The state'
s longest winning streak remained intact at 21 games, but it didn't come easy for top-ranked River Ridge John Curtis, which scored late to stop St. Charles Catholic, 19-18, in a battle of previously undefeated District 9-2A football teams. 
Dex Thibodeaux, John Curtis
File photo by Greg Pierson
Patriots quarterback Bryce Jenkins capped a 13-play, 57-yard drive on a 1-yard run with 57 seconds left. The march began after St. Charles Catholic'
s James Krawczyk missed a 39-yard field goal attempt with 6:13 left.
"I knew it coming in," Patriots coach J.T. Curtis said of the challenge St. Charles Catholic provided. "Playing in their backyard, they were excited, and rightfully so. We knew they were going to play hard."
Defending state champion John Curtis improved to 7-0 overall, including 5-0 in district play. St. Charles Catholic fell to 7-1 and 4-1.
Krawczyk had given St. Charles Catholic a 6-0 first-quarter lead with field goals of 39 and 37 yards. John Curtis grabbed a 7-6 lead when Jenkins completed a 10-play, 86-yard drive on a 29-yard run at 7:37 of the second quarter. Brandon Naumonn provided the extra-point kick. The Comets regained the lead, 12-7, at 3:12 when quarterback Henri Faucheux threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Zach Goodwin at the end of a 77-yard drive. The Patriots quickly retaliated, though, in taking a 13-12 halftime lead.
Jenkins threw an 82-yard touchdown pass to Josh Hanberry at 2:34, although the two-point conversion try failed. Jenkins finished 9-of-18 for 243 yards. St. Charles Catholic'
s Faucheux was 20-of-26 for 215 yards. St. Charles Catholic went ahead for the final time when Dylan Kliebert returned the first of his two interceptions 25 yards for a touchdown at 3:12 of the third quarter.
"I'm proud of my kids," St. Charles Catholic Coach Frank Monica said. "We stuck it out. We just have to learn to finish. I think our kids were thinking of celebrating before they actually won the football game."
Webster passes Lutcher past Ellender
Gavin Webster threw five touchdowns passes to lead top-ranked Lutcher past Houma Ellender, 54-0, in District 8-4A action. In addition, Webster ran for a 5-yard score. Webster had scoring passes of 65 and 34 yards to Jarvis Landry, 4 yards to Travis Englade, 9 yards to Jeffery Deslatte and 2 yards to Jamiah Sorapuru.
Lutcher, the defending Class 3A state champion, improved to 8-0 overall and 3-0 in district. Ellender fell to 0-8 and 0-3.
Coaches enjoy significant victories
A pair of celebrated coaches earned milestone victories, with West Monroe's
Don Shows earning his 300th career win and South Plaquemines' Cyd Crutchfied notching his 100th. Both did it in large fashion, too, with top-ranked West Monroe of Class 5A blasting Shreveport Byrd, 51-9, and two-time defending Class 1A state champion South Plaquemines overwhelming Metairie Country Day, 63-6.
"It's quite a special accomplishment and I'm very proud of it," Shows said. "But it's taken a lot of great players and great coaches along the way. I think there have only been about five other men in Louisiana high school football history that have achieved that mark."
West Monroe jumped out to a 23-0 first-quarter lead on the strength of Terrence Getret'
s 34-yard touchdown return of a fumble and junior quarterback Paul Turner's electrifying 54-yard scoring run. Byrd's Ben Eldredge kicked three field goals to set the single-season school record for field goals with nine. After Country Day scored first on quarterback Dustin Davidson's 15-yard touchdown pass to receiver Nick Hansel, South Plaquemines scored 61 unanswered points.
Hurricanes quarterback Eric Ragas passed for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Mike Barthelemy rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown and returned a punt 66 yards for a touchdown. Manuel Black rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns.
Natchitoches Central finally wins again
Thanks to junior safety Chase Collins, Natchitoches Central won for the first time in nearly two years with a 19-3 victory over Pineville that snapped a 17-game losing streak. Collins intercepted three passes and recovered a fumble that set up what proved to be the winning touchdown on Kendrick Aaron'
s 1-yard, second-quarter run.
"Getting this win is unbelievable. I will have a smile on my face for the next week, and you won't be able to take it off," Collins said. "I stuck to the routes and the plays just came to me."
Aaron also caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Robert Woodard at 4:04 of the fourth quarter. Woodard scored on a 34-yard run at 2:48.
"Robert did a great job," Natchitoches Central coach Brandon Helms said. "He's a 15-year old freshman and was a cool and composed out there."
Swimming: Pineville prevails twice
Pineville won a pair of overall titles in Southwest Louisiana Swim Conference meets.
In the first competition, the Rebels placed first in 13 different events. Andrew Toepfer helped the boys win with victories in the 200-meter freestyle (1 minute, 53.65 seconds) and the 100 freestyle (52.52). Ragan Wilburn paced the winning girls with victories in the 100 butterfly (1:02.81) and 100 breaststroke (1:14.07).
In the second meet, the Pineville boys outdistanced 10 other teams with 109 points. The Rebels won six of nine events and placed 1-2 in three of them. The girls finished third with 41 points behind Lake Charles St. Louis (102) and Lake Charles Barbe (85).
