Kittens score twice in third quarter to pull away from CCHS

Other than having a lead or a tie, trailing Southern Lab by a touchdown at the half was about as close as Central Catholic could ask in the teams’ Division IV quarterfinal contest in Morgan City.
While the Eagles couldn’t muster much on offense in trailing 16-8, its defense had stopped Southern Lab drives in Central Catholic territory four times, including a 45-yard run by Darbbeon Profit in which he was tackled at the Central Catholic 5 as the half ended.
However, Southern Lab scored two touchdowns in the third quarter, and Central Catholic couldn’t respond until the game was well in hand en route to a 30-16 victory.
“I thought the first half went about as good as we could ask it to go,” Central Catholic coach Tommy Minton said. “We had the ball. We milked the clock. It was a one-touchdown game, and we could not move the ball well enough to keep it in the third quarter. They made a couple big plays.”
The Kittens, Division IV’s No. 6 seed, scored touchdowns on two of their third quarter drives — a four-yard run by Profit with 7:44 remaining in the third quarter and later in the period when after a Thomas Garber punt put Southern Lab at its own 27, Profit broke a 73-yard run on the first place of the drive for a touchdown with 3:31 remaining in the quarter. The two-point conversion failed but Southern Lab held a 30-8 lead with 3:31 remaining in the half.
Central Catholic was plagued by turnovers in the second half as Central Catholic threw three interceptions.
Additionally, their deepest drive in Southern Lab territory in the second half was stopped at the Southern Lab 23 yard line on fourth down when quarterback Damarcus Mitchell was stopped for no gain.
Southern Lab, which held a huge size, especially on the offensive and defensive lines, held the Central Catholic offense to 129 yards of total offense and just 87 yards rushing. Central Catholic had been averaging more than 300 yards rushing a game and more than 400 yards of offense entering the contest.
Central Catholic standout running back Stefano Guarisco, who finished the regular season as one of the state’s leading rushers in all classes and the state’s scoring leader in all classes, was held to just 68 yards rushing on 24 carries with no touchdowns.
“They got a talented football team,” Minton said. “A talented football team. They … have a few athletes that can make some plays. I thought our kids played super hard. I thought they competed for four quarters till the end, and we lost to a very talented team.”
The Eagles had good movement on their first drive of the game as they advanced to the Southern Lab 14.
However, a false start penalty and Southern Lab tackles for losses on Guarisco put the Eagles in a 4th-and-22 situation.
Byrne’s fourth-down pass was incomplete.
Southern Lab needed just four plays to reach the end zone initially as Profit broke off a 65-yard run on his first carry down to the Central Catholic 10. Three plays later, Profit carried for eight yards into the end zone. Shannon Forman’s two-point run was good for an 8-0 lead with 4:52 remaining in the opening quarter.
Central Catholic got on the board on its next drive when Damarcus Mitchell connected with Bailey Badeaux for a 24-yard touchdown pass with 1:05 remaining in the opening quarter.
Guarisco added the two-point conversion to tie the game with 1:05 remaining in the opening quarter.
Southern Lab kept the drive alive for the Eagles when on fourth down from the 50-yard line, the Kittens were flagged for roughing the punter, giving the Eagles a first down at the Southern Lab 35.
The score remained tied until late in the first half when Byrne was intercepted by Tenoa Alex and Southern Lab took over at the 50.
From there, Profit gained 28 yards on three carries before Demonte Lang carried twice, the second time for a 13-yard touchdown. Lang’s two-point run was good for a 16-8 Southern Lab lead with 2 minutes left.
After the Kittens got another turnover via a Byrne interception with less than a minute remaining in the quarter, the Kittens nearly scored again. However, Profit was stopped five yards short of the end zone after a 45-yard run.
In the game, Southern Lab totaled 385 yards of offense (317 yards rushing and 68 passing).
In the loss, Byrne completed 4 of 14 passes for 18 yards with four interceptions, while Mitchell completed 1 of 2 passes for 24 yards and a score.
Jalen Johnson had two catches for 24 yards, while Badeaux had one catch for 24 yards and a score.
Friday’s game was the last for Central Catholic’s seniors.
“The seniors were fantastic all year long,” Minton said. “They were great leaders. Would come out here, and they played hard. They worked hard, and gave the younger guys something to look up to, and we’re going to miss ’em. We’re going to miss ’em all.”
As for the future, Minton said the Eagles have talent returning.
“This is another step in the building process, and we need some more depth,” he said. “We went through a season — I told them right here when I talked to them — we lost five starters throughout season, and nobody ever complained. Nobody ever used that as an excuse. The kids just stepped up and kept playing, and in Single A football, you lose five quality starters, that’s tough.”