Opelousas holds off West St. Mary

OPELOUSAS _ The West St. Mary Wolfpack came up on the short end of a 23-20 setback at the hands of the Opelousas Tigers in the season opener Thursday at Donald Gardner Stadium.
The Tigers built up a 20-6 halftime lead before the Wolfpack struck back with a vengeance in the third quarter with a pair of touchdown to whittle the lead to 23-20.
West St. Mary starting quarterback Shelby Phillips _who was injured in the third quarter _ directed the Wolfpack offense by connecting on 9 of 16 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown.
Thaddeus Gabriel hauled in a pair of passes for 93 yards while Tyler Martin also grabbed two passes for 11 yards.
Gabriel also led the Wolfpack in rushing with seven carries for 50 yards with LaBryson Polidore picking up 40 yards on six carries and Wayne Armelin collecting 25 yards on three attempts.
Opelousas opened the scoring with a 7-0 advantage in the first quarter before building a 23-6 lead at the half.
West St. Mary scored on a pair of big plays in the second half to trim the deficit to 23-20 at the end of the third quarter.
Gabriel grabbed a Phillips spiral out of the air on a 53-yard bomb for a score to whittle the lead to 23-20.
Trevon Chartain helped the Wolfpack cause with a 65-yard fumble recovery along with a pair of interceptions on the night.
West St. Mary starting quarterback Shelby Phillips _who was injured in the third quarter _ directed the Wolfpack offense by connecting on 9 of 16 passes for 175 yards and one touchdown.
West St. Mary (0-1) will return to action Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Loreauville Tigers.