ACHS bounces back with dominating win over White Castle

After a physically and emotionally-draining loss on the road to Southern Lab, the Ascension Catholic Bulldogs were back at home against White Castle on Friday night.

With a huge matchup against Kentwood looming, it could have been a classic trap game for the Bulldogs, but they never let it come to that. Ascension Catholic took complete control over White Castle from the very beginning.

They jumped out to a quick 19-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back. By the time the game ended, they had rolled to a 45-6 victory.

Ascension Catholic was able to secure this blowout win despite resting many of their top players. Running back Jai Williams, who had over 300 yards rushing the previous week against Southern Lab, was able to take the night off.

His running mate Jamar Barber only carried the ball four times.

The Bulldogs opened the scoring midway through the first quarter as they marched 56 yards in seven plays. Dorian Barber ran in from nine yards out to give them a 7-0 lead.

On White Castle's next possession, they fumbled the ball away, and Ascension Catholic recovered at their 5-yard line. Just one play later, quarterback Rodney Blanchard scored from five yards out to make it 13-0.

The Bulldog defense forced another turnover on White Castle's next possession. Safety Brock Acosta came up with an interception and returned it to the White Castle 8-yard line.

One play later, Blanchard connected with Alex Hebert for the score to give Ascension Catholic a 19-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

To begin the second, the Bulldogs put together a seven-play, 53-yard drive that culminated in a five-yard touchdown run by Blanchard to make it 26-0.

Not long afterward, White Castle went for a fourth down in their own territory and failed to convert. It gave Ascension Catholic the ball at the 39.

Six plays later, Blanchard connected with Tre' Medine for a 16-yard touchdown to make it 33-0.

Later, the Bulldogs put together a five-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a 20-yard touchdown run by John Broussard.

Finally, to end the half, Dorian Barber broke loose on a 34-yard score to give Ascension Catholic a dominating 45-0 lead at the break.

There was a running clock in the second half.

White Castle was able to avoid the shutout in the nick of time. With less than a minute left in the game, quarterback Unique Young hit Tahj Favorite for a 26-yard score to make it 45-6.

White Castle ran 11 more plays than Ascension Catholic but finished with 60 fewer yards. They were limited to just 241 yards overall. Just 79 of those yards came on the ground.

Dorian Barber was the leader on the ground for Ascension Catholic as he totaled 72 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries.

Blanchard accounted for four touchdowns.

With the 45 points, Ascension Catholic has now scored 396. That is the second-most points a Bulldog team has ever scored in a season, and they still have two more games to play.

They are just six points away from breaking the record set by the 1992 state championship team.

The 7-1 Bulldogs have another heavyweight battle coming their way.

They'll host top-ranked and undefeated Kentwood, who is fresh off of a 39-7 victory over St. John. Kentwood was the runner-up in Class 1A last season.

Last year's matchup went down to the wire. In sloppy conditions at home, the Kangaroos were able to come from behind and defeat the Bulldogs in a defensive slugfest, 13-7.

Ascension Catholic has not beaten Kentwood since the two teams began playing in the same district in 2015.