As a junior growing into his role as playmaking wide receiver, Westgate High School’s Amaaz Eugene took matters into his own hands to jolt the Tigers and charge up the home crowd Friday.

Eugene cradled a medium-range pass from senior quarterback Jordan Doucet, refused to go down in a swarm of would-be tacklers around midfield and turned the first play of the second half into a 70-yard touchdown that gave Westgate a 24-3 lead over intra-city rival New Iberia Senior High. The Tigers never looked back on their way to a 35-3 victory over the winless Yellow Jackets.

It was fitting Eugene had one of the two biggest plays of the game at Tiger Stadium. His heartfelt pregame speech to the team left tears in the eyes of many players and coaches, according to veteran WHS head coach Ryan Antoine.

After his 2-1 team’s second straight W, Ryan said, “You’ve got to love that kid. He’s just battling. He gave up an emotional speech before the game about why he plays football, what Westgate football does for him.”

Eugene led all receivers with five catches for 131 yards and two touchdowns, including the game’s first score on a 36-yard pass from Doucet. Smallish in stature, it’s apparent he has big heart. He has to have one that size because he’s playing for two people as well as coaches, teammates and fans.

His impromptu pregame speech, he said, was about a personal experience. He shared it following the non-district game that dropped NISH to 0-3.

“I had a close friend who passed, Englyn Roberts. He died last year at this time in September,” Eugene said. “(Coach) asked me why I play football. I told him it was for the person who passed. It helped with my depression and my team(mates) are like brothers to me.”

The Tigers needed all the heroics they could get from him and Dedrick Latulas, another junior who raced 47 yards on a punt return for a touchdown to give struggling WHS some breathing room, 13-3, in the waning minutes of the second quarter.

Senior Dylan Bourque kicked the first of his two field goals, a 25-yarder, about a minute later as Westgate capitalized on an interception of NISH quarterback Christian Walker that put the Tigers in business at the NISH 23. Bourque split the uprights and the hosts led at halftime, 16-3.

That drive illustrated the ups-and-downs of the WHS offense, which was beset by penalties and two turnovers.

“Oh, yeah, we were shooting ourself in the foot. We definitely can’t do that down the line, playing playoff(-caliber) teams. Everybody gets better,” Antoine said.

For a team that prides itself on putting opponents away, WHS stumbled against NISH. The 19-point third quarter, which ended all the scoring, finally put it out of reach.

“We had a lot of chances to put the game away earlier. I’m disappointed about that. We had four drops. Three for sure would have been touchdowns,” Antoine said. “I think our guys came out energized (after the half). I said, ‘Guys, they haven’t stopped us yet. We’re stopping ourselves.”

That’s why the catch by Eugene, who admittedly had some of those drops himself, was important, he said.

“To see him come out with that kind of success, we’re happy for that. He plays with a lot of heart,” Ryan said.

NISH did stop the Tigers by intercepting Doucet twice. Westgate also racked up 65 yards on seven penalties.

“I knew it’d be a tough game. We are outmanned right now. We’re young,” NISH head coach Curt Ware said immediately after the teams exchanged handshakes.

“I thought (defensively) we played well in the first half. In the second half, we just missed tackles and gave up big plays. They’ve got a good football team, a lot of athletes. In order to beat them we had to control the ball and limit big plays. Of course, we gave up big plays,” Ware said.

“I’m proud of our kids’ effort. We have a good effort.”

Westgate’s “D” kept NISH’s running game in check with less than 90 yards. The Yellow Jackets also completed one of eight passes for 1 yard.

NISH stalled on the first drive of the game that started at its own 31. Senior Courtland Blake and freshman Shanga Charles paced the march that went as far as the WHS 49.

After Doucet’s first scoring reception, NISH drove 48 yards to the WHS 24, where Luke Landry drilled a 41-yard field goal to make it 6-3.

Blake, who was pulled from the game by coaches in the second quarter after receiving an unsportsmanlike penalty, according to Ware, led the team with 37 yards on five carries. Charles had 36 yards on 17 carries and junior Cedric Moore carries 10 times for 25 yards.

Westgate’s Steven Antoine led all rushers with 70 yards on 13 carries, including a one-yard touchdown plunge in the third quarter.

NISH opens district Friday at Sam Houston while Westgate stays home and plays St. Martinville on Thursday.

New Iberia leads the all-time football series against Westgate, which started in 2003, 10-9, with Westgate winning four of the last five games . The winning team has been awarded the Bayou Berry Bowl Trophy by the New Iberia Optimist Club since 2010 and displays the trophy at its school for one year. Here are the results of each season’s game:

2003 Westgate 23, New Iberia 8 *

2004 New Iberia 14, Westgate 6 *

2005 Westgate 35, New Iberia 22 *

2006 New Iberia 36, Westgate 29 *

2007 Westgate 41, New Iberia 7 *

2008 New Iberia 14, Westgate 7 *

2009 Westgate 31, New Iberia 17 *

2010 New Iberia 29, Westgate 10 *

2011 Westgate 31, New Iberia 14 *

2012 New Iberia 43, Westgate 7 *

2013 New Iberia 17, Westgate 7

2014 New Iberia 15, Westgate 12

2015 New Iberia 44, Westgate 7

2016 New Iberia 34, Westgate 0

2017 Westgate 31, New Iberia 23

2018 Westgate 7, New Iberia 3

2019 Westgate 26, New Iberia 14

2020 New Iberia 27, Westgate 25

2021 Westgate 35, New Iberia 3

* —District game