St. Louis rolls to win, converts on key downs
Published 1:00 pm Friday, November 4, 2022
- St. Louis Catholic running back Kyle Turner dives into the end zone in the second quarter during a District 3-3A game against the Bulldogs Thursday night in Jennings. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
JENNINGS — For 24 minutes, Jennings was ready to give head coach Rusty Phelps one more game. But the magic of St. Louis Catholic quarterback James Reina rallied the Saints in the second half for a 31-21 win on Thursday at Jerry Simmons Stadium.
It was likely the final game for Phelps who coached Jennings (3-7, 3-3) for 29 seasons, 28 as head coach. Unless the Bulldogs sneak into the playoffs, Phelps finished with a career record of 213-145. Jennings entered the game ranked No. 30 in Division III nonselect and needed to jump two spots to make the postseason.
The Louisiana High School Athletic Association playoff brackets will be released on Sunday.
Reina led the Saints to touchdowns on their first three drives of the second half after entering the break down 14-10. St. Louis (8-2, 5-1) converted on fourth down four times and twice on third, including some big plays from Reina.
On fourth-and-10 from the Jennings 37 on the Saints’ opening drive of the third quarter, Reina scrambled and found Andrew Svarney for a 14-yard gain. Reina capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown for the Saints’ first lead, 17-14.
On the next possession, Reina kept it alive with a 14-yard run on third down plus a 38-yard pass to Brooks Habetz on third-and-17 under pressure from the Jennings’ defense. Then he added a 4-yard scoring strike to Grant Evans on fourth-and-goal for a 24-14 lead with 11:55 left.
Reina ran for a touchdown and 92 yards on 20 carries and completed 13 of 21 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown.
The Bulldogs went 72 yards on their opening drive with J.J. Benoit finding ReJohn Zeno for a 30-yard score with 6:56 left in the first quarter.
Running back Jamaric McZeal exploded for an 80-yard touchdown with 10:37 in the second quarter in response to Kyle Turner’s 7-yard score.
Jennings came up with a huge defensive stop with 2:02 left in the first half when it stopped the Saints at the Bulldogs 14- yard line. Landon Daughdril kicked a 31-yard field goal to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 14-10.
McZeal ran for 183 yards on 16 carries. Zeno had 58 rushing yards and 49 receiving.
