Trojans look to rebound tonight against Vikings

Photo by: Bruce Campbell

By: LANCE REED
Sports Editor

After falling in their first District 6-2A football game, the Sacred Heart Trojans look to rebound from a heart breaking Tee Cotton Bowl. The effort the Trojans gave last Thursday night is probably to be the biggest challenge this week. That challenge will be to see if the brave warriors in blue and gold can repeat that performance. The Vikings are going to be tough to beat at home.

The Trojans’ offense was quite balanced last week. They ran the ball and threw the ball with proficiency. Sacred Heart used a good dose of Seth LeBlanc to pile up 117 yards on the ground against VPHS. The Vikings will struggle to contain LeBlanc if his line does another great job of blocking. Junior quarterback Stuart Schexnayder had a great game throwing and running. The first-year signal caller ran for 71 yards and threw for 85. He may be one of the most improved football players Evangeline Parish. He hit four different receivers last week against Ville Platte High. Cade McDaniel grabbed a pair of passes and Brock Viga was good for three receptions. Both receivers are known for making key catches on crucial downs.

While the Trojans’ offense is putting up good numbers, the SHHS defense did give up 34 points last week. The VPHS offense continued to run the ball right at the Trojans. The Vikings will most likely do the same tonight. Expect OCHS Head Coach Doug Guillory to try and run right at the Trojans, just as the Dogs did. The Trojans did demonstrate some hard hitting in TCB IX. If they continue that trend tonight, it will provide beneficial for SHHS Head Coach Dutton Wall’s platoon.

The Opelousas Catholic Vikings are not putting up the biggest numbers thus far this year. They are 1-3 on the season and average less than 200 yards of total offense per game. They had their best game of the year on offense last week against the Panthers. They collected a total of 29 points.

The Vikings ran the ball with Sean Sebastian for the most part. Sebastian diced up the Panthers for 202 yards on 16 carries. An injury to Taylor Hebert is a huge reason Sebastian is getting the brown bean so often. The Vikings, who run multiple looks on offense, stayed on the ground for nearly the entire game against the Panthers. They picked up 361 yards on 54 rushing attempts. Matt Kolb, who doubles as a linebacker, also handles the rock a lot. He moved the ball nine times against the Pine Prairie Panthers.
Quarterback Cody Stelly did not do a lot of throwing last week. He attempted just four passes, but did not complete any of them. He did try and throw to Dorian Durald twice.

The OCHS offensive line has always been big and very athletic. This year’s crew is not any different. All but one member of the OCHS O-line is over 200 pounds. Only Curtis Hollier, a sophomore, is less than 200 pounds. He stands at 5’10” and weighs 180 pounds.

Opelousas Catholic’s defensive unit returns just three starters. Two defensive tackles and one linebacker are the familiar faces for the Vikes. Senior Devin Dejean and junior Dwight Batiste give Vikings some experience with their hands on the ground. Both stand at 5’11” and tip the scale at 240 pounds. Linebacker Will Ryan is the leader of the unit. He is joined by Kolb and Sean Sebastien as linebackers.

The Vikings’ secondary features three seniors and a junior. Fontenot leads the group along with Cody Stelly and junior Chandler Cart. The Vikings struggled to contain the passing game last week. In fact, the majority of the success the Panthers found came in the air game.

The OCHS defense surrendered 253 yards to the Pine Prairie offense and 14 points. The passing department hit the Vikings for 192 yards. While the Kyle Wests passing ability is a big reason for that, look for the Trojans to come out blazing on with a balanced attack. The Vikings will host the contest tonight at 7 p.m. at Donald Gardiner Stadium in Opelousas.