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Students were selected by the student body to represent North Vermilion High School as members of the Homecoming Queen's Court. The Patriots will take on the Northside Vikings on Friday, September 26 at 7:00 p.m. The presentation of the homecoming court will be pregame beginning promptly at 5:30 p.m. with crowning taking place at halftime.

KAPLAN - The Kaplan Pirates ran for 362 yards en route to a 48-16 road victory over the North Vermilion Patriots at Ed Douglas Memorial Stadium on Friday.
The game was played in Kaplan because North Vermilion’s turf field was not yet ready.
The Pirates (2-1) scored 41 unanswered points to blow open a close game, doing most of the damage on the ground.  The three-headed monster emerging in the Kaplan backfield accounted for 341 yards and four touchdowns.
Junior De’Maurion Cormier led all rushers with 140 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, while sophomore Jayden Hargrave ran it seven times for 73 yards and a score. Freshman wide receiver Jeremy Roy carried it five times for 128 yards, including a 72-yard burst down the sideline for a touchdown.       
“We have some studs back there,” Kaplan head coach John Thompson said. “We have Cormier, then we change it up with Hargrave, and it doesn’t get better than number one (Roy) coming off the edge. As good as he’s been, he’s getting better.  He’s an unquestionable difference-maker on offense and defense.”  
North Vermilion (0-3) got the ball first, but Gannon Smith intercepted a pass on the Patriots’ first offensive play to set Kaplan up at the NV 23-yard-line. He finished with two interceptions in the game.  He’s also 12-of-13 on PATs this season, a rarity in Kaplan.
“It’s the culture that Coach JT (John Thompson) brought,” Smith said. He likes to kick the PAT, and he trusts me, so I do my job.  On the interceptions, I watch the quarterback and find the ball.”
Cormier took two carries to put Kaplan ahead.  His first run went for 15-yards. On his second carry, he scored from eight yards out. Smith booted the extra point to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead with 11:08 remaining in the opening quarter.
The NV-offense took over at their own nine-yard line, but poor field position didn’t matter. They ate nearly seven minutes off the clock before quarterback Eli Dubois kept it himself for a 10-yard touchdown run. Logan Blanchard split the uprights to make it 7-7 with 5:12 left in the first.
The Patriots forced Kaplan’s lone punt of the game before taking over at their own 32. Fullback Avery Stutes flipped the field on the Patriots’ first play, breaking free for a 46-yard gain down to the Kaplan 22-yard-line. After three plays gained one yard, Logan Blanchard kicked a 38-yard field goal to put NV ahead 10-7 with 40 seconds left in the first. 
The Pirates answered on the third play of their ensuing drive when Cormier broke through the line and raced 55 yards for the score.  Smith’s extra point made it 14-10 with 11:51 left in the half.
Kaplan added another score with 2:05 remaining in the half when quarterback Sabe David plunged in from three yards out.  The extra point was blocked, keeping it 20-10.
After forcing a quick three-and-out, the Pirates took over with less than a minute remaining on the clock.  On their second play, David connected with Taven Housend over the middle for a 37-yard touchdown pass.  Smith’s extra point made it 27-10 at the break.
“We had some things going offensively,” North Vermilion head coach Roderick Moy said. “We were moving the football, but then turnovers and inexperience got us. That’s been our Achilles heel.
“That’s how quickly a football game can swing.  Kaplan got going offensively. They found something they liked, and we couldn’t stop it. When we got the ball back, we didn’t take advantage of our opportunities.”
Kaplan made it 34-10 just over a minute into the second half when Roy took the handoff on the sweep and turned on the jets, scampering 72-yards for the touchdown with 10:53 left in the third.
Jayden Hargrave made it 41-10 when he plunged in for a four-yard touchdown run with 11:34 left in the game.  Karter Julien completed the scoring for Kaplan when he scooped up a fumble and returned it 20 yards for the score.  Matthiew Breaux added the extra point to make it 48-10 with 11:21 to go.
Jaiden Payne ran it in from 16 yards out for the Patriots with 1:02 left to provide the final margin.  He finished with 49 yards and a touchdown on two carries, while Stutes finished with 103 yards rushing on 11 carries.  Dubois finished with 57 yards rushing and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Dubois also completed three passes for 37 yards. Stutes caught two balls for 31 yards while Deagon Broussard caught one for six.
David added 12 yards and a touchdown on five carries to the Kaplan rushing attack. He also completed the one pass for a 37-yard touchdown to Housend.
The Patriots open District 4-4A play next week when the Northside Vikings come to Leroy. The game will be the first on the new turf field and will also be Homecoming.
“Northside is a very talented football team that will outsize us at every single position,” Moy said. “We’ll have to let our style of ball play itself out and take three or four yards at a time. If we do what we are supposed to do, it should be a competitive football game.”
Kaplan hosts a much-improved Breaux Bridge team. The Tigers defeated VC in week two, 28-27.
“They have some good things going over there,” Thompson said.  “They have a couple of beautiful receivers.  They have a hard-nosed running back, and they have a fullback who’s a load too. We’ll have to be at our best defensively.  Offensively, we’ll have to be ready for anything.”

