Trailblazers slip past Wolves, 17-14

LAKE CHARLES - With a comfortable 14-0 lead heading into the locker room Thursday evening, it looked like Rayne High would collect their first win of the 2018 football season.
But, the halftime break is what Lake Charles College Prep needed to re-group in the second half of play and pull out a 17-14 win over the Wolves.
“This was a miserable night,” stated Rayne High Head Coach Curt Ware following Thursday’s loss to the Trailblazers. “Plus, we just didn’t play well, had some injuries that showed in the way we played, and the weather -- what can you say about this.”
Mother Nature was not kind to football teams Thursday evening with rainy skies most of the evening, complete with a half-hour weather delay due to lightning during Wolves - Trailblazers contest.
“I think we had three turnovers tonight, which didn’t help us either,” Ware noted of the damaging penalties called against the Wolves during the most inopportune times of the ball game.”
“We had a few times when we were moving the ball, then a penalty or a turnover came,” Ware continued. “We just couldn’t get anything working in a rhythm, especially in the second half.”
From their own 20-yard line off the opening kickoff, the Wolves’ opening drive saw Zach Fontenot, John Daigle and Darian Richard chip away the yards with short gains for good scoring position. Following a Collin LaCombe pass attempt intercepted by the Blazers, possession was retained by Rayne with a pass interference call again LCCP getting Rayne to the 13-yard line and ready to score. Fontenot and Daigle set up a quarterback keeper for LaCombe to score for the Wolves. Morgan Manuel’s extra point was good and Rayne held a 7-0 lead as the first quarter clocked away.
Rayne’s second and final touchdown of the game came late in the second quarter on the heels of a fumble caused and recovered by Marlon Forman deep in LCCP’s territory. Five plays later, Darion Senegal punched in a touchdown from five yards out. Manuel’s extra point put the Wolves up 14-0 for the halftime break.
And that’s when Rayne’s game plan fell apart.
LCCP’s first score of the ballgame cam late in the third quarter, almost a replay of Rayne’s first score.
A solid hit by LCCP’s defense caused a fumble recovered by the Trailblazers near the 35-yard line. Three plays later, Orenthal Lewis ran in a 32-yard touchdown. The extra point saw LCCP close the scoring gap to 14-7 as the third quarter ended.
On their opening drive of the fourth quarter, the Trailblazers took advantage of a 42-yard run by Glenn Johnson and a couple of the Wolves’ 17 penalties, setting up a touchdown, knotting up the ballgame at 14-all with nine minutes remaining.
Following a fieldgoal attempt by the Wolves ending left of the uprights, the Trailblazers found the center of the uprights with a fieldgoal in the final seconds of the ball game for a 17-14 lead.
With only 39 seconds remaining on the clock, the Wolves attempted five passing plays, the last of which picked off as the clock wound down to zero and a Rayne loss.
Of Rayne’s 277 total offensive yards, Darion Senegal was the lone Wolf to break the century mark with 134 rushing yards on 12 carries by adding one of Rayne’s touchdowns.
John Daigle followed with 19 carries for 60 yards, Zach Fontenot with 17 yards on nine carries, and Darian Richard recorded nine yards on six carries.
Sophomore quarterback Collin LaCombe had four rushing yards and Rayne’s other touchdown on the night.
LaCombe also recorded 53 passing yards on six completions, but was hit with two interceptions by the Trailblazers.
Rayne receivers were Darian Richard (3-for-25 yards), Zach Richard (2-for-18 yards) and Colin Broussard (1-for-10 yards).
On the other side of the line, Jamarcus Monroe led the Rayne defensive stats with 5.5 tackles including three solos and five assists.
Wolves Tora Benoit, Ron Roberts, Dylan Istre and Marlon Forman each contributed 4.5 tackles.
Rayne’s Tyler Fontenot recorded an interception while teammate Tora Benoit collected a quarterback sack.
Christian Svendsen, a line leader for the Rayne offense on both sides, was out for Thursday’s game -- a key element for the Wolves. Ware is hoping he will return soon to get plays rolling.
“When you have a trickle effect with Chris out, you see the change, Ware noted. “Chris was out, didn’t start. Then his replacement starting cramping, forcing us to use our third deep. When you have new faces in there, you’re gonna have turnovers and your plays don’t run. That’s one of the many things we faced tonight.”
“The main thing we have to face is fundamental play,” Ware stated when wrapping up the evening. “Football games are hard to win, you have to play four quarters, not three and a half. Once we begin to play more consistent, I think we will see a better outcome for us.”
The Wolves will hit the road for the third time in as many weeks on Friday, Sept. 14, when they face Eunice High School at Bobcat Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m.