Acadiana Christian School will compete for two state championships next week. 

The Lions secured a spot in the Association of Christian Educators football state championship by routing Southwest Louisiana 36-0 in the semifinals Thursday. 

ACS (8-2) will face John Paul the Great (9-0) for the second straight year in the finals. The Lions’ undefeated volleyball team will play earlier in the day. 

The Lions’ game-plan coming into the semifinals was to rely heavily on the running game, which powered two regular season wins over Southwest Louisiana, and ACS rushed for 120 yards on 15 carries with TD runs from Landon Decuir, Malakai Coon and Brent Henry.

“I have to give it up for my offensive line,” ACS coach Carroll Olivier said. “They struggled early in the season with knowing who and where to block. The last three weeks, they’ve been lights out on their assignments.”

The passing game put up even bigger numbers as quarterback Brandon Judice completed 7 of 11 attempts for 197 yards and TDs to Jonas Peltier and Zack Lacoste. 

“Coach Sanford Edwards, our offensive coordinator, has been on me all year about needing to be able to pass the ball,” Olivier said. “You have to trust your offensive coordinator. To say we executed like that, I’m impressed.”

Southwest Louisiana (6-4) lost yardage on the first scrimmage play and fumbled the ball away on the second play. Kaleb Broussard recovered it at the SWLA 20-yard-line. On 4th-and-1 from the 11, Judice gained three yards on a sneak. On the next play, he threw an 8-yard TD to Peltier.

SWLA turned the ball over on downs in ACS territory on its next possession, one of three fourth-down stops that preserved the shutout. Henry and defensive lineman Jude Wilder combined for 17 solo tackles for the Lions’ defense, which held SWLA to 42 yards rushing on 21 carries.

“I told my front four that if we were going to win, it would be on them,” Olivier said. 

The Lions rolled to a 30-0 halftime lead by scoring on all four possessions. Late in the second quarter, Judice completed a short pass to Lacoste, who eluded a Knight player near midfield with a stutter-step and strode past a diving defender at the 10 for an 80-yard score.

“The numbers don’t tell the whole story,” Judice said of his passing statistics. “Their cornerbacks were playing so far off that we took everything underneath where our playmaking receivers could run.”

Decuir led the Lions in rushing (3-37) and was second in receiving (2-53). On the first possession of the second half, the senior ran a flawless option play at quarterback from 25 yards out that resulted in a running clock. 

Henry rushed for 29 yards on three carries. Coon added 27 yards on six attempts, with Lane Parks’ 40-yard catch setting up his one-yard TD plunge. Lacoste carried for a 12-yard gain and caught three passes for 96 yards.

“Coach Edwards has been saying that Lacoste has big play potential,” Olivier said. “We’ve been making it a point to get him the ball, but it hadn’t gone his way. He stayed patient and in the last two games, he’s made big plays. We knew he was explosive.”

The Lions have never defeated John Paul the Great, which won both regular season matchups, 44-22 and 62-14.

“In all honesty, it’s going to take perfection to beat them,” Judice said. “Based on the way our practices have looked, we’re trending in that direction. Obviously, we’re not perfect yet, but every day we’re getting better and closer to our goal.”

“We wouldn’t want to play anyone else,” Olivier added. “They’re the giant in our league, but I feel like we’re peaking at the right time.”

The ACEL state championship game will be played at Pineville High School on Saturday, Oct. 26 immediately following the conclusion of the ACEL volleyball final, which also features an ACS team.