'Jacks open district with win against Kaplan

The Patterson Lumberjacks broke open a close game with the Kaplan Pirates with a big third quarter en route to a 44-24 victory in the Lumberjacks’ District 8-3A opener.
Ahead 14-8 at the half, Patterson scored touchdowns on two consecutive drives to distance themselves from the Pirates, who could never get any closer than two scores the remainder of the way.
The Lumberjacks got a score on its opening drive via a Sirbatian Charles 2-yard run and a shovel pass to Mykel Jones for a 22-8 lead.
After Kaplan took a gamble and was stopped a yard short on 4th and 2 at the Kaplan 40, Patterson needed just six plays again to reach the end zone, capped by a Charles 2-yard run. Christian Soria’s extra point made the score 29-8.
While the teams exchanged scores on their next two possessions, the Pirates couldn’t overcome their deficit as Patterson secured its first District 8-3A win in as many outings.
Charles led Patterson offensively as he completed 14-of-16 passes for 225 yards with 4 touchdowns. He also rushed 11 times for 76 yards and 2 touchdowns.
While the second half featured a combined 46 points, in the first half, the teams combined for 22.
While Kaplan got the ball first and embarked on a 15-play, 85-yard drive, it stalled at the Patterson 15 when, on a 4th-down-and-5 situation, Mac Thibeaux was stopped after gaining a yard and Patterson took over.
From there, Patterson went to the big plays immediately as Charles ripped off a 26-yard run on first down, while on the next play, he completed a 46-yard pass to Nehemiah Augustus for a first-down at the Kaplan 13.
Two plays later, D.J. Jones caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Charles.
Soria’s extra point was good for an early Patterson lead.
D.J. Jones had 3 catches for 20 yards and a touchdown.
While Patterson’s Augustus ended Kaplan’s second drive with an interception, the Pirates got on the board on their third possession of the first half.
Using a combination of Thibeaux and Julius Johnson, the Pirates moved 52 yards in seven plays before Johnson finished the drive with a 4-yard run. Johnson converted the 2-point run to give Kaplan an 8-7 lead.
Patterson came right back, though, moving the ball down the field that concluded with an Augustus 38-yard run. Soria’s extra point was good for a 14-8 Patterson advantage.
Augustus led the Patterson receivers with 4 catches for 107 yards and a score.
After Patterson’s scoring barrage to begin the third quarter gave the squad a 29-8 lead, the teams exchanged touchdowns on their next two possessions.
After Kaplan returned the kickoff 82 yards to the Patterson 1, the squad scored one play later on Johnson’s 1-yard run. Johnson added the two-point conversion run to make the score 29-16.
Patterson countered with a Mykel Jones 21-yard touchdown pass from Charles. Charles added a 2-point run for a 38-16 advantage.
Daniel Lotief responded with a 10-yard run on Kaplan’s next possession before Charles followed suit on the next Patterson possession with a 20-yard pass to Mykel Jones.
Soria’s kick provided the final margin at 44-24.
Jones, making his first appearance of the season after returning from a basketball injury, caught 4 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Tristen Ausama also rushed 7 times for 72 yards.
As a team, Patterson rolled up 437 yards of offense (212 rushing, 225 passing), while they limited Kaplan to 234 yards of offense — all on the ground.
Johnson led Kaplan with 29 carries for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Thibeaux had 18 carries for 85 yards.
Patterson (3-2 overall, 1-0 district) will return to action Thursday when it hosts Berwick (2-3, 1-1) in District 8-3A action.

PHS KHS
First Down: 17 17
Rushing Yards: 212 234
Passing Yards: 225 0
Total Yards: 437 234
PA-C-HI: 16-14-0 2-0-1
Penalties-Yards: 8-70 4-45
Fumbles-Lost: 0-0 2-1

Score By Quarter
Patterson 7 7 23 7 = 44
Kaplan 0 8 8 8 = 24

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Patterson: Sirbatian Charles 5-yard pass to D.J. Jones. (Christian Soria kick)

Second Quarter
Kaplan: Julius Johnson 4-yard run. (Johnson run)

Patterson: Charles 38-yard pass to NehemiahAugustus (Soria kick)

Third Quarter
Patterson: Charles 2-yard run. (Charles pass)

Patterson: Charles 2-yard run. (Soria kick)

Kaplan: Johnson 1-yard run. (Johnson run)

Fourth Quarter
Patterson: Charles 21-yard pass to Mykel Jones (Charles run)

Kaplan: Daniel Lotief 10-yard run. (Johnson run)

Patterson: Charles 20-yard pass to Mykel Jones. (Soria kick)

Patterson Individual Stats
Rushing
Sirbatian Charles, 11-76 yds., 2 TDs; Tirsten Ausama, 7-72 yds.; D.J. Jones, 7-31 yds.; Dontre’ Nicholas, 3-15 yds.; Nehemiah Augustus, 1-11 yds.; Mykel Jones, 1-8 yds.; Team, 1-(-1) yds.

Passing
Sirbatian Charles, 14-16-0, 225 yds., 4 TDs

Receiving
Nehemiah Augustus, 4-107 yds., 1 TD; Mykel Jones, 4-65 yds., 1 TD; Brennan Gouaux, 3-33 yds; D.J. Jones, 3-20 yds. 1 TD

Additional reporting by www.theadvocate.com/sports and KWBJ TV 22