Gators get back on track with easy win over Bucs

After suffering through two straight double-digit defeats, St. Amant was looking to regain some confidence. Enter Broadmoor.

Hosting the winless Buccaneers last Friday night, the Gators were proficient on offense and dominating on defense as they ran away with a 57-8 victory.

"I thought it was a good, solid team effort. We needed a win, and we got one," St. Amant head coach David Oliver said.

The Gators most certainly needed to get back in the win column after dropping two straight district matchups to archrival East Ascension and Catholic by a combined margin of 82-24, after getting off to a 6-0 start.

St. Amant didn't waste any time taking control of Broadmoor.

On their opening possession, they quickly drove 68 yards in six plays and got into the end zone when Hayden Mallory hit Briggs Bourgeois for a 10-yard score. They also converted a two-point try to go up 8-0.

After a Patrick Wolfe interception set the Gators up at the Buccaneer 4-yard line, Nathan Taylor took it in for the score to extend the lead to 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

To start the second, St. Amant drove 57 yards in seven plays and extended the advantage to 22-0 with a one-yard touchdown run by Mark Darby.

That's when the scores began to come in bunches for the Gators.

First, Mallory hit Bourgeois for a six-yard touchdown on a fade. Then, Taylor broke loose on a 23-yard score. Finally, to end the half, Taylor scored from one yard out after a Broadmoor fumble.

The scoring barrage gave St. Amant a commanding 43-0 lead at the break.

On the first play of the second half, the advantage went to 50-0 after Darby broke loose up the middle for a 65-yard touchdown run.

In the fourth quarter, the Gators added their final score, a one-yard touchdown run by Daniel Cummings.

The Gators went the whole game without having to punt. They out-gained Broadmoor, 319-87.

Mallory only had to throw the ball 10 times. He completed nine of those passes for 122 yards and two scores.

Both of those touchdowns went to Bourgeois as he corralled four balls for 59 yards.

Taylor led all rushers with 105 yards and three touchdowns on just 13 carries. Darby added 74 yards and two scores on four carries.

"There were very few mistakes, and the execution was good. We have to hope we can carry that over to next week against Dutchtown," Oliver said.

Their Friday night clash on the road against the Griffins will be quite the challenge.

Dutchtown has won four straight games and has just clinched a share of the district title with a 42-7 victory over Catholic--a team that beat St. Amant, 51-14.

The Griffins will also be looking for a little payback after the Gators beat them last year. It was the first time in school history St. Amant had defeated them.

Coach Oliver said that his team will have to play extremely well to come away with the victory.

"We have to play better than we've been playing. I think tonight is a step in the right direction," Oliver said. "We have to be able to run the ball better to protect our passing game, and we have to be a little more physical. We have to make big stops on third down to get our defense off of the field. If we do that, we feel like we can play with anybody. If we don't, we look kind of rough."