Of all the touchdown passes
Ellender (Houma, La.) junior quarterback
Dustin Creppel will throw this season, none figure to be more significant than the three he tossed this past Sunday, including the two just before halftime that propelled the Patriots to a 26-7 victory over Houma Terrebonne High School.
Dustin Creppel, Ellender
Courtesy photo
Not only did they help to snap Ellender's 32-game losing streak dating back to Oct. 28, 2008, but they ignited a spark that the program had lacked all these years. For it, he was selected as the initial New Orleans area Capital One High Yield Student Athlete of the Week.
"This is the start of something new right now," said assistant coach John Haslitt, an 11-year veteran. "We've worked hard and gotten close in the past, but we couldn't get over the hump."
Ellender finally did so thanks in large measure to Creppel, who completed 19 of 26 passes for 227 yards with one interception. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound Creppel started as a sophomore last season but was limited to five games because of a shoulder injury sustained in midyear. A healthy Creppel threw for 370 yards in the season finale.
"One good thing about playing young kids is they grow up," said second-year coach Terry Washington. "It's not like he (Creppel) just jumped onto the scene."
Creppel threw for 1,299 yards last season, Washington said, and his hope is that Creppel will average 200 passing yards per game this season while leading the Patriots to the playoffs.
That may seem like a tall order, but Washington said Ellender has the skilled players to do it beginning with Creppel, who is vital to the Patriots' spread offense.
"We throw first and run second," Washington said. "When he got hurt last year, we were forced to run the football. That's not our makeup."
Ellender displayed its quick-strike capability against Terrebonne, which led 7-0 with less than a minute left in the first half.
Two plays after Ellender gained possession with an interception, Creppel threw a strike down the right sideline to
Dan Mitchell, who carried the football in for a 74-yard touchdown. A failed two-point conversion left Ellender trailing 7-6 with 20 seconds left.
That quickly changed after Terrebonne muffed a short, high kickoff and Ellender recovered. Creppel responded on the next play by rolling to his right and lofting a pass toward the front right pylon of the end zone.
Thomas Johnson hauled in the ball for a 35-yard touchdown reception. A two-point conversion run gave Ellneder a 14-7 halftime lead and the momentum needed to win on its opponent's field in a season opener postponed two days by the disruptive force of Hurricane Isaac earlier in the week.
Creppel added an 8-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell in the third quarter.
"He has a D-1 arm," Washington said of Creppel, who uses his mobility to his advantage. "He throws a nice ball. He can put mustard on it or take something off it ... He can play at the next level."
Not so fast, though. Ellender is only too happy to be basking in the glow of a much-needed win that has prompted high hopes for a brighter future with Creppel at the helm.
