By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

RESERVE — East St. John’s Xavier Lewis darted left, then right, then forward, then stopped before making another Rummel defender miss, showing all the gifts and athleticism that has made him an LSU commitment. But he gained just one yard.

It was that type of night for Lewis and the Wildcats — and ditto for the Raiders on Friday night, 39-0 winners over ESJ at Joe Keller Memorial Stadium.

“We’ve got to get better,” East St. John coach Phillip Banko said. “Give Rummel credit, man. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We didn’t extend drives, didn’t get first downs. They had a lot to do with that. But I know playing Rummel makes us a better team down the road.”

Rummel (1-0), last season’s Division I state champion, is considered a favorite to get back to the Superdome in 2014. If Friday’s game was any indication, Rummel may just be equipped to win it all again this time — last year’s clash with ESJ saw Rummel emerge with a 14-0 victory.

“I didn’t expect this kind of outcome at all, not with some of the weapons they have,” said Rummel coach Jay Roth. “We thought they’d put some points on the board. We didn’t play any preseason scrimmages … It’s been 245 days since we played a live opponent. I was very happy with the result, obviously.”

This time around, ESJ (0-1) found just as little room to maneuver, if not less. The Wildcats had mustered just 32 total yards before their final drive of the first half, which saw Lewis lead the Wildcats from their own 20 to the Rummel 31. But with 51 seconds left in the half, Michael Mosely intercepted Lewis to end the threat.

Rummel held ESJ to 132 total yards and forced four turnovers.

Offensively, Rummel attacked primarily via the run, but found its first score through the air: a 36-yard touchdown pass from Chase Fourcade to tailback Brandon Phillips with 8:56 left in the first quarter.

Rummel drove to the ESJ 13 on its next drive, but the Wildcats forced a fumble and Ahmani Martin recovered to give his team a lift. It was short-lived, though, as Rummel forced and recovered a Lewis fumble two plays later at the ESJ 36. Seven plays later, Fourcade scored on a two-yard sneak to make it 14-0 with 9:55 left in the first half.

ESJ stayed alive by forcing another Rummel mistake, this time on a breakaway run by Maurice Bailey. ESJ stripped Bailey just before crossing the goalline on a 25-yard run and Dontrell Allen recovered in the endzone for a touchback.

The score remained 14-0 at halftime, but Rummel began to close the door in the second half. Briston Guidry sacked Lewis in the endzone for a safety with 6:35 left in the third quarter to make it 16-0. Then the Raiders blocked an ESJ field goal attempt with 4:45 left in the third and returned it to the ESJ 29. Fourcade kept the ball and ran up the middle for a 19-yard score on what was called as a sneak play.

“I was looking for the first down and nobody tackled me,” Fourcade said. “I just kept my head down and kept going.”

Fourcade finished with 118 yards passing and three total touchdowns.

Rummel recorded a second safety on a high snap out of the endzone on an ESJ punt attempt. Bailey and Devin Hutton each added rushing scores to cap the Rummel scoring.

“We’ve got a very young defensive line, and we’ve got to make plays when they’re there,” Banko said. “On the other side, Rummel went to the Superdome and they’re ready to get there again. That team’s as good as it gets.”

Nigel Anderson led the Wildcats in rushing with 62 yards on 15 carries. Lewis completed five of 10 passes for 82 yards.