Peyton “Pop” Houston sliced between a pair of rushers, out-ran two other defenders and appeared destined for the end zone for a likely game-winning Evangel Christian touchdown in the final minute Thursday.
But Lafayette Christian safety Luke Green met the Eagles’ star quarterback with a jarring hit just shy of the goal line and help force the ball to start slipping just too loose for Houston to gather a final stretch.
Instead, the fumble took two low bounces into the arm of of a pouncing Davion Batiste for the Knights (8-1) to escape, 24-22, in the non-district thriller.
“We’re man-to-man, my receiver kind of goes out, but I see him shying away and I see the quarterback throwing hand motions, so I know he’s gonna try to scramble,” said Green, a Louisiana (Lafayette) commitment. “So as soon as I see him pass the line of scrimmage, I break off, see him kind of handling the ball funny and try to make a hit the best way I could … As soon as I hit him, I felt his body go backwards, and I seen the ball on the ground. And immediately my teammates jumped up on it.”
The play was so close even Batiste and Draylon August, who dove into Houston’s back to assist Green on the tackle, admitted they weren’t sure whether they’d won or lost as the game officials rushed to the spot and quickly conferred before signaling the touchback.
“I recovered, and the first thing I thought of was, ‘They’re gonna call it a touchdown,'” Batiste said. “I was just thinking everything bad, and I heard no whistles, and then I just heard my teammates say, ‘We got it! We got it! It’s our ball!’ And that’s when I realized we won the game.”
The final stand was just the punctuation on a night full of defensive highlights traded between the teams more often known for their high-flying and high-scoring offensive exploits.
Evangel Christian popped a quick jet sweep 50 yards to the house for a 7-0 lead on the third play from scrimmage as the LSU-committed Houston flipped the ball up to Louisiana Tech commitment Johnny Casey Jr., who cut past one defender and opened up his track speed.
But Lafayette Christian responded with three straight scores — not only clicking offensively early, but managing back-to-back stops to claim the early edge.
Quarterback Braylon Walker (Ragin’ Cajuns) torched his way 48 yards to the game-tying score, then — after a Jayden Arceneaux blocked punt and highlight-reel August catch — eventually found the end zone again on a fourth-down run from the 1-yard line on which he would not be denied.
The Knights stretched their lead to 21-7 early in the second quarter with another stop and a 4-yard dart from Walker to Jace Babineaux.
“We started out great,” coach Matt Standiford said. “We scored 21 points quick. We had a couple things we thought were really gonna work, but didn’t. Josh Alexander, their defensive coordinator, is actually the uncle of one of our players, so I thought it was kind of ironic. He did a really good job stopping some of the things. And we had drives where we just didn’t capitalize, and I think that’s more a credit to them.”
Evangel buckled down and kept Lafayette Christian out of the end zone the rest of the contest and even snatched a couple timely takeaways.
Houston slipped through the pass rush and busted a winding, 60-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter to trim the margin to 21-15 on a Damari Drake two-point run.
The Eagles then came up with a fourth-down stop before halftime and a Seth Collins interception in the opening minute of the third quarter to set up an 8-yard Drake touchdown run for the 22-21 lead on A.J. Robinson‘s extra-point.
Evangel appeared to have another fourth-down stop late in the third quarter before a flag for an illegal contact of a defenseless receiver extended the drive and set up Jude Fairchild‘s go-ahead 24-yard field goal.
“The fourth-and-28, we get the flag,” Standiford said. “We work kicking extra-points and field goals every day to end practice. Yesterday we actually ended with one about that same spot, and I don’t think it’s ironic that that’s how we ended up winning tonight.”
Each offense showed flashes of excitement the rest of the way, but the defenses ultimately held up — the Eagles ended a couple promising LCA opportunities to potentially extend its lead, and the Knights shutting down the final drive just shy of paydirt.
“Mitch Craft is the best defensive coordinator I’ve seen at this level in a long time, and I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some good ones,” Standiford said. “What he does on a consistent basis — I mean, heck, we see it every day in practice, and it makes us better. But what he did tonight was incredible. We held a team that’s averaging (55.5) points a game to 22, and the kids rally behind it.”
SCORING SUMMARY
FIRST QUARTER
10:56 — ECA — Johnny Casey Jr. 50-yard sweep and run from Peyton Houston (A.J. Robinson kick) — ECA 7-0
7:48 — LCA — Braylon Walker 48-yard run (Jude Fairchild kick) — LCA 7-7
3:41 — LCA — Braylon Walker 1-yard run (Jude Fairchild kick) — LCA 14-7
SECOND QUARTER
8:26 — LCA — Jace Babineaux 4-yard pass from Braylon Walker (Jude Fairchild kick) — LCA 21-7
5:08 — ECA — Peyton Houston 60-yard run (Damari Drake run) — LCA 21-15
THIRD QUARTER
7:06 — ECA — Damari Drake 8-yard run (A.J. Robinson kick) — ECA 22-21
2:11 — LCA — Jude Fairchild 24-yard field goal — LCA 24-22