Westminster edges Morgan City, 20-14

Offensive and special teams miscues doomed Morgan City Friday in a 20-14 home loss to Opelousas-based Westminster Christian Academy Crusaders.
Morgan City coach Scott Tregle said Morgan City’s defense, the team’s most experienced unit, continued its solid play this season.
“We’ve just got to find a way to consistently move the ball and get it in the end zone,” Tregle said. “We move it down the field, and we stall ... or we get a penalty.”
Westminster coach Vinnie Bullara said the Crusaders, a Class 1A school, felt if they could get some first downs and keep Morgan City’s offense off the field, they’’d have a chance for a victory in the fourth quarter.
“That’s what we were able to do,” Bullara said.
The first quarter ended scoreless after Morgan City turned the ball over on downs twice and Westminster did so once and punted.
To start the second quarter, the Tigers’ backup long snapper snapped the ball over the punter’s head. The play resulted in a 30-yard loss and turnover on downs, giving Westminster the ball at Morgan City’s 16-yard line.
Six plays later, the Crusaders scored on a Brock Bullara 1-yard run, but the extra point attempt failed.
Morgan City gave the ball right back to Westminster, losing a fumble on the kickoff return.
However, Morgan City’s defense was stingy, and the Crusaders turned the ball over on downs.
Quarterback Isaiah Escort threw an interception on the Tigers’ next possession, but Westminster again couldn’t capitalize on the turnover and punted.
The Tigers then got the big play they needed when Devonta Grogan scored on an 82-yard touchdown run on the second play of the drive to give Morgan City a 7-6 lead with 3:09 remaining until halftime.
But an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the touchdown pushed Morgan City back 15 yards for the kickoff.
Morgan City tried a pooch kick, and Westminster’s Landon Trosclair caught the ball and ran it back 55 yards for the touchdown, giving the Crusaders a 13-7 lead.
The Tigers answered that score when Kalen Hillen caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Alex Brocato with 50 seconds remaining before halftime.
Morgan City went into the half up 14-13.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, as Morgan City still lead 14-13 after three periods of play.
The game’s turning point came when Morgan City lost a fumble on its own 12-yard line after Brocato tried to drop back to pass. Escort and Brocato, who split time at quarterback, are both juniors in their first year playing the position at the varsity level, Tregle said.
Morgan City finished with 270 yards of total offense to Westminster’s 131 yards.
The Tigers had 12 first downs to the Crusaders’ seven.
Morgan City had seven penalties for 55 yards, while Westminster had just three penalties for 20 yards.
Grogan led the Morgan City ground game with 151 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown.
Morgan City has to find ways to get second-and-short and third-and-short more often to “keep the defense off the field,” Tregle said.
“We had our chances,” Tregle said. “It’s just unfortunate that it didn’t work out like it should have.”
Westminster’s offensive and defensive coaches “had an outstanding game plan,” Bullara said.
“The ball bounced our way a few times, too,” Bullara said.
Recovering the fumble in the fourth quarter on Morgan City’s 12 was “huge,” Bullara said.
“Our offensive staff made a great call on that bootleg to score, because we really didn’t think feel like we could throw it on them the way they were playing man press on us, and our guys were having a hard time ...But our guy upstairs saw it, and we called it. And it worked,” Bullara said.
The Crusaders (3-2) will open district play this week against Catholic High-Pointe Coupee.
Morgan City (3-2) will open District 7-4A play against South Lafourche Thursday.
If the Tigers can “stick together and get better,” they have a chance to win some district games “and hopefully make it to playoffs,” Tregle said.
“That’s our goal, making the playoffs,” Tregle said. “We’ve been having that goal since last year, week 10.”