By Pesky Hill

Special to L’Observateur

It must have been too chilly for quarterback Gavin Webster and wide receiver Jarvis Landry in the first quarter Friday night at Independence Stadium.

But when the two stars from Lutcher got warm, it was too much for Huntington to handle as the Bulldogs eliminated the Raiders 48-20 in the 4A quarterfinals.

Webster passed for four touchdowns and ran for two while amassing 221 yards through the air. Two of his scores went to Landry, who had seven receptions for 151 yards.

Lutcher, the defending state 3A champion that opened this season by waltzing past five 5A opponents, is now 13-0 while the Raiders finished its season at 7-6 under interim coach Anthony McClain.

“We started off playing well,” McClain said. “We almost stepped in front of that first one (touchdown). We never gave up. We gave them everything we had, but the momentum got away from us.”

Huntington actually led 12-7 after one quarter thanks to a ball control offense.

Quarterback Jacoby Moseley and running back Jarrett Fobbs took turns gashing the Bulldogs defense.

The Raiders marched 82 yards on 13 plays to take a 6-0 lead with the game’s opening possession. Fobbs went the final yard off right tackle with 5:59 left in the first quarter.

Lutcher responded on a 17-yard run by Webster and Austin Brack’s extra point made it 7-6 a short time later.

Huntington put together its second touchdown drive on the next possession with Moseley and Fobbs doing all the work again.

Moseley, who had 79 yards rushing, bulled his way in from the one for the Raiders’ 12-7 advantage.

But Lutcher took the lead for good on the first play of the second quarter when Webster found Landry on a 45-yard bomb. Webster’s two point conversion pass to Jeffrey Deslatte made it 15-12 with 11:51 to play before intermission.

“Every time we got it in the first half our offense did something with it,” Lutcher Coach Tim Detillier said. “All year we have been consistent on offense. The only way for teams to keep us down is to control the ball—which they did in the first quarter.”

Webster really cranked up the passing game the rest of the second quarter as he had scoring tosses of 11 yards to Dorian Semien and 18 yards to Trevor Englade.

That made it 29-12 at halftime.

Webster, who completed 14 of 23 with no interceptions, opened the third quarter by doing most of the work himself. He capped a 59-yard drive by going one yard for a 35-12 lead.

A 27-yard TD reception by Landry made it 42-12 with 2:36 left in the quarter, but the Raiders would not quit.

“We’ve battled all year and I was proud of the way we hung in there,” McClain said.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, Huntington’s other quarterback—Elliot Jones—hit Moseley on a streak route.

Moseley made the catch diving across the goal line. Fobbs, who had 70 yards rushing, punched in the two-point conversion to cut the margin to 42-20.

If the visitors from St. James Parish were starting to get antsy, then Daniel Taylor made them relax. Taylor streaked up the middle for a 27-yard touchdown and the final 48-20 advantage with 10:28 left in the game.

Taylor, a sophomore, was the game’s leading rusher with 122 yards on 11 attempts. Webster added 96 yards on 12 tries.

Jones completed 11 of 23 passes for 147 yards after relieving Moseley for the Raiders.