Bulldogs improve to 6-0 with easy district victory

Ascension Catholic took care of business on Friday night as they faced East Iberville in their District 6-1A opener. The Bulldogs dominated, winning the contest by a margin of 42-14.

Ascension Catholic came into the game a perfect 5-0. They had been running away from their opponents. Their five victories came by a combined score of 290-59.

Not much changed on Friday night. They came out and took control right from the start.

On the Bulldogs' opening possession, they drove 59 yards in six plays and got into the end zone with a four-yard touchdown pass from John Mire to Rodney Blanchard.

Their next touchdown came on a seven-yard touchdown run by Jai Williams to make it 14-0 after the first quarter.

The Tigers offered some resistance early on.

Down two scores, they responded with a nice 11-play, 60-yard drive midway through the second quarter. They then cut the lead in half with a 22-yard touchdown run by Mike Tripplet.

However, after that Tiger score, Ascension Catholic put its foot down.

The Bulldogs answered back with two touchdowns before the half. The first was a one-yard run by Jamar Barber. That was followed by a successful two-point try to make it 22-7.

Barber scored on another run before the half. This time, he broke loose for 44 yards to give Ascension Catholic a commanding 29-7 advantage at the break.

The Bulldog running game kept rolling in the second half.

Late in the third quarter, Williams added a 67-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 36-7.

Ascension Catholic finished their scoring though the air. Midway through the fourth, Blanchard hooked up with Tre' Medine for a 45-yard touchdown connection that put them ahead 42-7.

East Iberville added a late touchdown to make the score look a little more respectable.

The Bulldogs ended up scoring 42 and outscoring the Tigers by 28 points, despite their offense only being on the field for 35 plays. East Iberville ran 10 more plays, but they produced 135 fewer yards.

Ascension Catholic had 190 rushing yards on just 18 carries--resulting in an astounding 10.6 yard-per-carry average. Both Williams and Barber scored two touchdowns apiece.

The Bulldogs used a two-quarterback attack against the Tigers.

Mire was 2-5 for 20 yards and a score, while Blanchard completed five of 12 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.

As good as the offense was, the defense was even more impressive. They held East Iberville to just 10 first downs and 156 yards of total offense.

The Tigers were limited to just a 3.3 yard-per-carry average, and they could only muster 39 passing yards.

The win improved Ascension Catholic to a perfect 6-0 for the second straight season.

Prior to last year, a 6-0 start had only happened twice in school history. It was done way back in 1931 and again in 1968. The Bulldogs have now done it twice in the past two years.

Although, now Ascension Catholic readies itself for the biggest test of the 2018 season. They will go on the road to face 5-1 Southern Lab.

The third-ranked Kittens' one loss came against top-ranked and undefeated University of Class 3A.

Southern Lab beat four upper-classification schools prior to blowing out St. John, 69-19, on Friday night.

The Kittens have been a thorn in the Bulldogs' side over the years. They have never beaten Southern Lab since they became rivals in District 6-1A.

In last season's matchup in Donaldsonville, the Kittens won by a 30-8 margin.