The Catholic-New Iberia Panthers scored 21 of their 24 first-half points off Newman turnovers, rolling to a 31-0 playoff victory over the Greenies on Friday night at Michael Lupin Field.
In a matchup of two high-powered offenses in Division III select, CHNI's defense set the tone in the game, forcing four turnovers and holding Newman to 181 total yards.
“Our coaches did a great job of getting our defense ready and coming out with a great game plan,” Panthers coach Matt Desormeaux said.
Second-seeded Newman hadn’t been shut out or scored fewer than 24 points in any game all season until Friday night. With key players out because of injury, especially along the offensive line, the Greenies struggled to keep?CHNI out of the Newman backfield much of the night.
“Injuries happen, and we put guys out there who had to battle. But if you can’t hold the other team up, this is what happens,” Newman coach Nelson Stewart said.
CHNI?quarterback Luke Landry completed 17 of 27 passes for 193 yards. Landry linked up with eight different receivers as the seventh-seeded Panthers racked up 293 total yards.
Landry’s top target was receiver Jaiden Mitchell, as the pair hooked up for a trio of touchdowns. Mitchell finished with six catches for 60 yards, with scoring grabs of 6, 8 and 9 yards.
“I knew they were keying me in for long passes, so I spent all week sharpening up my routes to prepare and it worked tonight,” Mitchell said.
Newman running back Jake Randle led the team in rushing with 82 yards on 22 carries, while quarterback Eli Friend rushed for 37 yards on 11 carries.
Friend’s night got off to a bumpy start as his second pass attempt on the first drive of the game was the first of four interceptions he threw on the night for the Princeton commitment, finishing with 57 yards on six completions.
“I think we played at the level that we’re supposed to be at as a defense, and I believe we can still get better,” said linebacker JD Hidalgo, who had one of the four interceptions.
Mitchell’s first touchdown catch came with 5:35 left to go in the opening quarter, and after getting the ball back a 28-yard field goal from Bennett Boudreaux made it 10-0 with 11:25 left in the second.
An 8-yard touchdown run by Izaac Andre and an 8-yard touchdown grab gave the Panthers a 24-0 lead heading into the halftime break.
With the ball to open the second half, Catholic went on an 11-play drive and finished it with Landry finding Mitchell from 9 yards out for the game’s final score to make it 31-0.
“The way our guys handled the trip this week is how we need to approach and prepare a potentially longer one next week, keeping the mentality that worked for us tonight,” Desormeaux said.