LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / November 18, 2000

HARVEY – Despite a fourth-quarter rally, the East St. John Wildcats fell to the ArchbishopShaw Eagles, 17-7, Friday in the midst of a chilly drizzle. Next weekend, Shaw (10-2) continues in quarterfinal play against Rummel. East St. John finishedat 8-3.

The Wildcats struggled against the muddy field, rain and cold in their loss, posting their first andonly score of the evening in the middle of the last quarter.

Darwin Pittman was at the helm all game, alternating between running backs Chuckie Burl andChad Henry for ball-carrying.

East St. John accepted the kickoff at its own 39-yard line following the runback by BrandonMason. Operating mostly on the back of Burl, the offensive drive ate up the clock and powereddown to the Shaw 11-yard line, where the drive sputtered.

One highlight of that drive was the 40-yard reception down the right side by Louis Gardner,which sparked hopes for the Wildcats.

Shaw took over on downs with 6:09 remaining to the first quarter, got stunned quickly by theWildcat defense, and coughed up the ball with a punt to their own 44-yard line. East St. John,despite the favorable field position, ended up punting to the Eagles at their 11-yard line.

This time, Shaw was not to be denied. Quarterback Terrence Anderson, who helmed the wholegame as well, led his troops in a scoring drive highlighted by the running of Brook Adams. Onehighlight of that drive was Adams’ breakout run from the Shaw 35 to the Wildcat 43, where onlyRoy Shepherd halted a touchdown run, being the last defender.

Two plays later, Adams swept left and picked up 19 yards to the 21-yard line. A personal foulcall on the Wildcats set up the score as Adams rumbled in from eight yards out.

The PAT kick by Jeremy Thibodeaux gave Shaw a 7-0 lead with 10:41 remaining to the first half.

The rest of the first half remained scoreless, as East St. John moved the ball from its own 35-yardline down to the Shaw 25-yard line. There, on third down, a deflected pass was intercepted byLance Gerard.

However, Shaw took over on downs, gained little and punted back to the Wildcats.

On the first play from scrimmage, though, Sammy Joseph picked off an East St. John pass at theShaw 38 and the Eagles retained possession for nearly the remainder of the period.

Shaw accepted the second half kickoff and launched its second scoring drive of the evening.

Adams and Carl Castille alternated on ball-carrying chores, ending with Adams reaching theWildcat 10-yard line. From there Jeremy Thibodeaux booted a field goal with 6:36 remaining in the third quarter, whichboosted the Eagles to a 10-0 lead.

East St. John’s next possession began at its own 21-yard line, but a 7-yard sack on Pittman hurtthe Wildcats’ efforts and they soon punted back to Shaw’s 40-yard line.

On the next play, Anderson swept right and powered down in a 39-yard sprint to the East St.John 1-yard line. From there, Anderson muscled in for the touchdown. Thibodeaux posted thePAT, and Shaw led 17-0 with 4:38 remaining in the third quarter.

East St. John struggled on its next possession and gained only 19 yards on their drive beforepunting to the Eagles’ 23-yard line with 1:40 left to the third quarter.

Shaw moved the ball 22 yard before punting back to the Wildcats, who launched their onlyscoring drive of the game.

The Wildcats began at their own 35 and Pittman bulleted passes to Raydel Patterson and toWade Walker to reach the 44-yard line. More passes, to Mervin Williams and Louis Gardner,continued to keep the drive alive, aided by a face-mask call on the Eagles. All this ended with a 1-yard push into the end zone by Chuckie Burl. The PAT was nailed byChance Blank, and the game was far from over, as Shaw led 17-7 with 6:45 remaining in the game.

A revitalized East St. John team held the Eagles on Shaw’s next possession to four yards, forcingthem to punt to the Wildcat 42-yard line with 4:16 remaining to the game. Six consecutive passesfollowed, with receptions by Burl, Mervin Williams and Gardner, which helped get the ball downto the Shaw 20-yard line.

Then, disaster struck the Wildcats with an end-zone pass intercepted by Chase Dardar with 2:34remaining to the game. Shaw proceeded to consume the clock, returning the ball in slow, time-eating plays until it finally had to punt. East St. John’s Brandon Mason carried on the puntreturn to end the game.

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