By GEORGE MAHL Sports Editor

LUTCHER – It was a battle between two defending state champions. The West St. John Rams, defending 2A state champions, and the Lutcher Bulldogs, defending 3A state champions. Both teams had good and bad moments, leaving both coaches pleased with the effort.

“I thought our kids played hard out there,” said West St. John Head Football Coach Laury Dupont. “I think we showed some character by scoring on three out of the last four series.” The Rams got on the board first on a 15-yard reverse play from Reynard Thomas. It did not take long for the Bulldogs to answer the Rams score. A long run by Jeffery Johnson around the left side tied the game 7-7.

Bulldogs quarterback Dustin Mitchell was on fire. His first big pass was a 40-yard completion to Johnson for a touchdown. On third and long, the Bulldogs got a big hit which forced a fumble. This led to another touchdown for Johnson. A 31-yard pass play from Mitchell to tight end Osmund Brown set things up for the Bulldogs.

An eight-yard run for a touchdown by Johnson gave the Bulldogs 21 unanswered points. Lutcher then converted on fourth and short when fullback Wayne Albert got a first down and then scored on a four-yard trap play.

At times, the West St. John second team offense looked better than the first team. Rams quarterback Juan Joseph made two key plays during the series. A beautiful over the shoulder pass from Joseph to Devonne Lumar set up a first and goal for the Rams. This was followed by a touchdown pass from Joseph to Daron Bartholomew .

With the Bulldogs second team offense on the field, Lutcher backup quarterback Cade Fontenot made two big throws. First, a 40-yard pass from Fontenot to Brodrick Albert later resulted in a 30-yard pass for a touchdown from Fontenot to Albert.

The Bulldogs opened up their lead during the last series for the second string offense.

A big run by sophomore Ory Roussel was followed by a first down run by Thorne Brown. The third straight run by Lutcher resulted in a score. A 20-yard run by Khymest Williams gave Lutcher a commanding lead.

Both teams brought their first team offense back on the field for a final series. Mitchell completed a pass for a first down to Johnson and then threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Juan Johnson. He completed both passes under a heavy pass rush.

The West St. John first team offense also scored a touchdown during their final series. A six-yard touchdown run by Initius Howard was the final touchdown scored.

However, both teams decided to each have four series starting at the 10-yard-line.

West St. John scored three out of four times, while the Bulldogs only scored once.

Both teams had respect for each other afterward.

“Let’s see each other in December again,” one Lutcher coach told the West St. John players.