By: RHETT MANUEL
Sports Editor
VILLE PLATTE — Nothing makes or breaks a team over the course of a football game quite like momentum does.
For the Sacred Heart Trojans, momentum was on their side for about 12 minutes in Thursday’s District 6-1A matchup with the Catholic-Pointe Coupee Hornets.
Unfortunately, the other three quarters belonged to Catholic as it took home a 42-14 win in both teams’ district opener.
Catholic (6-0, 1-0) rode the wave of four touchdown plays of 40-yards or more.
That, coupled with a banged-up Sacred Heart team that walked out of the matchup even more tattered, played a large part in deciding the outcome.
It took nothing from a Sacred Heart team who, despite the outcome, never went down quietly.
“I thought our kids played hard and battled,” Trojans head coach Josh Harper said. “We shut down the dive stuff and they broke big plays. We weren’t rotating; we got tired I guess.
“You’ve got to tip your hat to them, they’re a big and physical team. They’re good and competitive.”
The Hornets came out of the gate with all guns firing, with a 75-yard quarterback keep by quarterback Connor Achee on the first snap of the game gave Catholic a quick 7-0 lead.
Achee added to the lead later in the quarter with his second touchdown run of the game, a nine-yarder to extend the lead to 14-0 with five seconds left in the first quarter.
A rough start gave Sacred Heart (4-2, 0-1) all the motivation it needed in the second quarter.
Finding a spark in the running game behind senior Briggs Ardoin, Sacred Heart moved the ball down the field and capped the drive with Hayden Droddy connecting with Gabe Wilmouth on an 18-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-6 with 8:10 to go until halftime.
The Trojans took all the momentum into the locker room when Droddy connected with Landon LeBlanc on a 20-yard touchdown pass and an Ardoin conversion run made it 14-all at the break.
“We matched (their physicality) in the first half and tied the game and got momentum,” Harper said.
That momentum was quickly shifted when Sacred Heart punted its opening possession of the second half and Connor Kimball returned the punt 85-yards to help Catholic regain the lead.
It sparked a second half where Catholic scored 28 unanswered points to put away the Trojans.
“They get the big punt return in the second half and we can’t get it back. We just struggled,” Harper said.
Catholic scored in bunches, and Sacred Heart was put behind the eight-ball not just on the scoreboard but on the sideline as well.
The Trojans had several players, including key contributors LeBlanc and Wade Pitre, miss time in the second half due to either injury or cramping.
“We had guys go down and had to play some guys that don’t play a lot. I think it played a factor.
Thankfully, the Trojans shouldn’t have any issue putting this loss behind them with its annual rivalry game with St. Ed’s coming up.
“Won’t have to do much to get our team motivated,” Harper said. “We just have to get healthy, see what we’ve got and fix the issues we have going on right now.”
June 20, 2026
