Lumberjacks travel to North Vermilion Friday

Patterson looks to close out the District 8-3A championship with two more wins. The Lumberjacks will however have to do it on the road, starting Friday at North Vermilion.
Patterson (6-2, 4-0) celebrated homecoming last week with a 43-22 beat down of Erath.
D.J. Jones and Nehemiah Augustus lit up the scoreboard, leading Patterson to sole possession of first place in the district.
“We stressed finishing the job this week,” Patterson Coach Chad Blanchard said. “It starts Friday with a long road trip, so you still have to prepare yourself.”
Jones was well prepared Friday, sparking the ’Jacks to an early lead.
He took the first offense snap and dashed 81 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Jones was the team’s leading rusher, carrying six times for 149 yards and two touchdowns. The senior has carried 45 times for 435 yards and seven touchdowns this season. The ‘Jacks also got a 48-yard scoring run from Jones to take a 21-10 lead into halftime.
But Jones’ highlight reel wasn’t done as he took the second-half kickoff 90 yards for a score to give the ’Jacks a commanding 28-10 lead.
“We wanted to get D.J. more involved earlier this season, and he’s capitalized on that,” Blanchard said. “The thing with D.J. is he’s just as good at receiver as he is at running back and as a returner. He’s been big for us.”
He has also caught 22 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns this season.
Augustus also had another outstanding game, carrying two times for 54 yards and two scores while catching two passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. Augustus has carried eight times for 118 yards and three touchdowns this season. He leads the ’Jacks’ receivers with 22 catches for 420 yards and five touchdowns.
Quarterback Sirbatian Charles completed five of eight passes for 95 yards and a score Friday. He has completed 86 of 131 passes for 1,359 yards with 17 TDs and three interceptions. Charles also rushed 10 times for 72 yards Friday. He has rushed 96 times for 452 yards and three touchdowns this season.
“We didn’t throw it a lot because a lot of the stuff they were giving us offensively called for the run,” Blanchard said after the game. “We’ve been working on getting the ball to some different players in different ways.”
Patterson finished with 415 yards of total offense (320 rushing and 95 passing), while Erath finished with 342 yards (321 rushing and 21 passing).
North Vermilion (3-5, 1-3) comes into Friday’s contest after dropping a 45-28 road game to E.D. White. E.D. White rolled up 438 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns to upend the Patriots, who have lost four of their last five games.
E.D. White led 24-14 at halftime.
While North Vermilion was in the game, trailing 17-14 with five minutes remaining in the first half, a 95-yard E.D. White kickoff return stifled North Vermilion’s momentum.
“They have a pretty good offense,” Blanchard said of North Vermilion. “They’re a spread option team, and they mix the run and the pass. We’re going to have to contain the quarterback (Dade Dieterich) and his top receiver (Connor Dupuy).”
Friday’s kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. in Maurice.
Additional reporting by www.vermiliontoday.com.