Top Performers: Catholic (Baton Rouge) vs. Acadiana
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The reigning champions of Louisiana’s highest select and nonselect brackets met for as prominent an early-season matchup as any on a loaded slate.
But instead of a back-and-forth heavyweight slugfest, Catholic (Baton Rouge) dominated Acadiana, 20-0, in a lopsided statement victory under new coach David Simoneaux and an almost entirely turned-over staff.
Here were a few of notable standouts, led by a heavy dose of the Bears’ stingy defense.
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<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136594" first="Kaden" last="Anderson"] — 6-3, 230 DL — Acadiana (2022)</strong>
Catholic could have run away to an even larger victory if not for Anderson and the Acadiana defense slowing down the Bears’ offense. Anderson managed to trip up ball-carriers a few times, including a big tackle for loss on a third down in the second half, to give his teammates additional opportunities.
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">[player_tooltip player_id="136594" first="Kaden" last="Anderson"] with a big stop here on third for Acadiana to force a Catholic punt. <a href="https://t.co/y1XrUBnSMh">pic.twitter.com/y1XrUBnSMh</a></p>
— Jerit Roser (@JeritRoser) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1436524751149744128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<strong>Lloyd Benson III — 5-10, 170 WR — Catholic (2022)</strong>
The Bears tried to get the ball to their senior receiver, the Outstanding Player from December’s Division-I title game, in a variety of ways from their game-opening drive. Benson finished the evening as the only receiver with more than one catch, hauling in seven passes for 92 yards, and another 5 yards on three runs. He showed his pass-catching ability and quickness both before and after the catch, as well as toughness and balance to fight through tackles for extra yards.
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">A holding call moves Catholic High backward… but [player_tooltip player_id="139258" first="Daniel" last="Beale"] & [player_tooltip player_id="136530" first="Tre" last="Benson"] gain back the penalty yardage and more to help keep drive moving. <a href="https://t.co/7ezHV6DJ0t">pic.twitter.com/7ezHV6DJ0t</a></p>
— Jerit Roser (@JeritRoser) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1436486031419838486?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<strong>Desmon Chaisson — 5-11, 170 DB — Acadiana (2022)</strong>
Catholic only attempted 13 passes and completed 10 of them, but a couple of the incompletions came in tight coverage by the Wreckin’ Rams’ senior defensive back, who could be a pivotal piece of the defense against passing offenses who try to steer clear of LSU commit [player_tooltip player_id="136627" first="Laterrance" last="Welch"], Penn State target [player_tooltip player_id="136637" first="Drai" last="Anthony"] and Arkansas target [player_tooltip player_id="136486" first="Jerimiah" last="Brown"] on that side of the ball.
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">[player_tooltip player_id="187069" first="Desmond" last="Chaisson"] on coverage on third down for the Acadiana stop.</p>
Rams force a punt and will have 3:11 left in the half to work with. <a href="https://t.co/VNRXiIParc">pic.twitter.com/VNRXiIParc</a>
— Jerit Roser (@JeritRoser) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1436499284741005317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137116" first="Kylan" last="Dupre"] — 5-11, 185 P/K — Catholic (2022)</strong>
In a game between two stout defenses, the Bears’ senior punter boomed four kicked for 198 yards — an average of 49.5 yards per attempt — including a ridiculous 72-yarder and two downed inside the 20-yard line. Dupre’s one of the top specialists to watch in Louisiana’s 2022 class.
<strong>Jack Massey — 5-11, 175 DB — Catholic (2022)</strong>
The versatile linebacker/safety lived in the box against the run-heavy Wreckin’ Rams and used his speed to the backfield to make disruptive plays, putting their offense behind the chains and force them to the air more often than they’re comfortable throwing the ball.
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<strong>Jacob Nyankojo — 5-11, 195 LB — Catholic (2022)</strong>
One of the newer faces into a more prominent role this season, the smaller, quick Nyankojo made a pair of tackles on Acadiana’s first possession to help force an immediate three-and-out, already down 7-0, and start setting an immediate tone.
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<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="127864" first="Corey" last="Singleton"] Jr. — 5-10, 205 RB — Catholic (2022)</strong>
The senior running back scored both of the game’s touchdowns, including the 16-yard through a gap between the tackles to punctuate the game-opening drive and another short-yardage power over the goal line to start the fourth quarter. Singleton carried 18 times for 81 yards, an average of 4.5 yards per carry, and the two scores.
<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136612" first="Jordan" last="Toaston"] — 6-3, 230 LB — Catholic (2022)</strong>
Another disruptive force off the edge provided a couple pivotal plays in the second half to help set Catholic’s offense up to stretch its lead and amp up the pressure on the Wreckin’ Rams. Toaston ended the third quarter with a powerful sack, then snatched a fumble to start the fourth.
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<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="187030" first="Joshua" last="Wax"] — 5-10, 155 DB — Catholic (2022)</strong>
The speedy defensive back finished among his team’s leaders with six tackles and also swiped an interception he took winding 59 yards toward the end zone on a would-be touchdown called back on a blocking penalty.
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Josh Wax with an interception and winding return.</p>
A block in the back will bring the ball back, but you can see the speed and return skills. <a href="https://t.co/N3L3TcLbh9">pic.twitter.com/N3L3TcLbh9</a>
— Jerit Roser (@JeritRoser) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeritRoser/status/1436524747043524616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136598" first="Wesley" last="Woodward"] — 6-2, 250 DL — Catholic (2022)</strong>
The big senior led his team with 10 tackles and played a big role in the Bears’ crashing the interior to stuff the Acadiana dive and set the table for the linebackers and safeties to fly around and make plays on the edge and in the backfield.
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