Notre Dame High School
2006 Football Season

THE POST-SIGNAL / Susette Brunson Photography
Notre Dame’s Joe Dave Petitjean (1) cuts the corner Thursday while Andrew Welter (59) comes in to pick up a block in the Pios’ 14-7 win over Teurlings. Petitjean rushes 29 times for 190 yards and a score in the contest.


Late drive lifts Pios past Rebels

CROWLEY – Notre Dame scored touchdowns at the end of each half to rally past Teurlings in the season opener for both teams. The game winner came with two minutes to play on a Joe Dave Petitjean four-yard run, lifting the Pioneers to a 14-7 win Thursday night at Donald Gardiner Stadium.
Petitjean gained 190 yards rushing on 29 carries to spark Notre Dame’s 384 yards of total offense. Quarterback Lane Anzalone added 157 yards through the air and the Pios offense kept the ball for nearly twice as many plays and minutes.
The game was expected to be an offensive shoot out. And for the most part it was. Except for the part about getting into the end zone.
"There was a lot of offense taken away from both teams," noted Pios coach Lewis Cook. "They had some nice plays wiped out. We had some nice plays wiped out. It’s unfortunate, I don’t think either team could get in a flow."
Those remarks were in response to untimely turnovers and costly penalties that at times made it seem like the best plays came with a yellow flag. Notre Dame was penalized 11 times for 116 yards, Teurlings claimed 15 for 118 yards.
But between the yellow decorations, there was some pretty good football played.
Teurlings got on the board first when Seth Pierret intercepted a Notre Dame pass at the Rebels 28 yard line and returned it to the Pios 48. Quarterback Taylor Dugas went to work from the shotgun scrambling for 10 yards and then finding Marshall Collins for a completion to the Pios 25.
Dugas then hit Greg McZeal for another first down at the twelve. After losing a yard and an incompletion, Dugas found Elliott Hebert on a third and eleven for a 13 yard scoring strike with 1:13 to play in the opening quarter.
Both teams mounted drives that were stalled by penalties. The Pios had two first down completions called back and the Rebels saw a field goal wiped away for a false start. The retry was wide and set the Pios up at their 20.
Taking over with 6:25 in the half, Notre Dame mounted a 20-play drive to paydirt that came with just 17 seconds on the clock. Petitjean carried seven times for 40 yards on the drive and quarterback Anzalone completed third and fourth down passes to move the chains.
On third and 12 at the Pios 46, Anzalone found Scott Hebert over the middle at the Rebels 40 for a first down. Petitjean kept the drive going four plays later by earning another first on fourth and one.
With fourth and ten at the Teurlings 30, Anzalone went over the middle to Rusty Leger on a quick post for 14 yards to the Teurlings 13. Four plays later Anzalone swept the left side and scampered into the end zone from six yards out. The extra point was mishandled and Teurlings kept a 7-6 lead at intermission.
Big play defense was the story in the third quarter. Cornerback Derek Melancon intercepted a Rebel pass at the Notre Dame 15 to halt a scoring threat.
After the Pios marched to midfield, Teurlings picked off a deflected pass and drove to the Pios’ 13-yard line. Notre Dame’s Chris Foreman stepped in front of a Dugas pass at the five to keep the Rebels out of the end zone.
But what the stat sheet doesn’t show is that those drives of 46 and 50 yards were gained on two big plays. In fact, the Pios defense had begun to show that second half control. The fourth quarter would again be theirs.
"They showed us a few new wrinkles that we weren’t prepared for," explained defensive coordinator Fred Menard. "That swing pass from the formation they were showing kind of caught us off guard. We weren’t able to make too many changes until halftime. But basically we just settled the linebackers down and kept them man on man with the back they were swinging out. And really the kids just stepped it up, put some pressure on their quarterback and didn’t give him time to throw. They learned with every series and they deserve all the credit."
Led by Greg Savoy, Ryan Champagne and Grant Besse, those linebackers were in on 19 tackles, a sack and broke up two passes.
In the fourth quarter Teurlings went three-and-out on consecutive possessions. The Rebels gained seven yards on the first and lost 16 on the crucial second series.
"They kept getting the ball back and we were just determined that we were going to go out on the field and take it back from them," observed defensive end Michael Casanova. "Our coaches made some changes at the half and we were able to pick it up a notch and get more pressure on their quarterback."
The defensive front led by John Graf, John Ohlenforst, Bryan Leger and Casanova, sacked Teurlings QB Dugas at the Rebel three to force a punt with 3:30 to play. The Pios set up at their 49 for the game winning drive.
Anzalone found Schmid on an out near the opponents sideline for 13 yards and a first at the Teurlings 38. The senior lefthander then looked right for Rusty Leger who turned up field on a crossing route for 21 yards and another first.
Anzalone scrambled left out of the pocket and turned the corner for 17 yards and a first and goal at the Rebels four. From there, Peitijean took the handoff and darted through a hole on the left side of the line untouched for the score with two minutes to play. Rusty Leger then took a reverse, breaking a tackle in the backfield and outracing defenders for the two-point conversion.
"It’s hard to keep your head up when you feel like everything is going against you," explained Coach Cook. "But our kids just kept making plays when we needed them. On offense to get the drive going before the half and get the drive at the end, they showed a lot of poise out there."

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