Trojans knock off 'Jacks 24-13

A sloppy field and six sacks doomed Patterson in Friday’s 24-13 season opening loss to Central Lafourche.
Patterson’s usually explosive offense managed barely more than 200 yards and just two scores.
“I would be lying if I didn’t say wet fields affect us and the kind of personnel we have,” Patterson Coach Chad Blanchard said. “But we have to adjust, and we’ll never use that as an excuse. We had a chance to win the game. We’re a young team at certain spots and that youth comes through with silly penalties and mistakes.”
But it was the sacks that kept the Lumberjacks’ offense behind the chains all night.
“Central Lafourche does a good job with their defensive personnel,” Blanchard said. “They slant their defensive linemen, and they move their linebackers around. We knew that it would give us problems with our young offensive line. Four days isn’t enough to prepare for that scheme.”
Central Lafourche (1-0) opened the game with a scoring drive highlighted by three big plays. Running back Nelton Allen had runs of 34 and 25 yards, while quarterback Austin Aucoin capped the drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Griffin with 9:36 remaining. The extra point kick was blocked.
It was the start of a big night for Allen. The junior carried 24 times for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
Patterson (0-1) didn’t get on the scoreboard until late in the second quarter when Tristen Ausama capped a 12-play, 54-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run with 4:10 remaining in the half. Ausama powered over a defender on 4th-and-goal for the score.
Christian Soria’s point-after kick gave Patterson a 7-6 lead that they carried into halftime.
Patterson opened the second half with a fumble on its first possession. Central Lafourche capitalized on the turnover with an eight-play, 46-yard drive that Allen capped with a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:12 remaining in the third quarter for a 12-7 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Patterson had a 50-yard punt-return touchdown by Nehemiah Augustus called back for an illegal block. The ’Jacks, however, regrouped and quarterback Sirbatian Charles connected with receiver Brennan Gouaux for a 20-yard touchdown with 5:29 remaining. Gouaux, a senior, made a beautiful diving catch in the end zone for the touchdown. He finished the game with three catches for 113 yards and a score.
Patterson’s two-point conversion pass failed, but the ’Jacks led again, 13-12.
Patterson’s lead was short lived because Central Lafourche standout and Nicholls State commit Anfernee Poindexter took the ensuing kickoff and raced 82-yards for a touchdown with 5:15 remaining for an 18-13 Central Lafourche lead in the seesaw battle.
“We had some younger guys on the kickoff team, and they just took bad angles and couldn’t chase the kid down,” Blanchard said. “I have several kids playing both ways. I have to rest them at some point, so my hands are tied.”
Central Lafourche added a late touchdown by Allen from 28 yards with 2:27 left.
“That was a heck of a game, and I don’t care about 3A, 4A, 5A, whatever,” Central Lafourche Coach Keith Menard said. “We knew they had a great team, but I thought Poindexter’s return made the difference for us. We had to get it into the fourth quarter because they had a couple of guys going both ways. We didn’t (have) any, and that made the difference for us.”
Charles finished the game 12-of-19 passing for 197 yards and a touchdown, but the running game was stifled. Ausama carried 18 times for 52 yards and a touchdown, but Charles, normally an outstanding rusher, was corralled for minus-31 yards on 19 carries.
“That was a result of their defensive line play and the sloppy field,” Blanchard said. “He slipped on a couple of those sacks, but I can’t take anything from Central Lafourche. They were on the same field.”
Patterson will face another 5A foe on the road Friday against Hahnville. Hahnville (1-0) beat Woodlawn of Baton Rouge 24-14 on the road Friday.

CL PHS
First downs: 10 10
Rushing yards: 26 183
Passing yards: 197 29
Total yards: 223 212
A-C-HI: 19-12-0 10-3-0
Penalties-yards: 9-72 3-35
Fumbles-lost: 4-1 1-0

Scores by Quarters
PHS: 0 7 0 6 -- 13
CLHS: 6 0 6 12 -- 24

Patterson High Stats
Passing
Sirbatian Charles, 12-of-19 for 197 yards, TD.

Receiving
Brennan Gouaux, 3-113 yards, TD; Nehemiah Augustus, 3-41 yards; D.J. Jones, 3-36 yards; Tristen Ausama, 2-3 yards; and Jordan Butler, 1-4 yards.

Receiving
Ausama, 18-52 yards, TD; Jones, 3-5 yards; and Charles, 19- (-31) yards.