Morgan City High School falls short against Assumption, 42-35

The Morgan City and Assumption football teams didn’t have the seasons they hoped for, but they went toe-to-toe in Friday’s season finale with the Mustangs winning a shootout, 42-35.
Assumption (3-7, 2-2 District 7-4A) opened the game with a bang. Melvin Young took the opening kickoff and darted 80 yards for the game’s first score. The Mustangs also closed the quarter with fireworks when Dontrez Wiggins broke free for a 68-yard touchdown run with no time remaining in the quarter. Assumption added a two-point conversion run to take a 14-0 lead into the second quarter.
Wiggins carried 22 times for 177 yards and a touchdown to lead the Mustangs on the ground.
Morgan City (2-8, 0-4) got its offense going early in the second quarter as running backs Kevon Marsh and Jacolbi Francois started to gash Assumption’s defense.
Marsh capped a 9-play, 56-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run with 8:59 remaining in the half. Marsh had another strong game, carrying the ball 17 times for 62 yards and a touchdown.
Francois ripped off a 52-yard run on Morgan City’s next possession to set up the Tigers first-and-10 at Assumption’s 20-yard line. He took the ensuing handoff and ran over a defender on his way to the end zone. Irving Delgado’s kick tied the game at 14 with 5:25 left in the half.
Francois, a junior, carried 17 times for 170 yards and a score to lead the Tigers.
“I am proud of the team’s effort tonight, but we just made too many mistakes and that has to go to youth,” first-year Morgan City head coach Scott Tregle said. “We had some mental breakdowns at key times that just killed us.”
Assumption responded to Morgan City’s touchdown with a 12-play, 84-yard drive on the legs of Wiggins and Jimmie Wise. Wise finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run with 1:05 to play before halftime. Wise carried seven times for 142 yards and three touchdowns Friday.
Assumption led 20-14 at halftime.
Assumption turned back Morgan City on fourth down to open the second half.
But Mustang quarterback Darion Williams fumbled and Morgan City High School senior linebacker Anthony Rink came up with the ball for the game’s first turnover.
Morgan City quarterback Hector Tolento hooked up with standout receiver Jaylen Jones twice on the drive, including a 10-yard touchdown on a fade route with 2:58 left in the third quarter to give Morgan City its first lead of the game, 21-20.
The Tigers’ defense just couldn’t slow down the Mustangs’ ground attack. Wise broke free for a 54-yard touchdown run with no time remaining in the third quarter to recapture the lead, 28-21. He added another 50-yard touchdown scamper early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 34-21.
“We took the lead; we had opportunities to win the game, but we had missed assignments again and they break another long run,” Tregle said. “The kids haven’t been in this position much, and I think they got too excited and made mistakes, but we will win these kinds of games in the future.”
After Wise’s 50-yard run, however, Marsh took the ensuing kickoff and raced 60 yards for a touchdown to get Morgan City back in the game, cutting its deficit to 34-21 with 9:15 to play.
But Assumption answered again with another drive that Williams capped with an 11-yard run at the 5:07 mark.
The Mustangs rolled up 400 yards on the ground. Williams had 48 yards on 10 carries and a touchdown.
“We changed our defense this week because we had been getting pummeled, and it worked for the most part,” Tregle said. “We just had too many missed assignments and tackles tonight.”
Morgan City added a late score on a 4-yard pass from Tolento to Jones with 58 seconds left in the game. Jones had an incredible one-handed catch to set up the score.
Assumption fielded Morgan City’s on-side kick attempt and ran out the clock.
Tolento was 5-of-12 passing for 80 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while Abram Hartley was 1-of-3 for 21 yards.
Jones was the top receiver with five catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns, while Makye Richard had a 21-yard catch.
Friday’s game was the final one for the 2014 season for the Tigers and Morgan City High School’s senior class.
“I can’t say enough about these seniors,” Tregle said. “They came out and fought in every game, and they truly deserved to be recognized at senior night before the game. This is just the beginning. We will start working for next year tomorrow.”