LAFAYETTE, LA – First Baptist Christian School came into Clark Field Thursday night looking for a different result in its rematch with John Paul the Great Academy — and for the opening minutes, the Eagles appeared ready to make it a battle.
FBCS took the opening lead, 6–0, after driving the field and scoring first. JPG Coach Richard credited the Eagles for coming out prepared and forcing his Guardians to make early adjustments.
“Nothing but respect for Coach Grayson,” Richard said. “He’s a good coach…. They came out with a good game plan. The first drive, they went right down the field and scored on us. We had to make some adjustments quick.”
Those adjustments changed the game.
JPG answered the Eagles’ opening touchdown and then took control, scoring 24 first-quarter points and building a 32–6 halftime advantage. The Guardians added 16 more in the third quarter before closing the scoring on a 43-yard interception return for a touchdown by Riley Lormand, producing the 54–6 final.
For FBCS, the promising start was complicated by injuries. Coach Grayson Standiford said the Eagles lost two defensive starters and were forced to put younger players on the field against JPG’s veer attack.
“We took the lead six nothing and had a lot of the momentum,” Standiford said. “The injuries happened and we lost two defensive starters and we just had to play some young kids that just weren’t ready to [face] that veer.”
Standiford said afterward that both injured players probably could have returned, but he elected to hold them out rather than risk further injury.
Guardians Find Their Rhythm
Once JPG settled into the game, its offense began producing points in bunches.
Quarterback Nick Odinet, continuing to fill in for injured senior quarterback Daniel Charpentier, directed an offense that scored 54 unanswered points after FBCS’s opening touchdown. Richard said Odinet’s performance has allowed the Guardians to continue operating their offense without having to significantly alter what they want to do.
“Nick’s doing a phenomenal job. I can’t say enough about him,” Richard said. “What a gift I’ve been given to put in the backup and not miss a beat.”
Lormand was again one of JPG’s most versatile weapons. Normally a linebacker and running back, he has been asked to play cornerback because Odinet’s increased offensive responsibilities have made it important to keep the quarterback fresh and allow coaches to communicate with him on the sideline.
Richard praised Lormand for accepting the assignment and succeeding at a position that is not his normal home.
“He’s versatile as can be, so we can kind of move him around,” Richard said, calling Lormand’s ability to cover receivers at corner “a testament to Riley.”
Lormand made that versatility particularly evident late in the game when he intercepted an FBCS pass and returned it 43 yards for the Guardians’ final touchdown.
Richard was also encouraged by the development of younger players who were pressed into duty on both the offensive and defensive lines. They weren’t perfect, he said, but they responded to coaching, made adjustments and began winning individual battles as the game progressed.
“Did they do their jobs to the best of their ability and show a ton of progress and a ton of promise moving forward? Yes,” Richard said. “And that’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
Eagles Keep Fighting
The final score didn’t erase several performances that Standiford believes FBCS can build upon.
He singled out seniors Nate Hill and Gavin Francis for their effort, saying both “played their hearts out.” Standiford estimated Hill finished with double-digit tackles.
He also praised Perry Matthews, who stepped into the backfield after spending time on the offensive line because of the Eagles’ lack of depth.
“Perry Matthews came in and played running back, and up until this week he had been playing some offensive line for us because we’re just so thin,” Standiford said. “But he came in, played running back and really ran the ball hard, so I was very pleased with him.”
The challenge against JPG, Standiford said, is the Guardians’ ability to punish virtually any missed assignment. Against some opponents, an offense or defense can survive one player failing to execute his responsibility on a particular snap. Against the Guardians, he said, the margin for error is much smaller.
“You have to line up defensively and tackle them every play, and when you don’t, they spring a big play and score,” Standiford said. “On offense, you’ve got to block them every play.”
“With John Paul the Great, all eight of your guys have to be focused on that play and accomplish the task, because that’s what they do.”
Two Teams Turn Their Attention Forward
For FBCS, there is little time to dwell on the loss.
The Eagles turn their attention to Mid-State in what Standiford described as an important game with playoff-seeding implications. FBCS defeated Mid-State 60–54 earlier this season despite committing approximately six turnovers. This time, Standiford wants to see an Eagles team that protects the football, gets healthy and responds to adversity.
“I want to see if we can bounce back from having high expectations to losing like we did,” Standiford said. “Bounce back, play a quality opponent, Senior Night, see if we can stay focused for that — which I think we will — and have our young guys continue to step up.”
With North Shore no longer playing, Standiford said FBCS does not plan to fill the resulting open date. Instead, the Eagles will use the time to practice, “fine tune what we do” and get healthy before postseason play.
JPG, meanwhile, enters its own unusual stretch before the playoffs. Richard said the Guardians have an open week and then will have to forfeit a scheduled game against Mid-State because it falls during the school’s pilgrimage week, when students will not be on campus.
That means Thursday night’s matchup at Clark Field represented more than another victory for the Guardians. It was an opportunity to see younger players respond, to watch Odinet continue growing into the quarterback role, and to sharpen a team preparing for postseason football.
For FBCS, the 54–6 score was difficult, but Standiford’s focus has already shifted from what happened at Clark Field to what happens next: getting healthy, eliminating mistakes and seeing how his team responds.
For both programs, the most important football of the season still lies ahead.
J. Chrisitan Lewis/AI assisted.