’Jacks to face 2nd 5A opponent in East Ascension Spartans

Patterson’s tough early schedule resumes Friday in Gonzales against another Class 5A foe, East Ascension.
The Spartans are no strangers to the Lumberjacks, trouncing them 66-32 last season, including a 36-point second quarter.
Patterson (0-1) lost to Class 5A Brother Martin last week, 49-28, at home. The Crusaders’ duo of running backs, Jared West and Bruce Jordan-Swilling, combined for 424 of the team’s 437 rushing yards and five of its six rushing touchdowns.
West rushed 32 times for 264 yards and three scores, while Jordan-Swilling had 17 carries for 160 yards and two scores.
The Crusaders weren’t one-dimensional, either, as quarterback Jake Broggi completed 9-of-14 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown while throwing two interceptions.
“That was a quality 5A football team,” Patterson first-year head coach Chad Blanchard said. “We were out-manned, but we continued to play hard for four quarters. The kids never quit. Brother Martin will make some noise in 5A this season.”
Patterson had a balanced offensive attack with 260 yards (129 passing and 131 rushing).
“We made some big plays, but we never had any consistency on offense,” Blanchard said. “If we do some of those things this week and clean up others, we will be OK.”
Tristen Ausama led Patterson’s rushers with 15 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown. He also caught three passes for 37 yards.
Quarterback Sirbatian Charles had eight carries for 62 yards and a score. Charles also completed 8-of-20 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown.
Patterson’s top receivers were Daylon Charlot with two catches for 95 yards and a score, while Ausama had three catches for 37 yards. Nehemiah Augustus also had a 97-yard kickoff return for the ’Jacks.
East Ascension (0-1) lost to Plaquemine 49-24 Friday.
Plaquemine put up 28 points in the third quarter and rushed for 424 yards in the win.
Plaquemine’s defense had three turnovers and scored one touchdown.
“They’re still a good team,” Blanchard said of East Ascension. “They have several skill people back from last season, so we have our work cut out for us again, but don’t get me wrong, we’re going there to win the game.”
Blanchard says that East Ascension runs a 4-2-5 scheme on defense with a lot of cover two and some cover three.
“We have seen that defense a bunch, so that’s a positive for us,” he said. “Brother Martin did some things the kids hadn’t seen yet, so I think we will be more comfortable this week. They even run the same blitz packages we’ve seen from other teams.”
Friday’s kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Additional reporting by www.theadvocate.com/sports