Cold as ice

MONROE – With the thermometer dropping into the 40’s for the first time this football season, the Sacred Heart Trojan offense went as cold as the temperature outside in a 16-7 loss to the St. Frederick Warriors here Friday night in an LHSAA Division IV first round playoff game.
Sacred Heart ends their season with an overall record of 7-4 and bows out of the first round of the playoffs for the third year in a row. St. Frederick advances on to the quarterfinal round to take on Vermilion Catholic.
Despite having averaged 39 points over the last four games of the regular season, Sacred Heart could only muster 231 yards against the Warriors. The Trojan vaunted rushing attack was held to a total of only 30 yards on 21 carries.
“We just could never get in rhythm on the offensive side of the ball,” stated Sacred Heart head coach Josh Harper after the game. “We went back and forth from the single wing to the jet package trying to find an identity, but every time it looked like we started to get something going we had a turnover or some costly penalties. But, you have to tip your hat to them, they came out and got what they needed on offense in their first two series.”
“After that, we settled down on defense and did a good job of containing them,” Harper continued. “The mistakes just caught up to us tonight. Our guys played extremely hard and never gave up. We have been resilient all season long and despite the outcome tonight, showed it once again.”
Sacred Heart won the toss, deciding to defer to the second half, giving St. Fred’s first crack on offense. The Warriors did not let the opportunity go to waste, driving the ball 67 yards in six plays to pick up the first points of the night when quarterback Andrew Williams sprinted in from 16 yards out. The extra point by Gavin Corder was good and with 7:47 left in the opening quarter, the Warriors had a 7-0 lead.
The Trojans looked to answer, beginning their initial drive of the game from their 20-yard line following the kickoff.
Calling his own number, Sacred Heart quarterback Wesley Launey rushed for 18 yards his first three carries of the night.
An incomplete pass and a 13 yard loss via a sack by the St. Fred’s defense on second and third downs respectfully forced the Trojans to punt the ball back to the Warriors.
St. Fred’s picked up right where they left off following the 35 yard punt. Starting at their 40-yard line, the Warriors found themselves at the Sacred Heart three-yard line nine plays later.
Two runs by Williams put the ball at the Trojan one-yard line. On third and goal, Willams plunged in over right guard on the quarterback sneak for his second touchdown of the night. The extra point bounced off of the left up-right, however St. Fred’s now owned a 13-0 lead with 2:25 left in the first quarter.
The two teams exchanged possessions for the rest of the first quarter and midway through the second quarter.
With the Warriors controlling the ball at their 29-yard line following a Sacred Heart punt, Williams dropped back to attempt a pass on third down and 11 when Trojan cornerback Drew Bordelon found a way to pick the ball off and return it to the St. Fred’s 30-yard line.
Unfortunately for Sacred Heart, two costly penalties on the play, a block in the back and an unsportsmanlike call, set the ball all the way back to the Trojan 42-yard line. From there Sacred Heart could not do much and was forced to punt the ball back to the Warriors.
The Trojan defense came up with another momentum swinging play on the ensuing St. Fred’s possession. With the ball at the Warrior 16-yard line, Williams made another big mistake, as he led his receiver too far, allowing Sacred Heart’s Jalen Deville to intercept the pass and bring down to the St. Fred’s 33-yard line.
With less than two minutes and one time out left, the Trojans were hoping to get some points before the end of the half. After picking up an initial first down and more, Sacred Heart found themselves in a fourth and 18 situation at the Warrior 30-yard line following an intentional grounding call.
Desperate for a big play, Launey scrambled to his left and heaved a pass down the seam that was tipped into the hands of wide receiver Alex McElwee at the St. Fred’s one-yard line. One first down and goal and less than 20 seconds left in the quarter, Launey was stuffed as his tried the right side of the Sacred Heart offensive line.
Now with the clock down to 10 seconds and no time outs, the Trojans ran one last play. This time, running back Alec Gotro sliced his way in from one yard out as the horn sounded to end the half. Launey added the extra point and Sacred Heart had cut the lead down to 13-7 when the two teams headed into the locker room.
The second half became a defensive struggle for the most part. The only score that either team could muster was a 27-yard field goal off of the foot of Corder with 11:27 to go in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans had only one opportunity to put any points on the board in the second half when they drove the ball down to the St. Fred’s 18-yard line on the possession that followed. Regrettably, Sacred Heart stalled and was forced to turn the ball over on downs.
After the game, Harper expressed his gratitude for the senior football players that donned the blue and gold for the last time in their career.
“It has been an unbelievable journey with this entire group of seniors,” said and emotional Harper. “This was the freshman class when I got hired four years ago and they definitely bought into what we wanted them to do. They have set the bar high for the underclassmen. The program is where it needs to be right now and it is because of the dedication of this senior class. I will miss them tremendously and the heart and pride they played with their whole career.”
Launey finished the night 14 for 31 passing for 184 yards and one interception. He also led all rushers with 29 yards on 17 carries. Alex McElwee caught five passes for 78 yards.