Special to the American Press

SAINT GABRIEL — After fighting through damage from two hurricanes and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic all year, a four-quarter fight was no big deal for the Grand Lake Hornets, who punched their ticket to the first state championship football game in school history with a 13-8 win over East Iberville.

Quarterback Connor Guillote scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with eight minutes left in the game to send the No. 3 Hornets (8-1) to Natchitoches, where they will face No. 1 seed Oak Grove in the Class 1A title game Monday, Dec. 28. Oak Grove advanced with a 59-12 win over Homer.

“Look at this … it is amazing,” Grand Lake head coach Jeff Wainwright said. “All of these people here are going back to damaged homes or are living in trailers. They’ve been with us every step of the way and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Levi Murrell ran 25 times for 134 yards to lead the Hornets offense, scoring the game’s first touchdown on a 15-yard run in the third quarter.

East Iberville (7-2) answered quickly with an 85-yard touchdown run by Jaden Williams, and took an 8-7 lead on a 2-point conversion run by Roderique Valentine.

“We knew East Iberville was explosive and we did not think we could keep them out of the end zone all night,” Wainwright said. “When they scored and took the lead, I told our guys to just hold on and keep playing. That is what we did.”

The Tigers drove into Grand Lake territory after Guillote’s touchdown run, but the Hornets stuffed a Tiger run on fourth-and-two at the 21 to preserve the win.

The game was the first semifinal appearance for both schools. East Iberville knocked Grand Lake out of last year’s playoffs with a 28-20 overtime win.

Grand Lake has allowed a total of 26 points in its current four-game winning streak.Levi Murrell ran for 134 yards and a touchdown to lead Grand Lake to a 13-8 win over East Iberville in the Class 1A semifinals Friday.

Rodrick Anderson/American Press file photo