Belle Chasse bullies Higgins for 52-0 shutout

The Belle Chase Cardinals dominated in every phase of their game against Higgins on Friday night where the result was never in question

Belle Chase’s defense held Higgins offense to just 92 total yards and 3 first downs as the Cardinals dominated the line of scrimmage all night. Meanwhile, Twillie Lovett scored touchdowns rushing, receiving and defensively while Ralph Jones added 229 yards rushing and one score for an offense that put together 381 yards.

It all added up to a convincing 52-0 victory over the Higgins Hurricanes.

Belle Chase (3-0) set the tone early as they put up 309 of those yards in the first half. Jones himself had 150 of his rushing yards in just the first quarter. Higgins meanwhile managed just 2 yards and no first downs in the first half.

“We came out ready to play from the first play,” said Belle Chase head coach Stephen Meyers. “We needed to make improvements from last week and we did that.”

The starters made enough improvements to take most of the second half off as they were relieved late in the 3^rd quarter.

“It’s great to start off 3-0,” said Jones. “The offensive line, backs, defense, special teams all did what they had to do and we got it done.”

The Hurricanes (0-3) on the other hand couldn’t get much of anything going, managing just one possession in Belle Chase territory on the night. Through the first three games, Higgins has yet to score any points.

“I told my kids to keep fighting,” said head coach Frank Bush. “We’ve got the rest of the season ahead of us as we start district next week so all is not lost. We’ve just got to keep fighting.”

Belle Chase needed just two plays before Jones took off on a 57-yard touchdown run to get the first points of the game.

It was more of the same on the next possession as Jones had carries of 18 and 28 yards respectively before Ratray Gaines ran it in from 16 yards out.

After Jones’ 46 yard run put Belle Chase in position the next possession, it was Lovett who got his first touchdown on a 16-yard jet sweep give the Cardinals 21 points in the opening quarter.

Jones nearly had a 68 yard run in the second quarter before it was called back due to penalty. After briefly leaving the field due to an injury, backup quarterback Jordan Mariana found Lovett for a 65-yard touchdown.

The Cardinals needed just three plays on their next possession before Shawn Thompson scampered into the end zone from 8 yards out to get yet another score. Thompson added a 2-yard touchdown in the second half, the only points of the half for either team.

On Higgins’ ensuing possession, Lovett intercepted Chad Shepard’s throw and returned the ball 44 yards for a pick 6.

Kicker Tyler Furey made a 23-yard field goal as the first half expired to contribute. Furey also finished 8 for 8 on extra points, making Belle Chase’s victory truly an all-around win.