By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

LAPLACE – West St. John’s first team fell just a bit short of overcoming Lutcher’s in Thursday’s scrimmage, the Bulldogs scoring a late touchdown to outscore the Rams three touchdowns to two.
But the Rams found plenty to feel pretty good about. In an annual scrimmage series that had been long dominated by the now-Class 4A Bulldogs, it makes two straight years that West St. John has been extremely competitive with Lutcher, after losing two scores to one a season ago.
“I was pleased with our effort,” said Valdez. “You get a chance to scrimmage against a good team and see if your scheme is working for you. Lutcher is so well-coached, so no matter what, you’re getting some excellent work in. I thought both teams did.”
It was a bit of a track meet early on, sparked by a Rams trick play on the scrimmage’s very first down.
West St. John executed a flea-flicker off of reverse action, with quarterback Austin Howard connecting with receiver Laterence Mitchell for a 70-yard score.
“We ran a reverse pass. It got our blood flowing,” said Valdez. “It gave us a little bounce and a little excitement from the jump.”
Lutcher answered, with Destin Porter’s 58-yard run leading to a 2-yard touchdown run by Jontre Kirklin.
The Rams answered on a Howard scoring pass of 30 yards to Keith Miller. Lutcher tied things up, firing back with a Dondre Semien 1-yard run.
That’s how it would remain between the first teams until late in the scrimmage. The Rams faced a fourth and short from deep in their own territory, and Valdez elected to go for the first down. Lutcher forced a turnover on downs, stopping a WSJ run, and Semien scored on a 3-yard run to cap Lutcher’s ensuing drive, netting the Bulldogs the deciding points.
“It was getting to the end and I figured, hey, it’s a scrimmage, so lets see if we can get this instead of punting,” said Valdez. “We didn’t have another possession coming regardless of a punt.”
Valdez said he was pleased with his team’s offensive line play, something he called a pleasant surprise. The coach has called for that unit to pick up its work ethic throughout the spring and summer.
“It was good to see the consistency there,” said Valdez. “I thought the line did a nice job both in the running game and in pass protection.”
As for his quarterback, Howard picked up where he left off in another successful 7-on-7 series this summer, generating a few big plays off the bat.
“The guys he’s throwing to have played all summer, so they’ve developed something of a connection,” said Valdez. “He’s a senior who’s played in a lot of games. He knows what we’re trying to do with the no huddle and how to exploit opportunities in the defense.”