Comeaux deals Westgate 10-6 loss

Playing their last regular season game, Westgate High needed a win over District 4-5A rival Comeaux to just about lock up a first round home game when the playoffs start in two weeks.

As it is, the Tigers will probably be on the road in the first round as Comeaux played an excellent game of keep-away in beating Westgate 10-6 Friday.

Holding onto the ball for most of three quarters and taking advantage of the weather conditions and a strong running game, Comeaux ran off 53 offensive plays to Westgate’s 28 plays to keep the Tigers’ potent offense on the bench.

It was enough to hold off a late Westgate charge that saw the Tigers score a touchdown with six minutes left, hold the Spartans on defense and go for the win with 38 seconds left in the game on a third-down pass into the end zone from Diontae Spencer to Richard Mouret that just went through the receiver’s hands as he dove for the ball.

And Brandon Malveaux’s attempt to convert on fourth down ended as he slipped on the field making the cut and couldn’t get the necessary yards as the Tigers fell to 5-4 overall and 2-2 in district.

“It was a defensive struggle throughout the game,” said WHS coach Brian Fine, whose team has a district bye in week 10 and did not schedule a non-district game. “They dominated field position in the first half and our turnover led to their touchdown.

“We had a chance at the end. Each team had two or three chances to score and they got a touchdown and a field goal and unfortunately we missed our extra point earlier and had to go for the touchdown instead of the field goal.”

The field at Lloyd G. Porter Stadium, already drenched and muddy from the rains earlier Friday, was made even worse as a continuos rain fell during the game which affected both team’s strategies.

“We had a difficult time throwing it,” said Fine, whose Tigers attempted six passes in the game while Comeaux did not attempt a single pass and ran the ball on all 60 of its offensive snaps. “Diontae had a couple of good throws and we had one right there at the end. With a dry ball it’s probably 6 points but Diontae had to float it out there and we still had a chance to make a play on the ball.

“It was tough for both teams to throw it. All you’re doing is just running the ball between the tackles.”

Westgate’s one mistake in the game, a fumble in the second quarter that Comeaux recovered at the WHS 16-yard line, allowed the Spartans to score a touchdown with 2 minutes left in the first half to take a 7-0 lead at the break.

Comeaux’s strategy in the first half, running ball up the middle or off guard with fullback Jordan Porter, with an occasional run by quarterback Mike Strentz or tailback Jacob St. Julien, allowed the Spartans to control the ball and the clock. Porter had 90 yards on 27 carries.

The visitors ran off 36 offensive plays in the first half while Westgate only had 19 plays on offense.

The Tigers had to punt on two first half possessions, while the fumble on the third led to Comeaux’s touchdown, a four-yard run by Porter.

The third quarter was no different as Westgate punted on its only two possessions while Comeaux punted on one but managed a 13-play drive on the second that led to Strentz’s 29 yard field goal on the second play of the fourth quarter and a 10-0 CHS lead.

Finally allowed back on the field after Comeaux’s field goal, Spencer and Malveaux led the Tigers on a 10-play drive highlighted by a 38-yard pass to Mouret, that ended with Spencer’s one-yard plunge with 6:04 left on the clock.

Comeaux blocked Siegan Vergenal’s point after but the lead was cut to 10-6.

The Spartans tried to run out the clock but Westgate stopped the visitors on a fourth down play with four minutes left giving the Tigers a chance to win.

On third-and-two from the 17 yard line with 40 seconds left, Spencer’s pass to Mouret in the end zone was incomplete and Malveaux’s slip prevented the Tigers from converting on fourth down, turning the ball, and the game, over to Comeaux to run out the clock.

“I thought third and short was a good time for a play-action pass,” said Fine.

“We had him open and had a chance to make a play on the ball but unfortunately it was incomplete.”

Fine said he’d have to look at the film to determine what exactly happened on the play, whether the receiver dropped the ball of the defensive back knocked it away.

With a week off, Fine hopes his team can rest and regroup as Westgate finds out where they will be in the first round.

“We’ve got a week off and unfortunately I don’t think that we’re going to have a home playoff game,” said Fine.

“It’s been a long difficult season for us and it’s been a grind.

“But we have a break now and we can freshen up and ready to go for that first round.”