ST. MARTINVILLE — For a second straight week, St. Martinville Senior High is going for an upset in the Class 3A playoffs.

Last Friday, the No. 10 Tigers (8-2) pounced on No. 7 Green Oaks for a 34-20 win in Shreveport.

This week in the quarterfinals, SMSH tries to get revenge on No. 2 Union Parish, the team that bounced the Tigers in the 2019 first round.

“We have to go back there again.” SMSH head coach Vincent DeRouen said of the four-hour trip to Farmerville. “It’s a long ride. Last year, it might have been the coldest game we’ve ever played. It’s not supposed to be as cold, but it’s looking like there may be some rain.”

The Farmers (9-0) are led by sophomore tailback Trey Holley, who leads the state with over 2,000 yards rushing.

“They do an outstanding job,” DeRouen said. “Their running back is one of the top backs in the state. He’s dynamic. He jumps out at you on film, and they have a huge offensive line.”

The Tigers are fresh off an impressive defensive performance against Green Oaks, which featured a quarterback with 10,000 career passing yards and three of the top statistical performers in the state at receiver.

“I thought it was going to be an offensive explosion,” DeRouen said. “A shootout. But it ended up being a defensive struggle until right at the end.

“They were up 20-14. Then we drove down the field and scored to go ahead 21-20. We knew they were going to chunk the ball every time. We got a pick-six. Then we got another pick-six at the end.”

The Tigers pressured Green Oaks quarterback Keith Baker for four quarters.

“Billy Ray Williams had two or three sacks,” DeRouen said. “Quinton Butler had the same, and we had good pressure from our other guys. But their quarterback didn’t get rattled at all. He would get out of pressure like Houdini.”

Junior defensive back Mandrel Butler shut down Green Oaks receiver DeColdest Crawford, an LSU commitment.

“Mandrel did outstanding,” DeRouen said. “He didn’t practice all week because of a thigh bruise. He limped around all week. The Crawford kid may have caught one or two balls on him.”

In the second round, Union Parish broke open a close game in the fourth quarter vs. No. 18 Booker T. Washington to pull away by a 53-21 margin.

“They’ve been blowing games wide open in the fourth quarter,” DeRouen said. “I think their last game was 23-21 in the fourth quarter and then they scored 30 more points.

“They’re an exciting, explosive team, but we’re excited about the opportunity to play them because we felt like we left some plays out on the field last time.”

Last week, Holley ran wild with a 28-carry, 317-yard, five touchdown performance. He also added four 2-point conversions.

“We have to be disciplined, tackle well and not have brain cramps against a team like this, because Holley can take it to the house at any time,” DeRouen said.

“He’s about 5-foot-10, 200 pounds. He can scat real good, but he can also run over you. He’s a complete back that can catch the ball out of the backfield.”

SMSH quarterback Tanner Harrison is playing with confidence, and the junior has an impressive group of skill players around him, including freshman tailback Steven Blanco and sophomore receiver Harvey Broussard.

“He did great running the ball last week,” DeRouen said of his dual-threat signal-caller. “We ran him a whole bunch. I think he had double-digit carries. Blanco did a good job, also. He scored once and ran effectively during the middle of the game.

“They double-covered Harvey some. But when we had to convert, Harvey made some big catches and Tanner put the ball in some good spots.”