Church Point’s historical run ends in semifinals

The Church Point Bears ran into a buzz saw Friday in their Class 3A semifinal contest.
That buzz saw - Class 3A’s top-ranked Sterlington Panthers.
The Panthers completely stymied Church Point’s high-scoring offense and stung the Bears’ history-making defense for points in every quarter en route to a 38-0 victory.
The victory punched a ticket to the state finals for the Panthers, who will take on district rival and No. 7 seed Union Parish at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on the turf of the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Union Parish shocked No. 3 St. Martinville on Friday in the other Class 3A semifinal, defeating the Tigers 45-26.
No. 5-seeded Church Point finished it’s historical season with an overall record of 13-1.
“They (Sterlington) started really fast on offense,” said CPHS coach John Craig Arceneaux, whose team fell behind 14-0 just five minutes into the game. “ We had a chance to make a couple plays offensively early to try and get ourselves back into the game and we weren’t able to make those plays. It just kind of got away from us really fast.”
The Bears mustered just 91 total yards and five first downs in the first half. Overall, they tallied just 178 total yards and 11 first downs.
“We just couldn’t get a rhythm going on offense,” said Arceneaux. “We pressed a little bit and it seemed like every time we had a chance to pop something, someone was there to take us to the ground.
“We just couldn’t make that one guy miss and then we turned it over a few times. The game just got away from us really fast.”
Sterlington, on the other hand, had little to no trouble settling in offensively.
After an incompletion on the first offensive play of the game, J’Keldric Miller popped an eight-yard run and the Panthers got an extra 15 yards on a CPHS unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Miller ran for 18 yards one play later and then hit pay dirt from 15 yards out for the first score of the game. Jacob Green’s extra point was true and the Panthers took a 7-0 advantage with 11:11 left in the opening frame.
The Bears gained one first down on their first offensive possession and were forced to punt.
The Panthers took over at their own 16-yard line and after a short completion to John Barr, Sterlington quarterback Dylan Underwood hit him again streaking over the middle for a 77-yard scoring strike. Jacob Green’s PAT was true again and with just over seven minutes remaining, the Panthers took a 14-0 advantage.
The Bears offensive struggles continued on their ensuing possession when they went three-and-out.
Once again, the Panthers made the Bears pay.
The Panthers marched down the field on runs by Miller and Bryce Lark before settling for a 37-yard field goal by Green to take a 17-0 advantage.
Trying to climb back into the game, the Bears had their best offensive series of the half on their next possession.
Tylon Citizen popped a few nice runs and quarterback Chandler Guillory connected with Holden Daigle for a 6-yard gain to keep the chains moving.
Jaden Reese added five more yards on two carries, but on third and long, the Bears were hit with another 15-yard penalty and were forced to punt.
The Panthers got another free 15 yards on a face mask penalty to begin their next drive early in the second quarter and seven plays later, Lark found the end zone from 12 yards out for a 24-0 lead.
The Bears attempted to answer with a promising drive that saw them reach the Sterlington red zone for the first time on the night, but on fourth-and-five, Citizen was stopped two yards shy of the first down, giving the Panthers the ball back.
The Panthers ran the final 1:34 off the clock and attempted a 46-yard field goal as time expired in the half, but the kick was wide right.
The Bears mounted a 10-play drive to start the second half and reached the SHS 25-yard line. But on fourth-and-eight, Andy Briceno’s pass intended for Citizen was intercepted by Charlie Robinson to thwart the potential scoring threat.
The Panthers took over at the Church Point 42-yard line and needed just five plays to hit pay dirt again. Lark capped the drive with a 16-yard run. Once again the extra point was good and the lead ballooned to 31-0 with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bears picked up a pair of first downs on their next offensive series, but a pair of false start penalties set them back behind the chains and they were forced to punt yet again.
The Panthers mounted another long drive on the legs of Trammell Colvin, who carried 11 times before scoring on a two-yard run with 3:51 left in the fourth quarter.
The Bears’ final chance to avoid a shutout was thwarted when Briceno was intercepted again.
The Panthers ran the final 3:51 off the clock from there to preserve the victory.
In all, the Panthers ran 46 offensive plays and had 393 yards of total offense to go along with 20 first downs.
“We just weren’t able to get anybody on the dive,” said Arceneaux. “They were doubling us and getting a push and we were getting cut off. Then when we would get there, the quarterback did a good job of pulling.
“They came out and executed and they did what they needed to do to win tonight.
“We just couldn’t make a play when we needed to on either side of the football tonight and we lost to a really good football team.”
Lark was the leader for the Panthers’ ground attack with 153 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Colvin added 89 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and Miller had four rushes for 60 yards and a score.
Barr was the leading receiver with three catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Citizen paced the Bears with 21 carries for 99 yards and Briceno posted 35 yards on seven carries.
Guillory completed two passes for 21 yards. He hit Kainen LeJeune once for 15 yards and Daigle once for six.
While the loss stung, the accomplishments made by the Bears during the 2021 season were memorable.
“We have a lot to be proud about,” said Arceneaux. “There’s people who thought this program could never be where it is now, you know, the expectations of trying to make it and play for a state championship.
“There were times where the expectations were: could you just compete for a district championship? So, we’re just going to continue to work and continue to try and move the program forward. It just wasn’t our night tonight.”
Arceneaux was quick to also point out how proud he was of his senior class.
“This senior class has accomplished a lot,” said Arceneaux. “They’ve moved the program forward, what we ask each class to try and do, and they are going to walk out with the most wins as a class, three district championships and two undefeated regular seasons. They’re walking out with a 13-win season, which has never been done, so they’ve accomplished a lot.
“Unfortunately, tonight, we just came up short of accomplishing our goal of playing for a state championship.”