’Jacks will meet Southern Lab Friday

The Patterson Lumberjacks have won two games in a row with Southern Lab coming to town Friday for homecoming.
After dropping the first three games of the season, including two to Class 5A teams, the Lumberjacks have hit their stride. Patterson beat Westlake 27-13 Friday in southwestern Louisiana.
“Our kids have already overcome a lot, and we’re just halfway through the season,” Patterson head coach Chad Blanchard said. “We had a couple tough losses to (Class) 5A schools and been on a long road trip. They’ve shown they can overcome obstacles and any team that wants to make a deep run in the playoffs needs that.”
Patterson (2-3) jumped out to a 14-0 lead en route to last week’s win.
“We got off to a great start, but we didn’t have that killer instinct,” Blanchard said after the game. “After the first two drives, we had so much success that I think the kids thought it was going to be easy, but they practice just like we do and they have a good coaching staff that got them back into the game.”
However, the ’Jacks never trailed in the game, thanks in part to a big game from senior standout Daylon Charlot.
Charlot, a University of Alabama commitment, made big plays on both sides of the ball.
On offense, he had three catches for 106 yards and two scores. Charlot has 13 catches for 366 yards and six touchdowns this season. He also made an incredible one-handed interception while playing defensive back.
The ’Jacks’ other highly-regarded receiver, Mykel Jones, had two catches for 49 yards while also seeing spot duty on defense. Jones has nine receptions for 219 yards with two touchdowns this season.
Quarterback Sirbatian Charles was 9-of-12 passing for 187 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Charles is 37-of-71 for 695 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions this year.
Junior running back Tristen Ausama continued his strong play, carrying the load on ground. He carried 20 times for 96 yards and a touchdown Friday. Ausama has carried 74 times for 536 yards and seven scores this season, tops among east St. Mary Parish rushers. He averages 107.2 yards per game and 7.24 yards per carry.
Friday’s game will serve as homecoming with the district schedule looming for the ’Jacks.
“We’ve really preached to them that homecoming is about a football game, and they get to do the best part and that’s play in the game,” Blanchard said. “We want them to enjoy themselves but honor their commitment to the team.”
Patterson’s defense had its best performance of the season in the win against Westlake.
“Our defense has improved a great deal,” Blanchard said after last week’s win. “The kids are really starting to understand what we are trying to do scheme wise, and they were real physical.”
Patterson’s defense was led by Earl Johnson with several tackles for loss and a sack, while standout linebacker Nehemiah Augustus was his disruptive self.
“One of the things we are doing differently defensively is helping Earl out by putting him in situations to make plays, because he is our best defensive lineman,” Blanchard said.
A week ago, Southern Lab (1-4) went toe-to-toe with then-Class 4A’s fifth-ranked team, Plaquemine, before losing 27-20 in overtime. The Kittens led 20-13 at halftime.
“They’re a spread team, but they run the ball really well,” Blanchard said. “The quarterback is a returning starter, and they have good skill people on the outside.”
Defensively, Lab runs multiple schemes.
“They change it up and give you different looks,” Blanchard said. “They like to bring pressure, and they have good size in the secondary. They are a good team.”
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
Additional reporting by www.theadvocate.com/sports