Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

VACHERIE — The St. James Wildcats began their season last night with an impressive 18-12 win over Vanderbilt Catholic.

The Wildcats’ standout, Shazz Preston, took the reins and put the first score of the night and the season on the board with a 65-yard punt return to make the score 7-0 early in the first half.

A forced fumble by Marquel Walker set up the Wildcats to capitalize on a field goal. The Wildcats would score again in the first half with a 45-yard field goal by Alec Mahler to make the score 10-0 with eight minutes left to the half.

It was no surprise that there were many big stops for the Wildcats, who dominated the first half with a 10-0 score. St. James’ powerful defense was determined not to let Vanderbilt score and succeeded with that plan well into the second half.

The Wildcat defense was fantastic in that they kept Vanderbilt from scoring. To add insult to injury, Daniel Jupiter made a 90-yard kick return, and an added two-point conversion put the score at 18-0 with five minutes left in the game.

Vanderbilt was finally able to score within the last minutes of the game, but by then the Wildcats had sealed the deal and the win was theirs. St James begins their season 1-0 with a final score of 18-12 over Vanderbilt.