GAME 10

CROWLEY HIGH SCHOOL
vs.
NOTRE DAME HIGH SCHOOL OF ACADIA PARISH

THE POST-SIGNAL / Petry Photography
Crowley High’s Mitchell Faulk hauls in a 7-yard touchdown pass from Kyron Benoit with under a minute to play in the Gents’ 30-21 victory over Notre Dame Friday. The win clinched the District 5-AAA title for the Gents who finished the regular season with an unblemished record of 10-0. Click here for more photos.

Gents top Pios to claim 5-AAA title
BY CHRIS QUEBEDEAUX
SPORTS EDITOR
  RAYNE – For years to come, Crowley High football fans will still be talking about “The Call.”
  That’s because the pass play Gents’ head coach Brent Indest called during a timeout Friday with his team trailing No. 2-ranked Notre Dame (21-17) and facing a fourth-and-four at the Pios’ 7 yard line with less than a minute to play was pure genius.
  Not only was it shockingly bold with the outcome of the game squarely on the line, it was also surprising even to the player it was designed to go to - tight end Mitchell Faulk.
  “When he called it at the timeout, I thought to myself ‘he’s got a lot of guts,’ ” said the 6-foot-6, 260-pound Faulk of the pass play Indest decided to roll the dice on, figuring the Pios would more likely be concentrating their main attention on some of the Gents’ more familiar skill players. “He told me the way we were going to run the play that I was going to be wide open and to just make sure I caught the ball.
  “All I was thinking was, ‘I better catch it.’”
  Just as Indest had predicted, Faulk was wide open.
  And when quarterback Kyron Benoit lofted a soft toss to him, the CHS tight end gathered it in for only his fifth reception of the season before Pio defenders could converge on him in the end zone.
  The improbable touchdown, along with Chad Cradeur’s PAT, gave the Gents to a 24-21 lead with 55.5 seconds to play, and when Jonathan Hamilton intercepted a Lane Anzalone pass and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown 27 seconds later, the Gents had themselves a dramatic 30-21 victory and with it, the outright championship of District 5-AAA.
  The victory, coming in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Wolves Stadium and a regional television audience of thousands more, also gave the Gents their first 10-0 regular-season finish since 1964 and is - thus far - the highlight of a fairy tale worst-to-first journey that began when Indest took over the program in 2004.
  The Gents were 0-10 and last-place finishers in 5-AAA in 2003.
  The win also gave the Gents’ the No. 2 seed in the upcoming state playoffs behind only the 9-1 Pios, who remained first in the power points rankings despite the loss.
  "You know, our system kind of got us to 9-0 because we felt that we kind of did a lot of good things,” said Indest. “But in a game like this, the system is not going to get it done - players have to get it done. Guys have to break tackles, they have to make that big play.   When we needed it, we stepped up and got it done.”
  And what about the game-winning play?
  “It was just one of those things (the play) that pops into your mind when you call a timeout,” Indest said of the play to Faulk. “I thought we would use a formation to kind of spread the defense out.”
  “You know, I’ve lived and died a lot of times by doing the unexpected. And I’ve died by it. But tonight we lived by doing it.”
  With wide receiver Chad Cradeur set wide to the left, wingback Cy Quebedeaux set wide to the right and running back Nikkita Savoy put into motion, the area Indest predicted would be open was, requiring Faulk to simply make the catch and hold on.
  He did, giving the Gents back the lead and setting off a thundering celebration by the more than 1,500 CHS fans in attendance.
  “It’s just an awesome feeling; it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” said Faulk.
  “You know, I always tell the kids that everybody always has to be prepared to step up and make a play in a big-time situation,” said Indest. “It’s one of those things where you trust a kid to make a play and Mitchell came through for us.”
  The play was set up when the Hamilton recovered a Pios fumble at the CHS 35 with 3:20 to play - ND’s third lost fumble of the game. Minutes earlier, the Pios' attempt at a 24-yard field goal was ruled wide left, that just moments after an ND touchdown was nullified by an illegal procedure penalty.
  “As much as the offense ended up being the hero of this, defensively, the stop to push them to a field goal attempt and to get the ball back was huge,” said Indest. “Defensively, it was bend, but don’t break and we didn’t break. I just can’t say enough about our defense stepping up when we needed them to.”
  From there, the Gents went the 65 yards in nine plays before Faulk's catch.
  “Mistakes, that’s what made the difference,” said Notre Dame coach Louis Cook after watching his squad commit five turnovers (three fumbles, two interceptions) in the game.  “Defensively, every time we would have a nice stop, get a little momentum, it seemed we would turn it right back over.”
  Notre Dame opened the scoring, going ahead 7-0 on a 3-yard run by Joe Dave Petitjean, who wound up rushing for 153 yards and all three ND touchdowns on 33 carries.
  The Gents answered on a 24-yard pass from Benoit to Nikkita Savoy, tying the game at 7-7.
Late in the second quarter, a 38-yard punt return by Quebedeaux gave CHS excellent field position at the ND 28 and the Gents didn't squander the opportunity.
  Six plays later, Cradeur booted a 26-yard field goal as time expired to give the Gents a 10-7 halftime lead.
  Notre Dame regained the lead (14-10 lead) early in the third quarter on 1-yard run by Petitjean and later, looked to be in control of the game as they marched down to the CHS 39.
But a Beau Desselle interception thwarted the drive and set the Gents up at the ND 48. Six plays later, Crowley regained the lead (17-14) with a 2-yard touchdown run by Jordan Landry (15-71-1).
  Notre Dame answered on its ensuing drive with a 10-yard scoring run by Petitjean with 2:23 left in the third quarter, setting the stage for a dramatic fourth quarter.
  “It’s just how it goes,” said Cook. “They made the plays. You’ve got to give them a lot of credit - they made the plays. They got it down there when they had to and they got it in the end zone. Good teams will do that. They capitalized on our mistakes and it gave them the win.”
  Both Crowley and Notre Dame will host first round playoff games with the Gents taking on Loranger Friday at Gardiner Memorial Stadium while the Pioneers will host Bolton in Rayne.
  “What we need to do with this win is carry it forward and use it as a catalyst for the playoffs,” said Indest of the victory. “You know, Notre Dame took that Week 10 loss last year and turned it into a finals appearance. That’s something that our kids have no clue about right now. As much as I would like to say it’s time for us to roll into the playoffs, the realization of it is that these guys have never been past the second round.
  "It’s going to test our focus, our character and our leadership to be able to sustain what we are doing for as many more weeks as possible.”

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