Kaplan Pirates expect to have to pass efficiently to get win vs. LaGrange

KAPLAN — An efficient offensive performance against Berwick helped push the Kaplan High football team to 2-0 on the season, but the Pirates face another big test this week at home when they host Class 4A LaGrange on Friday.
Kaplan’s home game against Berwick was cut short by the weather, but the Pirates still rolled up nearly 400 yards on offense in just over 2 1/2 quarters. The game was suspended with 6:55 remaining in the third quarter because of nearby lightning strikes.
After a delay of almost two hours, the game resumed, only to be stopped again by lightning with 3:55 to go in the third quarter. After several minutes, the game was canceled with Kaplan getting the 38-19 win, the score at the time of the cancelation.
“I’m glad we got to play what we got to play,” Kaplan coach Cory Brodie said. “The kids obviously want to play the full game. It’s not like baseball or basketball where you’ve got 30 of them (games). You like to get the most out of it.
“I thought we were very efficient in the time we got to play, especially offensively, so we’re going to take the win wherever you’re going to get it.”
Wingback Daylon Landry had a huge game for the Pirates, running for 233 yards and two TDs, one week after fullback Jed Devoltz ran for 231 yards and two touchdowns at North Vermilion.
It could have been an even bigger game, had the teams been allowed to play the full 48 minutes, Brodie said.
“I think if we can play another quarter and a half, we’ve got two pretty historic nights in Vermilion Parish,” Brodie said, noting that Vermilion Catholic quarterback Jonathan Dartez rushed for a school record 359 yards the next night against Ascension Episcopal. “That was pretty impressive. I definitely think for the parish we would have had two guys go over 300 (yards), so I think it would’ve been a good luck for everybody. But it just gives (Landry) something else to strive for. He had 16 carries, so it was just a very good average for him. As a kid you always want to play four quarters and get the most out of it, but for what he had, I’ll take it all day.”
Brodie said the Pirates also did a good job with the package they put in for tight end Carter Petry, utilizing him at quarterback.
“He had a touchdown rushing and he had two 2-point conversions, so just being able to put some more guys in there at different spots was huge for us,” Brodie said. “We’ve got five or six weapons on offense that can get the ball and do good things anytime they have the opportunity. Just being able to spread the wealth a little bit is good. I know Daylon had a lot of yards, but that was only on 16 carries. Jed had eight (rushes). Brayden (Bearb) had some carries. Just being able to spread the ball around a little bit was big for us.”
Devoltz was injured at the end of a long run and could miss three to five weeks, Brodie said.
The Pirates played pretty well on defense again, but were again bit by a couple of big plays, the coach said. Berwick had 172 total yards, but 30 came on a touchdown run by Namon Bennett and 45 came on a touchdown pass.
“It’s another week where when you look at the stats, we had 200 more yards than they did,” Brodie said. “We play really well when we don’t give up the big play. The first drive they had a long touchdown run, and then they had a long completion.
“We’ve given up four out of the five touchdowns (allowed in two weeks) on long plays. We’re harping on bending and not breaking on drives. Most of the time if they’ve got to grind it out, we’ve made the stops. Another week where we dominate the stat sheet, and we’ve just got to eliminate some big plays.”
Brodie said LaGrange is a very physical football team.
“I think their back is going to be the best back we play this year,” the coach said. “Their scores weren’t great in their favor, but like I told the kids, they played, including the jamboree, Sulphur, Barbe and Haughton — two 5A schools that are both over 1,500 kids, and three programs that are historically powerhouses. We’re just telling the kids that the scores and losses, we can’t expect to come out and not be ready to play, because of the schools they played. When you play schools like that, I feel you’re more physically ready to play a small 3A school (like Kaplan). We expect them to come out and be physical. I know they’re fast. I know their coach is trying to bring a lot of excitement to the program.”
The Gators’ tailback is big but has some speed.
“He’s a big, strong kid, but he’s got some speed to him, too,” Brodie said. “If we only get one guy on him every time, he’s going to break some big plays. We’re going to have to do a good job gang-tackling. We saw him last year, and he broke some big runs, so we know what to expect.”
LaGrange has some size on defense as well, Brodie said.
“Last year they put as many guys as possible in the box and tried to push us around, so we’re going to have to try to spread them out a little with some outside runs and a passing game,” he said. “Friday night we were about a half a foot, and another half a foot, from a completion, and then we got tackled at the 1, so we were that close to throwing for three touchdowns. That’s another deceiving stat. Sabe (David) was 3-for-9 with a touchdown, but André Marceaux was tackled at the one-inch line, and we were about a foot away from our tight end for another touchdown. Just being able to balance it up in the passing game is going to be big for us Friday. We’re super close. I think the more reps Sabe gets, being a sophomore, the better. We’re definitely going to have to be able to pass the ball to be successful Friday.”