St. Martinville, Erath: District title on the line

ST MARTINVILLE - It’s all on the line for Erath this Friday night as the Bobcats head out of town to take on the St. Martinville Senior High Tigers in a key District 6-3A contest.
Fresh off of a homecoming win over Loranger, the Bobcats step back into district play against the Tigers with first place in the district on the line and a chance to improve their playoff seeding and take a big step towards an outright district title, the first for the team since the 2005 season.
Erath (6-1, 1-0 district) needs the win to stay unbeaten and boost the power rankings to the top 8 and n line for two home playoff games.
“It’s been a while since we had a home playoff game in the first round,” EHS coach Eric LeBlanc said.
A Bobcat win moves EHS to 2-0 in the district with games left against Crowley and Abbeville.
Erath would be favored against a struggling Crowley squad, and a win over Abbeville gives the Bobcats the district title. Erath shared a district title with Kaplan and SMSH in 2019.
St. Martinville (5-2, 2-0) needs the win to move to 3-0 in the district and clinch no worse than a share of the title with one district game left against Crowley.
“It’s a big game,” Erath coach Eric LeBlanc said. “But we’re not treating this bigger than any other game that we’ve played this year.
“We’re taking everything one game at a time, and we’re practiced that way all week. We want to make sure that we are ready for this game, and then we’ll worry about the next game next week.”
Erath enters the game on a big win streak. After dropping the season opener to Loreauville, the Bobcats have run off six straight wins. During that streak, Erath has averaged just over 31 points per game, not scoring less than 28 points in a single game during that run.
“Our players have found their roles, and our coaches have been able to put them into spots where they can use their talents,” LeBlanc said.
Pulling the trigger for Erath is quarterback Lynkon Romero, who has thrown for 1,478 yards and 16 touchdowns and only six interceptions and is 12th among the statewide leaders in passing.
Coy Broussard is the leading receiver for the Bobcats with 28 catches for 318 yards, while Austin Hebert has 18 catches for 318 yards, Christian Hebert is 17 for 466 and Ethan Landry is 13 for 144.
Leading the way for SMSH is quarterback Tanner Harrison with running back Steven Blanco and receiver Harvey Broussard.
Harrison is the Tigers’ QB who can run and throw. Harrison has rushed for 541 yards on 64 carries and scored nine touchdowns. He’s completed 28 of 55 passes for 387 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions.
“Harrison is dangerous,” LeBlanc said. “We’re going to have to find a way to contain him, so he doesn’t hurt us with his running.”
Other Tiger threats are running back Steven Blanco (51 carries for 532 yards, nine TDs) and receivers Harvey Broussard (15 catches for 219 yards, one TD) and Cullen Charles (9-151, TD).
The Tigers’ offense has also been on a roll, having scored 20 or more points in five games, including 44 points last week in a win over Kaplan. The only times SMSH has been held under 20 points was a forfeit win over Breaux Bridge and 12 points the team scored in a loss to Carencro, a top 10 team in Class 4A.
“We have to play well in every game we play,” LeBlanc said. “But we’re going to have to play well Friday night to have a chance against them.”