The Kaplan Pirates will rely on one of the area’s best and deepest rushing attacks when they host Erath on Thursday for the District 5-3A championship.
Kaplan benefited greatly from Jeremy “JJ” Roy’s running in last week’s 43-32 win at Abbeville for the Russo Trophy, as he rushed for over 200 yards on 11 carries with multiple touchdowns. Roy increased his season totals to 761 yards on only 60 carries with eight TDs.
“He is really shifty in the open field,” Pirates coach Vinnie Bullara said of the sophomore, who is averaging 12.7 yards per carry after the sensational performance in which he gained a substantial number of yards after contact.
“All year long, he’s made very good plays. You could see the caliber of athlete he is on Thursday. He had that extra oomph.”
Roy, who also plays defensive back and broke up a key Wildcats pass in the fourth quarter, said he had a talk with his head coach at halftime. Abbeville got nearly 140 yards and three passing TDs from Jacolby Campbell in the first half.
“He was frustrated and upset that we were losing,” said Bullara, whose team trailed 26-14 at the half. “I told him that if he stayed the course, things would be all right. He was a leader who made the most of his opportunities.”
The Pirates feature the area’s sixth-leading rusher in fullback De’Maurion Cormier (130-1,022 yards, 13 TDs). Mathiew Breaux is averaging 16.4 yards per carry with 361 yards on 22 carries. Quarterback Jayden Hargrave, who ran for 30 yards on two attempts with a touchdown last week, has rushed for 281 yards on 59 carries with six scores.
“Aiden Hargrave had one of his best games at linebacker,” Bullara said of Jayden’s twin brother’s outing on Thursday. “We’ve gotten Jacob Devoltz (LB) back from injury. Grant Saltzman and Kane Hebert were out with injury. We hope to get them back this week.”
Bullara is wary of Erath senior quarterback Landen DeRouen, who ranks fifth among area passers with 1,282 yards and 16 touchdowns. At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds, DeRouen runs like a fullback.
“He’s the straw that stirs their drink,” Bullara said. “He’s competitive. … Just a leader that can do anything. You think you have a sack, and he ends up running for 9 yards.”
The Pirates (7-2, 2-0) will turn to Roy on both sides of the ball against the Bobcats (5-4, 2-0).
“His physicality was seen with the burst on display,” Bullara said. “He’s a very physical runner who can make you miss or run over you. He wasn’t going to be denied. He put the team on his back.
“If he’s not making plays on offense, he’s making them on defense. You put him in coverage on a player, and he takes them out of the game.”
The Pirates are No. 7 in the Division III nonselect power ratings, while Erath is No. 18 in Division II nonselect.
#Jeremy #Roys #emergence #adding #extra #pop #Kaplans #attack #High #Schools
Source link
