There may technically be two more weeks of District 7-2A football left to play, but a dominant 42-7 victory over Loreauville on Friday has sealed the repeat title for the Catholic High School football team. 

The win, the Panthers’ seventh-straight victory, marked the sixth time thatCHS has scored more than 40 points this season. The high-flying Panthers never looked to be slowing down against Loreauville (2-5, 2-1), who picked up its first win in Week 6 with a 58-0 thumping of district rival Delcambre. 

For head coach Matt Desormeaux, the speed and intensity that his team played with against Loreauville shows the quality that the players have. 

“In Week 1, we lost to a really good (Vermilion Catholic) team in some pretty bad conditions,” he said. “That’s not to say that if we had a dry field that things would have done any different, because they’re one of the best teams in the state, but I think our guys have played well all year. This was one of our best complete games. In the Notre Dame game and the LCCP game we kind of opened the door and let them get back in it for a little while, but tonight the guys started fast and continued to play and finish the right way.”

On Friday, Catholic High indeed got off to another hot start, scoring from an Owen Morris touchdown run after just three minutes. The Panthers got the ball back almost immediately following an interception by CHS senior Tristan Lewis, who then scored moments after from a one-yard rush. 

A fumble recovered by the Panthers started another scoring drive in the first quarter, with senior WR Joseph LeBlanc scoring from a 10-yard pass from quarterback Luke Landry. Sophomore Karon Eugene sliced apart the Loreauville team with a 96-yard interception return to open the second quarter of play, improving Catholic High’s lead to 28. 

The second half saw another touchdown from LeBlanc, this time off a 17-yard pass from Landry. Senior Jaiden Mitchell got on the score sheet in the third quarter as well, adding points following a 23-yard pass by Landry. 

The fast start and overwhelming defensive pressure was exactly what Desormeaux hoped to see from his team on Friday. 

“The plan is always to score a lot of points, but we had a lot of guys who play both ways, especially our big guys, so we wanted to come out and try some no-huddle stuff and try to tempo them a little bit,” he explained. “After having a whole year of the system under their belt, that’s something the guys do well. We went out there and played the way I expected us to play.”

“Our defense was lights-out against a really good team, so I was pleased with the way they started and the way they finished.” 

The Tigers scored their only points of the game in the fourth quarter after Kylon Polk secured a 34-yard pass from senior QB Hayden Benoit with 5:59 left in the game. 

QB Luke Landry ended the night with three touchdowns and 159 passing yards after completing 10 of his 15 passes against the Tigers. Mitchell was Landry’s most-targeted receiver, recording five catches for 92 yards and one touchdown. Jake Wyman (2-32) and Joseph LeBlanc (2-27, 2 TDs) were also successful passing options for the Panthers. 

Catholic High also dominated on the ground. Junior Owen Morris has continued to impress after returning from an early-season injury, ending the game with 78 yards and one touchdown from nine carries. Tylan Sonn added 63 yards on the ground, also from nine carries. 

Senior kicker Bennet Boudreaux missed a second-quarter field goal attempt, but remained perfect from the spot with six successful extra point attempts. 

On defense, the Panthers were led by seniors JohnDavid Hidalgo and Bennett Woodring and junior Izaac Andre, who all recorded 8 tackles apiece. Andre added a forced fumble to his tally, as did junior Joseph Trappey and sophomore Michael Haik, who recorded one sack for a 16-yard loss.

After the win, the Panthers now turn their attention to closing out the regular season without any mistakes or injuries. Both West St. Mary (5-2, 2-1) and Houma Christian (2-5, 0-3) will face off against Catholic High in New Iberia, an added bonus for CHS as the team looks to improve on last season’s playoff elimination in the second round.

Currently, the Panthers are ranked as the No. 7 team in Select Division III, and would receive a first-round bye before facing the winner of the matchup between No. 10 and No. 23.