Fight to the end

MONROE – A hard-fought, adverse season came to an abrupt end for the Sacred Heart Trojans Friday night as they fell 54-0 to the Ouachita Christian Eagles in the first round of the LHSAA Division IV playoffs.
Sacred Heart finishes the year with an overall record of 5-6 with the loss.
After the game, Trojan head coach Josh Harper spoke about the fight his team gave all season long, despite the adversity of injuries that plagued his team.
“This team has been about the fight all year long,” stated Harper. “We had some mistakes here tonight, but you have to tip your hat to Ouachita Christian, they are a very good football team. But, we have faced adversity all year long with injuries and still continued to give every effort out on the field.”
“Even with us being down so big at halftime, the players came out and stayed tough,” Harper continued. “This group of seniors have a lot to be proud of. They have made the playoffs as a class every year since they were freshmen and have never had a losing regular season. That type of leadership will be missed tremendously.”
The game began the way it ended, with Ouachita Christian showcasing their talented offense. After holding Sacred to a three and out on the first possession of the game, the Eagles took over the football at their 40-yard line following the Trojan punt.
Ouachita Christian reached the 49-yard line in three plays and faced a fourth and one situation. On the ensuing play, quarterback Hunter Herring kept the ball up the middle and sprinted his way to the end zone for a 51 yard touchdown run.
The extra point from Sam Herrell was good and with just 2:57 seconds gone in the game, the Eagles led 7-0.
Sacred Heart’s best drive of the night came on their following possession. Opening up the offense into their spread package, the Trojans threw their way from their 21-yard line all the way to the Ouachita Christian three-yard line in nine plays.
Unfortunately on the tenth play of the drive, an errant pass was picked off by Eagle defensive back Will Fitzhugh in the end zone, killing the near perfect Sacred Heart drive. From that point on, it was all Eagles, as they ran off seven more touchdowns.
Taking the ball from their 20-yard line, Ouachita Christian found their way to the Trojan eight-yard line behind big runs from Herring and Dillon Dougan. On second and goal from the eight, Herring was back in the end zone for his second touchdown of the night.
Herrell’s extra point was true and with 1:02 to go in the first quarter the Eagles owned a 14-0 lead.
Sacred Heart’s third drive of the game began with a 25 yard pass from Ethan Karonika to Peyton Feucht, but just like most of the remaining drives for the Trojans, it ended with Sacred Heart having to punt the ball away.
Ouachita Christian got back on the board four more time in the first half with each scoring drive coming in five plays or less. By the time the teams headed to the locker room, the Eagles owned a 41-0 lead over the Trojans.
One bright defensive moment for Sacred Heart came on the Eagles’ first drive of the second half when Spencer Darbonne made a diving interception at the 45-yard line.