Patterson's rally comes up short to Ellender, 28-26

Patterson’s fourth-quarter comeback fell short Friday as the Lumberjacks dropped to 0-4 after a 28-26 loss to Ellender at Patterson.
Trailing 22-7, Patterson opened the quarter with a 16-yard touchdown run by quarterback Hector Tolento.
The score came after Patterson safety Irvin Celestine recovered Ellender running back Channing Holloway’s fumble with 1:55 left in the third quarter.
Ellender (3-1), however, answered Patterson’s score on its next possession when quarterback Colby Poe hit Tulane commit Davontavean Martin for a 60-yard touchdown with 9:01 left in the game to push the lead to 28-13. Martin also played quarterback and running back as well as wide receiver. He had 81 receiving yards, 52 rushing yards and 30 passing yards with two touchdowns.
“They had some good athletes, and they hurt us with their big plays,” Patterson Head Coach Marvin Dantzler said. “They hurt on offense and on special teams. We lost by two (points), and we allowed a kickoff return that setup a score.”
After two big runs from by Nicholas, former starting quarterback Dillan Giandelone came in to power in from 1-yard out for a touchdown with 7:14. Patterson pulled back to nine points after a two-point conversion run failed.
Patterson’s defense stopped Ellender on fourth-down with 2:33 left in the game.
The Lumberjacks, now forced to pass, got two completions from Tolento to senior wide receiver Jordan Butler to setup first-and-10 at the Patriots’ 35-yard line with 2:08 to play.
Butler was the team’s top pass catcher with three receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown.
Tolento then found Dajon Richard out of the backfield for a 32-yard touchdown pass with 1:33 left. Christian Soria added the point-after kick to pull Patterson to 28-26.
Ellender, however, was able to run out the clock for the win.
Tolento, a senior, was 6 of 13 passing for 127 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He also had a rushing score in his first action of the season.
Patterson had announced that freshman quarterback Randy Paul Jr. would get the start after the ’Jacks’ offense failed to score for the second week in a row last week.
“They split reps during the week in practice, and I thought Hector had the better week,” Dantzler said. “I don’t believe in practice makes perfect, I believe perfect practice makes perfect.”
Patterson also went to a split backfield with running backs Dontre Nicholas and Richard on the field together. The duo responded with 174 and 108 yards, respectively. Patterson rolled up over 400 yards of total offense.
“I was pleased with our play overall,” Dantzler said. “I saw a team that can go out and win with district play starting next. We didn’t want to be 0-4, but the growth of this young team has been impressive.”
The Patriots had 226 yards rushing and 146 yards passing for 372 yards of total offense.
Reginald Williams led Ellender 113 yards rushing, and he had two receiving scores. Holloway had 10 carries for 54 yards.
Ellender will travel to St. Martinville Friday, while Patterson will open District 8-3A play at Kaplan (4-0).