Teams are determined for Louisiana football title games

Fourth-seeded West Monroe, 13th in the latest Xcellent 25 Rankings presented by the Army National Guard, roared into this week's Class 5A state football championship game with a 34-3 victory over 24th-seeded Westgate (New Iberia).

The Rebels' rout characterized the manner in which most semifinal winners moved into their respective championship games to be played Friday and Saturday in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

The exception was in Class 3A, where Patterson's 22-21 victory over West Feliciana (St. Francisville) was the only outcome decided by less than two touchdowns.

As for defending state champion West Monroe (14-0), it had no trouble reaching its 12th Class 5A final in the last 17 years. In winning its 29th consecutive game, West Monroe earned the right to face 27th-ranked Acadiana (Lafayette) on Saturday. After overcoming the forfeiture of four games due to having used an ineligible player, Acadiana (9-5) has been superb as evidenced by its 31-0 victory over St. Thomas More (Lafayette).



Westgate managed to blank West Monroe in the first quarter before the Rebels scored on all four of their second-quarter possessions in taking a 27-3 halftime lead.

"We just had to fool around the first quarter to see what we could do," West Monroe coach Don Shows said. "Then we found out what we can run with, how they were playing us. We just ran it all of the rest of the night. They have not stopped it yet."

West Monroe quarterback Paul Turner ran for second-quarter touchdowns of 40, 1 and 67 yards. Turner, an LSU commitment, finished with 11 carries for 114 yards.

As for Acadiana, it had no trouble avenging a 42-17 regular-season loss to previously undefeated St. Thomas More. The Wrecking Rams' defense held St. Thomas More to 179 yards total offense and scored twice in the third quarter on linebacker Zach Burch's 22-yard interception return and defensive back Micah Eugene's 20-yard return of a recovered fumble.

Eugene also scored as a running back on a 1-yard, second-quarter run. He finished with 22 carries for a game-high 128 yards.

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CLASS 4A: FRANKLINTON, KARR TO COLLIDE
Top-ranked Karr (New Orleans) (13-1) and sixth-ranked Franklinton (13-1) will play for the Class 4A state championship Saturday after Edna Karr swamped Teurlings Catholic (Lafayette), 32-0, and Franklinton downed O.P. Walker (New Orleans), 36-0.

Karr quarterback Tollette George threw for two touchdowns and matched teammate Neal Randall with a pair of touchdown runs. George also threw a 2-point conversion pass to Randall for Karr's only successful extra-point conversion.

George tossed scoring passes of 3 and 34 yards and scored on runs of 1 and 18 yards. Johnathan Holl added a 70-yard touchdown run.

Franklinton used a fourth-quarter eruption to overcome an O.P. Walker defense spearheaded by tackle Anthony Johnson, an LSU commitment and the state's Gatorade Player of the Year.

Video of Anthony Johnson

After Franklinton quarterback and LSU commitment Terrance Magee threw a fourth-down touchdown pass of 8 yards to Chris Briggs, O.P. Walker turned the ball over on three of its next four possessions. All three turnovers led to touchdowns, including Harley Ivy's 60-yard interception return.



CLASS 3A: PARKVIEW BAPTIST BRACES FOR PATTERSON
Fifth-seeded Parkview Baptist (Baton Rouge) reversed the outcome of last year's Class 3A state championship game, and seventh-seeded Patterson (12-2) upended its third consecutive Class 7-3A opponent to reach Saturday's final.

Parkview Baptist (11-2) stopped No. 1 Notre Dame of Crowley, 17-0, after losing to the Pioneers in last year's state title game. Patterson, behind LSU commitment Kenny Hilliard, edged West Feliciana (St. Francisville).

Video of Kenny Hilliard

In earning its fourth title-game appearance, Parkview Baptist intercepted five passes, including one that Brody Burkhalter returned for a 40-yard, third-quarter touchdown. Paxton Cook finished with two interceptions.

Hilliard, the nephew of former LSU and New Orleans Saints standout Dalton Hilliard, called Patterson's pulsating victory "a miracle."

Protecting a 21-14 lead with less than two minutes left, West Feliciana faced second-and-14 from the Patterson 39-yard line when quarterback Deshawn Morrison tried an option pitch. Hilliard, a premier running back who was playing linebacker, batted the pitch to the ground and teammate Joe Henry made the fumble recovery.



One play later, Patterson quarterback Justice Jones lobbed a 50-yard touchdown pass to wide-open Jaydrick Decloutte along the right sideline.

West Feliciana was offsides on Patterson's potentially game-tying extra-point kick, and so the Lumberjacks decided to go for a 2-point conversion. Hilliard rammed over the left side for the winning score with 1:32 left.
Despite two fumbles, Hilliard finished with 19 carries for 140 yards.

CLASS 2A: FAMILIAR FOES MEET AGAIN
Defending Class 2A state champion Evangel Christian Academy (Shreveport) and runner-up Curtis (River Ridge) return to Friday's state title game after top-seeded Evangel Christian (11-2) defeated St. Charles Catholic, 35-15, and second-seeded John Curtis (12-1) overwhelmed East Feliciana (Jackson), 40-8.

Evangel Christian quarterback David Dee Duron threw touchdown passes of 25 yards to Trey Taylor and 15 yards to Judah Jones. Dwight Gatlin Jr. returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown and X'zavier Preston recovered a fumble in the end zone.

John Curtis zipped to a 27-0 lead by 10:20 of the second quarter, with Torrey Pierce adding a 7-yard touchdown run to the onslaught. Pierce finished with 20 carries for 159 yards.

CLASS 1A: UNLIKELY OPPONENTS MATCHED TOGETHER
Tyree Bracken rushed for 276 yards and three touchdowns to give 15th-seeded White Castle (11-3) a 20-0 victory over Oberlin and its first state title appearance ever.



The Bulldogs will face ninth-seeded Ouachita Christian (Monroe) on Saturday after the Eagles stunned South Plaquemines, 27-13, in becoming the first Class 1A team to give the Hurricanes a home loss since the school was formed in 2006 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It also ended South Plaquemines' string of three consecutive state title appearances.

White Castle's Bracken scored twice on 1-yard runs and a third time on a 25-yard dash around the right end.

Shawn Key gave Ouachita Christian the offensive output it needed with scoring runs of 9 and 63 yards.