The Barbe Buccaneers came to Lafayette on Friday averaging 52.3 points a game.
They left having experienced the uniqueness of St. Thomas More’s defense, which limited Barbe to two touchdowns in a 35-14 victory and moved the Cougars into the driver’s seat in the District 3-5A race.
Trailing 14-6 at halftime, the Cougars’ defense unleashed its relentless pressure in the second half and just wore down the Bucs.
“I think our constant pursuit just started to take its toll on them,” STM coach Jim Hightower said.
The Cougars exploded for three touchdowns in the third quarter to take full control of the game.
“We run the ball hard, we throw the ball, we know what to do,” STM running Landyn Craft said. “We’re disciplined, and that’s what we showed tonight. You can do whatever you want against us, but we’re going to figure you out. So that’s what we did.”
The truth is the Cougars were outplayed in the first half, but one huge defensive play by senior defensive end Hayden Hemard kept the Bucs from taking full advantage.
Leading 7-0 and driving again, Barbe quarterback Jelandon Gray was tackled on a third-and-10 scramble, and the ball was stripped by STM defenders Tristan Klock and Hunter Schugg. Hemard corralled the ball near Gray’s helmet and raced 52 yards for a defensive touchdown.
“I caught that ball and I saw so much field,” Hemard said. “I regret pointing and kind of celebrating a little too early. He kind of caught me at the end, but it’s a great feeling. It was the first time I had ever done that. That was awesome.”
And even thought Barbe responded with a seven-play, 59-yard drive to take a 14-6 lead into halftime, the Bucs hadn’t taken full advantage of their opportunity in the first half.
So when the third quarter started, the homestanding Cougars were ready.
St. Thomas More scored on a 10-play, 80-yard drive to open the third quarter and never looked back. A nifty 46-yard reception by Bennett Stelly got STM to the 2, and Craft did the honors with a 1-yard TD plunge. Craft’s two-point run tied the game with 8:48 left in the third.
That drive ignited four consecutive touchdown possessions for the Cougars.
“Barbe was doing some really great things up front in the first half,” said Craft, who finished with 85 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. “So we had to figure out what we wanted to do against them — in and out fronts.
“In the second half, we knew our defense was going to get stops.”
On Barbe’s first drive of the third quarter, Hemard was at it again, delivering a 9-yard sack of Gray to force a punt.
“That play specifically, I sacked him, but it’s not just me sending the tone,” Hemard said. “It was our whole defense. I mean, it’s a mindset. We came out here knowing that they haven’t been in this situation before where they had to play.
“In the second, third and fourth quarters, we knew what we were going to do, and we came out and did it.”
Defensive coordinator Terry Tidwell explained he noticed something that worked in the first half, so he made sure the Bucs saw it more in the second half.
“We made some adjustments,” he said. “We did something in the first half that bothered them a good bit. So we came out in the second half, and we did it repeatedly, and it disrupted their blocking schemes a little bit.”
Another big part of STM’s secret to success was linebacker Walker Pugh, who was all over the field once again.
“He played … well, Walker Pugh,” Tidwell said. “That’s what he does. He was challenged with, ‘You can’t tackle No. 10,’ and he never missed No. 10 tonight. Every time they met head to head, No. 10 went to the ground.”
No. 10 is Barbe running back Jordin Griffin, who still rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.
“He might be the fastest running back we’ve ever played, so we knew we had to get, like, four or five guys to the ball every play,” Pugh said. “So we worked on pursuit every day, I practiced, and we just got the guys to the ball.
“We’re just gritting. We play every play 100%.”
Gray also put up respectable numbers with 109 yards rushing and a score on 18 carries, but only threw for 88 yards.
“We just tackled a lot better in the second half,” Tidwell said. “We didn’t tackle like we should have in the first half. We weren’t making contact and bringing them down on that first hit. We talked about it at halftime.”
Leading 28-14 midway through the fourth quarter, the Cougars made the biggest stop of the night. Barbe had driven 78 yards on 13 plays in 6:38 only to fall inches short at the 2 on a Gray scramble.
“That was a big one,” Tidwell said. “We told them that they’re an edge team, so make sure you don’t give up the weak side edge just because they may start flowing this way. He came back that way, and our guys were persistent and just kept going.”
STM’s offense then drove 98 yards on nine plays for a 21-point lead with 3:31 left.
STM rushed for 277 yards with Conner Baer adding 68 yards on six carries.
“We’ve got three dudes — me, Owen Bailey and Conner Baer,” Craft said. “And how about that O-line? I mean, they opened up holes like that … that was great.”
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