J. EDMUND BARNES

EDGARD – After securing a 25-point lead and blanking the Memphis Blast in the first half Saturday, the St. John Parish Louisiana Hurricanes decided to give everyone on the team a chance to play. But the second and third teams ruined a chance for a second-straight shutout when a punt was misfielded in the fourth quarter and the Blast found themselves with the ball on the 10 yard line. The Hurricane’s defense held firm, and the Blast was limited to a 26-yard field goal. The kick by Phillip Gill was the only points scored by the Blast, and the game ended with a score of 25-3. Hurricanes quarterback Corey Buie had another excellent outing, going 6-14 for 188 yards and two touchdowns. The highlight of the evening for Buie was a two-play scoring drive that started with the Hurricane’s defense recovering a wild snap. Two plays later, Buie threw a bomb to wide receiver David Johnson, who went 76 yards for the touchdown. Johnson scored again in the first quarter, this time on a 38 yard pass from Buie. “The Corey Buie and David Johnson combination is one of the most lethal combinations in the league,” said Hurricanes head coach Joseph Riley Jr. Running back Darrin Jarreau also had an excellent evening, scoring a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter. The Hurricanes had 294 yards of total offense. By comparison, the Memphis Blast had only 46 yards – the Blast was 4 for 20 in the air with three interceptions. The Hurricanes had 11 first downs. The Blast had only six. The Hurricane defense took down the Blast’s quarterback six times. Last week against the Voodoo Dogs the Hurricanes got seven sacks. Daniel Beshrears had three sacks and two interceptions, while John Cheney had five tackles – four solos and one assisted, while bringing in three interceptions. The weak point of the Hurricanes’ game was in the special teams, specifically the kicking and extra point squads. The Hurricanes went 0 -2 for two-point conversions, and 1-2 in kicking extra points. The Hurricanes also had 19 penalties for 165 yards, mostly personal fouls, while the Blast was flagged for 11 penalties for 55 yards. Hurricanes general manager Keith Balin said the teams were hitting hard and the players were “a little too anxious.” Coach Riley said, “(Penalties are) expected early in the year, but not this bad. It’s something we’re going to have to work on. (The players were) just a little too over aggressive.” The Hurricanes play Saturday, this time against the South Arkansas Jaguars, at 7 p.m. “The defense will keep us in the game,” said Riley. “In practice we’ll work on the penalties. (The Jaguars) will be a bit tougher than the Blast.” According to Riley, between 200-300 people attended last Saturday’s game. “We’re hoping to have more this week,” Riley said.