Zachary scored a last-minute touchdown to edge Lafayette Christian on Friday, but the Knights left the field feeling positive about the regular season.
Trailing by one point with 28 seconds to go, Zachary quarterback Eli Holstein threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Kameran Senegal to lift the Broncos to a 12-6 jamboree win.
On LCA’s final drive, quarterback JuJuan Johnson completed passes of 17 and 21 yards to Darian Riggs and Bennett Derouen before time expired.
“I’m extremely proud of the way we came out and competed,” LCA coach Trev Faulk said. “Year in and year out, you’re looking at a championship contender across the sideline with Zachary.”
Linebacker Brayden Zeigler’s 50-yard interception return gave the Knights a 6-5 lead with 2:44 to go.
“That was a huge momentum swing to give us some life,” Faulk said. “Zeigler had the play of the day.”
Although the Knights were without injured defensive stars Fitzgerald West, Jordan Allen and Brylan Green, the LCA defense fared well against Holstein. Until the late touchdown, the four-star Texas A&M commitment was 11 of 19 for 66 yards.
“Our kids played extremely well containing those guys,” Faulk said. “They have some really good players on their side. They’re a contender each and every year.
“We tried to mix up the pressure on their quarterback. We played a little zone coverage. We played some man-to-man concepts. Our kids did a really good job with the exception of the one play at the end. My hat is off to our kids. They came out and competed.”
The LCA defense came up with a big stop after Zachary received the second-half kickoff. After two incompletions, Masey Lewis sacked Holstein to force a three-and-out from the Zachary 18-yard line.
“That was huge coming out from halftime,” Faulk said. “We wanted to get a good kick. We got the touchback on the kickoff. Then we got the three-and-out to give ourselves a chance to flip the field.
“We ended up starting our drive at their 40-yard line. Masey was outstanding. Some of our young defensive linemen did a good job. For the most part, our cornerbacks did a good job of holding up.”
Zachary, which has won three Class 5A state titles in the past six years, was equally stingy on defense. The Broncos allowed only one first down until LCA’s last drive.
“We’ll get better,” Faulk said of his offense. “We’re still finding ourselves, finding our way. That’s why you want to scrimmage a team like St. Martinville and play a team like Zachary in the jamboree.
“That way, you don’t go into Week 1 with any false sense of self. You get the opportunity to see some areas where you need to improve, and then go to work.”
Faulk said he hopes to have his full roster available for the season opener at Westgate.
“We were without five or six starters tonight,” he said. “We’re cautiously optimistic about getting those guys back next week. We’re dealing with a little early season adversity. I’m really proud of the guys who stepped in and played larger roles tonight.
“This was a great preparation and a great test for Westgate next week. They’re similar to Zachary in that they have a lot of skilled and talented guys with a staff that does a really good job with them.”