YOUNGSVILLE  - The Abbeville Wildcats almost spoiled Ascension Episcopal’s homecoming on Friday. 
The Wildcats ran out of time and lost 39-34 in a shootout.
Abbeville racked up 485 yards, including 308 in the air.
AHS had a chance to win the game in the final 90 seconds, down by five points.
The Wildcats began what could have been the game-winning drive at midfield under the command of quarterback Dazavien Maze, who played most of the second half at quarterback.
Maze led AHS down to the Ascension 28-yard line with no time-outs and only two seconds left on the clock.
On the final play of the game, Maze tossed the ball in the left corner of the end zone, where Jacolby Campbell jumped up for the ball. The football hit his hands, but then an Ascension defender hit him at the same time, knocking the ball out of his hands.
Campbell remained on his knees for 15 minutes, trying to recover from the hit.
“We had to hurry and march down the field with no time outs,” said AHS head coach Joanthan Zenon. “With two seconds left, we had to take a chance at the end zone.”
Zenon declined to comment on a potential late hit on Campbell, instead choosing to commend his players for their improvement this week.
“Our guys paid more attention to details in practice this week, which helped us perform better,” said Zenon.
The Wildcats led from the first minute of the game until  late in the  end of the third period.
Abbeville went to the trick play book because on the first play from scrimmage, tailback Justin Montgomery took the handoff but then pitched it back to starting quarterback Kobe Vital. Vital launched it to Braylon Himel, who was sprinting down field. Himel caught at the 50-yard-line and outran the Ascension defenders. It was an 81 yard touchdown reception.
Twenty seconds into the game, Abbeville led 7-0 after Josh Clostio kicked the extra point.
Up 7-3 at the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats extended their lead to 14-3 on Vital’s 68-yard touchdown run and Clostio’s kick.
Abbeville led 21-3 with less than a minute to go in the first half, but Ascension scored with less than 30 seconds in the first half, to go into the locker room only down 21-9.
Abbeville (0-3) had outgained Ascension 332 yards to 180 yards in the first half.
“At the end of the half, we kind of slip and let them back in,” said Zenon. “We were to get back on the horse.”

The second half belonged to Ascension by scoring 21 straight points and taking a 32-28 lead at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Blue Gators’ lead was extended to 39-28 with 3:30 to play.
The Wildcats did not quit and battled back, marching 80 yards in just six plays. 
Maze played quarterback on the final drive. He connected with Campbell on three straight passes for a 17-yard gain.
 On third and seven from the Ascension 21, Maze found Campbell in the endzone, and just like that, Abbeville was back in the game, down 39-34.
The onside kick was unsuccessful, but the AHS defense stopped Ascension on four consecutive downs, forcing them to punt, and gave AHS the ball at midfield with 1:35 to play in the game.
Montgomery had 19 carries for 78 yards. Vital finished with 11 carries for 99 yards.
Receiving, Campbell had 11 catches for 99 yards.
Cameron Samuels had four for 71 yards and Chayson Gray had six catches for 45 yards.

The Abbeville Lady Wildcats showed glimpses of their capabilities in a four-set loss the Breaux Bridge Lady Tigers on Tuesday, 13-25, 25-21, 15-25, 18-25.
The Lady Cats (0-4) started slow, then rallied to win the second set in come-from-behind-fashion, before being unable to rally in the third and fourth sets. Head coach Madison Trahan said her team’s emotions got the best of them.
“I saw a lot of people get in their feelings when things started going bad,” Trahan said. “Then I also saw a really good team, at times. And then we got back in
Trahan feels learning to control their emotions is part of their development as volleyball players.
“That’s why I don’t take them out,” she continued. “We have to learn to play through it.”
Abbeville jumped out to a 9-6 lead to open the match. The Lady Tigers answered with an 11-1 run to take control of the set and cruise to a 12-point win.
Breaux Bridge appeared to be in firm control of the match, opening the second set on a 10-2 run. That’s when the Lady Cats came alive, going on an 8-1 run of their own to pull within two points. The two teams went toe-to-toe until Abbeville finally tied it up at 19. They then closed the set on a 6-2 run to square the match at 1-1.
Senior Gracie Armand was instrumental in the comeback. The defensive specialist hit the floor multiple times throughout the match. Her coach said she’s enjoying the fruit of her labor.
“Gracie’s been playing really well,” Trahan said. “She’s been putting in extra work outside of practice and it shows. Since I’ve been here, she’s always been a hard worker in all of her sports. It being her senior season, it’s nice to see it paying off.”
Abbeville opened the third set on a 4-0 run and led 7-2 before the Lady Tigers went on a 10-0 run to regain control. They closed the set on a 13-8 run to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The two teams played to an 8-8 draw in the final set before Breaux Bridge took control with an 8-1 run. The Lady Cats battled, getting as close as 17-21 before falling by seven.
The Lady Cats traveled to Westgate Wednesday before hosting Northside on Thursday.