Bullies on the block
The St. Amant Gators bullied around their first two opponents by a combined 103 points, and nothing changed Friday night.
They traveled to Baton Rouge to play 3A Glen Oaks and left the Panthers' new on-campus stadium with an emphatic 55-0 victory. The blowout spoiled what was only Glen Oaks' second true home game since 1974.
And the Gators did it just like they've done it all season: suffocating defense and a dominating rushing attack.
Head coach David Oliver wasn't happy with his team's execution right out of the gate, but he was surely pleased with the final product.
"I think we did a good job of executing our schemes offensively, defensively and in special teams," Oliver said. "I don't think we came out real sharp and didn't play with a lot of fire early, but we rebounded, and we were able to score and prevent them from scoring."
Even with starting quarterback Beau Nickel sitting out due to an injury, the offense supplied big play after big play with the line consistently opening huge holes.
Jamal Vaughn single-handedly gave St. Amant a 21-0 first-quarter lead as he scored the first three times he touched the ball. He started it off with a 28-yard gallop, followed it with a 74-yard score and ended the hat trick with a 30-yard touchdown scamper.
After Vaughn's blitzkrieg, Kirk Elisar and Trey Washington got into the mix.
Elisar added a 16-yard touchdown and Washington, fresh off of a 238-yard, four-touchdown performance against Lafayette, exploded for a 66-yard score.
After Evan Matheny scored from one yard out, the Gators secured a 41-0 halftime lead.
Late in the third quarter, backup quarterback Tyler Dixon went play-action and hit a wide-open Brent Graves for a 40-yard touchdown.
Fittingly, the Gator defense, which was so good all night, put one in the end zone to conclude St. Amant's scoring barrage.
Gabe Richards picked off Christian Walker and sprinted down the sideline 96 yards for a Gator touchdown.
It was the third time the St. Amant defense intercepted Walker in the game.
They simply made he and the Glen Oaks offense miserable from start to finish. They held Walker to just 10-34 passing, sacked him four times and held the Panthers to just 158 total yards.
"That quarterback was very elusive and hard to contain," Oliver said. "We have to do a better job catching the football back there and do a better job of containing guys and getting that pass rush but all in all, it was a pretty solid performance."
The offense wasn't too shabby either as they piled up 376 total yards—300 alone coming on the ground.
Vaughn led all rushers with 132 yards and three touchdowns on just the three carries while Washington racked up 107 yards and a score on just seven carries.
The win improves St. Amant to 3-0—a three-game stretch where they've outscored their opponents 171-13.
However, the easy days are over for the Gators. They have a huge non-district game and then, it's time to take on the stacked District 5-5A
It all starts with a big showdown this Friday night in The Pit against undefeated, twelfth-ranked Central. The Wildcats are fresh off of a 31-23 win over Catholic last week and touts one of the best offenses in the state. They're averaging 41 points a game and have chalked up over 1,000 yards of total offense throughout their last two games.
Oliver is excited about the challenge facing his No. 14 Gators.
"It's gonna be a heck of a game for us. We went to Central last year for their Homecoming, and we were able to come away with a victory," Oliver said. "Sid Edwards has taken back over, and I think it's going to be a heck of a battle between two very good football teams in The Pit Friday night."