Syrian Joseph wasted little time providing Acadiana a major spark Friday in his regular-season debut.
The senior running back found the end zone four times to help the Wreckin’ Rams (3-0) top rival Carencro, 41-27, for their sixth straight victory in the series and second-largest in the nine meetings the past six years.
Joseph’s two first-half runs, 37- and 48-yard explosions on Acadiana’s first and third possessions, set up his team up to play from ahead.
And when the Golden Bears (1-2) battled back and took a lead in the third quarter, he capped the Rams’ next drive with a 3-yard slice up the middle and then provided some distance with another 37-yard breakaway midway through the fourth quarter.
Joseph led the headlines with the game-breaking threat his return to health added to Acadiana’s already strong start to the season.
But he was far from alone — both in terms of the credit the offensive line deserves for paving huge running lanes and the critical plays by Rams in all three phases as Carencro continued to fight down to the wire.
Acadiana managed to hold the Bears’ promising first possession to just a 28-yard Matthew Latham field goal thanks to a combination of a defensive plays and a couple offensive miscues.
And junior quarterback Cohen DiBetta helped march his Rams right back down the field to stretch the early lead to 13-3 on a fourth-and-1 he kept 9 yards up the middle for the first rushing touchdown of his varsity career.
Senior kicker Joshua Marquez and senior linebacker Beckham Guidry handed the ball right back to the offense will a well-executed onside kick, and Joseph popped his 48-yarder to extend the margin to 19-3.
Acadiana would need every bit of that cushion as Carencro got going before half and into the third quarter.
The Golden Bears’ own junior quarterback, Carson Gurzi, halved the deficit with some fourth-down magic of his own on a pass to junior tight end Derace James Jr., followed by a two-point run by junior receiver Malachi Menard.
And Gurzi and James linked up again and again on the first possession after the break for an explosive play down the field and eventual touchdown to pull within 19-17.
An Acadiana option pitch got loose and was recovered by a whole sleuth of Bears pouncing on the fumble to set up the 33-yard go-ahead kick by Latham, 20-19.
The Rams answered with their march to Joseph’s 3-yard touchdown, followed by a two-point dive by fellow senior Dashun Lightfoot, the transfer from Franklin.
Senior three-phase speedster Gabriel Decuir made deep-ranging interception over his shoulder at the 8-yard line to snatch a Carencro shot downfield and return it back all the way to the 50 in the opening moments of the fourth quarter.
A couple plays later, Lightfoot broke a few tackles and a 45-yard touchdown to push the margin to 33-20.
Gurzi snuck a tight-window slant into senior multisport standout Dentrell Morrison in the end zone three minutes later to pull the Bears back within one-possession.
But an ensuing onside kick attempt was ruled to not have gone far enough before Latham’s recovery, and Joseph and Lightfoot got right back to work on their way to another touchdown and two-point conversion, respectively, to help seal the victory.
This article will be further updated…
