Top Performers: St Thomas More vs De La Salle | D-II Championship

De La Salle entered Monday’s game knowing ball and clock control would be critical to competing with St. Thomas More. The high-powered Cougars had rolled past the Cavaliers, 58-10, in the teams’ title game matchup last December. Senior running backs [player_tooltip player_id="63583" first="Montrell" last="Johnson"] and Byron Phillips helped execute those efforts well enough to keep within striking distance late despite a record-setting aerial connection between Walker Howard and [player_tooltip player_id="63558" first="Jack" last="Bech"] on the other side. But a dropped snap left De La Salle behind the chains on a red zone drive, and a fourth-down pass was eventually batted away before it could potentially reach its intended destination. And St. Thomas More managed to secure its second straight championship and third in five years. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dMOl6eL9Pkk" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong>2021 Recruiting Class</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63558" first="Jack" last="Bech"] — 6-3, 215 WR — St. Thomas More</strong> The LSU signee ended his high school career, already with some records in tow, with yet another absurd performance that set Turpin Stadium and the Twitter world abuzz. Bech hauled in 10 passes for a Division II state championship record 232 yards and two touchdowns, including several highlight-reel catches. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63745" first="Bryce" last="Boullion"] — 6-1, 220 LB — St. Thomas More</strong> The Cougars’ senior linebacker led all players with 13 tackles in the middle of the defense. His current offers are Louisiana College and Sterling. <strong>Dahntay Taylor — 5-10, 170 DB — St. Thomas More</strong> On an evening where the St. Thomas More’s defense was tasked with slowing one of Louisiana’s top rushing attacks, Taylor excelled in support with quick diagnose and physical stops against big backs for nine total tackles. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63583" first="Montrell" last="Johnson"] — 6-1, 205 RB — De La Salle</strong> The Cavaliers’ success was going to hinge on controlling the ball and the clock. And the recent Arizona decommitment did that exceptionally well with 182 yards and all four of his team’s touchdowns on 29 attempts. <strong>Shamar Keelen — 6-0, 220 — De La Salle</strong> The senior outside linebacker led De La Salle with eight tackles and jumped a screen for an interception and 13-yard return that set up a short field and eventual touchdown for the offense to keep pace with the high-powered Cougars. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="63648" first="John" last="Martin"] Jr. — 6-5, 360 OL — De La Salle</strong> De La Salle’s offensive line battled up front to open lanes for their three runners to execute their game plan, and the big senior led the charge with his dominant blocking. The Cavaliers rushed 53 times for 312 yards in all. <strong>Byron Phillips — 5-9, 212 RB — De La Salle</strong> Johnson’s fellow senior running back rushed well in his spots to keep him as fresh as possible and keep the chains moving and the Cavaliers in the game. Phillips ran 13 times for 86 yards to actually finish with the game’s best average at 6.6 yards per carry to Johnson’s 6.3. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LbkH4rtaYwY" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <strong> 2022 Recruiting Class</strong> <strong>Walker Howard — 6-2, 185 QB — St. Thomas More</strong> The LSU commit capped his exceptional first year as the Cougars’ varsity starter with one last highlight-reel performance of his own. Howard completed 18 of 26 passes for 381 yards and four touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed five times for 17 yards. <strong>Cole Milford — 5-11, 165 QB — De La Salle</strong> De La Salle’s own junior quarterback played his role well, too, as a complement to [player_tooltip player_id="63583" first="Montrell" last="Johnson"] in the backfield with 11 rushes for 44 yards and also completed nine of his 13 passes for 60 yards when the Cavaliers were forced to the air.