The Catholic High School football team just keeps getting better and better as the season progresses.

The Panthers opened up the District 7-2A schedule with a 42-0 road win over Franklin on Thursday to move to 5-1 on the season.

Catholic High began slowly, missing a 33-yard field goal attempt on the first drive before scoring off a five-yard rush from senior JohnDavid Hidalgo with four and a half minutes remaining in the first quarter. The tempo began to increase in the second quarter as running back Owen Morris scored his first touchdown of the night after a 21-yard run. Junior lineman Michael Bertrand recovered a fumble from the Franklin offense, scoring off a 64-yard return to give Catholic High a 21-point lead going into halftime.

Two more touchdowns in the third quarter, a 36-yard catch by Joseph LeBlanc and a five-yard rush by Owen Morris, and a four-yard rush by Tristan Lewis in the fourth quarter sealed the win for the Panthers.

For head coach Matt Desormeaux, the win wasn’t without its negatives to work on improving before next week.

“We didn’t get off to a good start offensively,” he said. “We made some bad mistakes, missed a field goal and one of our touchdowns in the first half was a 60-yard fumble recovery, so offensively we didn’t start off really well. I was very pleased with how they responded in the second half, though. We need to start faster on offense.”

Senior QB Luke Landry ended the night with 14 completed passes from 21 attempts for 210 yards and one touchdown. Morris racked up 104 yards on the ground from 13 carries for two TDs. Jaiden Mitchell (7-119), Gavin Roy (3-24) and Joseph LeBlanc (2-41, 1 TD) led the Panthers receiving corps. Sophomore Tylan Sonn ended the game with 38 rushing yards from four carries.

Morris, who missed several weeks at the start of the season due to injury, has made the most of his time away and returned to the field in even better shape.

“He’s a really good football player and he helps us keep certain guys like Tristan Lewis on the defensive side, so they’ll be fresher whenever we need them,” Desormeaux said of the junior. “He’s a good running back, he has great vision and he explodes through the hole, so it’s nice having him back.”

QB Luke Landry, who has amassed 1,228 yards and 16 touchdowns so far this season with just one interception, felt the pressure from the Franklin defense on Thursday. Despite giving up two sacks and going 0-for-2 on third down conversions, Desormeaux said he was still proud of the performance his inexperienced offensive line put in this week.

“They’re coming along and doing a good job,” Desormeaux said. “They still have some mistakes in them here and there but I’m very pleased with where they are right now in the season.”

Defensively, Catholic High was able to dictate the tempo of the game, keeping Franklin scoreless despite the Hornets having several playmakers on the field. Desormeaux credited the defensive performance to his defensive coordinator’s preparation.

“Our defense flew around and played really well,” he said. “I felt like Coach (Henry) Ohrenberger had a really good game plan going into it and our guys made big plays.”

The Panthers will continue their district run next week when they travel to Delcambre on Friday.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.