a job,” Martin said. “He took his time and threw it. When in doubt, you know where the ball is going to go. It’s going to Collin.”

In the third quarter, Collin Jacob caught a 14-yard TD pass from his brother to bring LHS within 10-6.

In the first half, the Tigers managed only 38 yards of total offense and didn’t get a first down until 51 seconds remained in the second quarter.

“It was 10-0 and Catholic High did a hell of a job defensively,” Martin said. “They did what they’re good at, which is running the ball, controlling the clock, and keeping the ball away from us.”

The Panthers dominated the time of possession by repeatedly gaining small chunks of yardage and converting on third and fourth down.

KK Reno led the CHS rushing attack with 122 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. Trace Williams, Willie Regard and Marco Austin combined to add 94 yards on 24 carries.

Midway through the fourth quarter, a two-yard carry by Williams would have put the Panthers ahead 16-6 pending the PAT, but a holding penalty combined with a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct pushed CHS back to the 34-yard line.

Three plays later, Nick Boutte missed a 42-yard field goal. On the Panthers’ first possession of the game, Boutte nailed a 37-yarder.

“It’s a testament to our kids that they don’t have any quit in them,” Martin said. “Catholic High doesn’t have hardly any guys who go both ways, and we have a ton. One of our starters, Hanz Louviere, was doubtful, so from Wednesday on, he couldn’t practice.

“We were really concerned with what he had. It wasn’t anything COVID-19 related. And at the last second, they said he could play. He went both ways, and that’s why I chose him to carry out the flag before the game.”

Tight end/linebacker Bryan Patout also played almost every snap and the hard-nosed senior made countless tackles on defense for the Tigers.

“It’s a big win for everybody around here,” Patout said. “This game means a lot to Loreauville.”

The 6-1, 215-pounder was visibly exhausted near the end of the first half, but he reached down and found an extra gear down the stretch.

“I caught my second wind at halftime,” Patout said. “Everybody on defense was doing their job. We were able to stop them in serious spots by playing together as a team.”

Collin Jacob caught six passes for 86 yards.

“We were frustrated because we hadn’t been behind in a game all season,” Collin Jacob said. “At halftime, I told everybody that the game wasn’t over. That we had one more half. After I scored the first touchdown, the momentum increased and we got the win.”

“I love that boy,” Calep Jacob said of his brother. “He does anything to make me look good. It was like the first game of the season last year against Central Catholic. The same thing. I wanted to throw the fade route because I knew Collin was going to grab it.

“This is great. We haven’t beaten Catholic High in 19 years.”

Loreauville’s first scoring drive was set up by an interception by junior defensive back Jahari Williams, who returned it to the LHS 47.

On the next play, Collin Jacob made a leaping 21-yard catch. After Ethan Simon was stopped for a 1-yard loss, Calep Jacob scrambled 19 yards to the CHS 14, which set up the first TD pass to his brother.

“Everybody in Loreauville was counting on us to win,” Williams said. “When we were down 10-0, we kept saying that the game isn’t over. We had to keep playing. We knew it wasn’t over.

“I knew I had to catch (the interception). I knew it was going to be a big turnover. I knew when I caught it that my team was going to hype me up and score on offense.”