Panthers look ahead to playoffs after win over West St. Mary
Published 3:00 pm Monday, November 6, 2023
- The Panthers finished the regular season with an 8-2 record, nabbing the No. 5 seed in Select Division III and a first-round bye.
Baldwin – Catholic High’s goal in last Friday’s regular season finale was to stay sharp in preparation for the upcoming playoffs while winning for the eighth time in nine weeks.
Mission accomplished for the Panthers, who defeated West St. Mary 42-6.
Quarterback Luke Landry threw three touchdown passes, Jaiden Mitchell caught three TDs, while Javon Brown and Marques Austin combined for three rushing touchdowns.
“Our guys performed the way they were supposed to,” CHS coach Matt Desormeaux said. “A lot of times, a team will play down to the level of competition. Knowing that West St. Mary had a young team with some growing pains, we stressed the importance of coming out and playing well.”
The Panthers (8-2, 4-1 District 8-2A) won the league title when Franklin beat Ascension Episcopal, 48-44. CHS and Loreauville both finished with 4-1 district records. The Panthers beat LHS head-to-head, 14-0, in Week Nine.
“Our guys knew (they won district),” Desormeaux said. “They were listening to the Franklin/Ascension Episcopal game on the bus ride back. We didn’t discuss it as a team because we gave them the weekend off, but it’s absolutely a good feeling.”
The Panthers landed the No. 5 seed in Division III select and will face the No. 12 Pope John Paul II (8-2)/No. 21 Lake Charles College Prep (3-6) winner in the regional round. Last year, a 19th-seeded Lake Charles College Prep team eliminated the No. 14 Panthers in the first round, 28-7.
“We watched film of both teams so we’ll know what we’re getting into,” Desormeaux said. “From what I’ve seen, these are two very different teams. Pope John Paul is a Wing-T team that is very disciplined. LCCP is a spread team that is dynamic. It should be a good game and could go either way.”
Three CHS quarterbacks completed passes last Friday. Starter Luke Landry was 5 of 6 for 103 yards and two TDs. Jake Wyman threw a 24-yard TD pass to Mitchell. Xander Labauve tossed a 14-yard pass to Michael Haik.
Landry finished the regular season with 1,676 yards and 19 TDs. Mitchell leads the receiving corps with 52 catches for 859 yards and 13 TDs. The junior has enjoyed the same type of success that slot receivers Seth Kerstetter and Austin Mill achieved under Desormeaux at Ascension Episcopal.
“On the first day I was named head coach here, my thought was that Jaiden would be my Austin Mills-type receiver going forward,” he said.
Brown ran for 68 yards on six carries with two scores. Austin added 59 yards on seven carries with a TD. Landry gained 17 yards on one rush. Haik chipped in 12 yards as the Panthers tallied 161 rushing yards on 23 attempts.
“Javon and Marques are two very different running backs,” Desormeaux said. “They each have their strengths and weaknesses. One may be better suited for a particular game, depending on what a defense is giving us.”
Kicker Bennet Boudreaux was perfect on six extra points. Boudreaux has been an important weapon, drilling PATs with precision and kicking several field goals.
“He makes my job much easier as an offensive coordinator,” said Desormeaux, who wears the OC hat along with his head coaching duties. “We don’t necessarily have to go for it inside the 30-yard line. We can count on points (from a field goal).”
Linebacker Bennett Woodring had an interception for the CHS defense, which limited the Wolfpack to 45 yards rushing on 27 attempts and 4 of 8 passing for 39 yards. The Panthers were 5 of 8 on third down. WSM (1-8, 1-4) was 2 of 10.
“Yes and no,” answered Desormeaux when asked if he is in favor of a first round bye. “It depends on how we handle it. Mature teams can handle it. The question for us is whether we’ll get better every day at practice?
“Personally, I’d rather have a 32-team bracket (without a select/non-select split) where we can keep greasing up the gears without any byes.”