Catholic Bears seek for third state title in four years

The moniker of the best football program in the state to never win a state title belonged to Catholic High of Baton Rouge up until recently.

After so many years of coming close, Catholic High broke through in 2015, winning the Division I state championship by shocking top-seed Archbishop Rummel 31-28, giving veteran coach Dale Weiner his long sought-after, elusive title.

The floodgates were open.

The Bears repeated as state champions in 2017, shocking John Curtis Christian 20-14 in the title game under first-year head coach Gabe Fertitta. Catholic accomplished this as a relatively young team offensively, perhaps a year ahead of schedule.

“It was pretty special to accomplish that right off the bat and to have Coach Weiner on the sideline when we won it was really neat,” Fertitta said. “Not a lot of people get their mentor next to them when they achieve success. We got better as last season went on with a very difficult schedule we had played. We had great senior leaders last year that helped us navigate the schedule.”

That bodes well for the Bears in 2018.

Catholic returns 10 starters, including seven on offense.

That includes senior Cameron Dartez (6-1, 185) to lead the offense.

Dartez completed 164-of-265 passes for 1,654 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 275 yards and two scores a year ago. He was the MVP in the state championship game a year ago.

“Cameron played hurt much of the season and he was tough,” Fertitta said. “I don’t think you can underestimate playing inside. In 2015, our quarterback set a record for passing yards in the title game and Cameron had a great game and was MVP last year. For the type of offense we run, playing inside is different and it is real and it benefits us.”

Junior L.C. Benjamin (6-1, 205) has great size and potential at running back. A year ago, he rushed 56 times for 256 yards and two touchdowns. The fullback is junior Charles Barhorst (5-11, 200).

“I don’t know when the last time was that Catholic High didn’t have a senior running back,” Fertitta said. “There is not a single senior in our running back meeting room. L.C. played some last year. He went through knee surgery in the offseason. Braelen Morgan is another player we are counting on to be productive.”

Dartez has three solid receivers to throw to.

Seniors wideouts Forrest Roy (6-0, 175) and Greg Martin (6-1, 190) are back.

Roy caught 29 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns while Martin had 18 catches for 200 yards a year ago. Senior tight end Brandon Hubicz (6-3, 230) caught 15 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns and is a physical blocker at the point of attack. The other wide receivers are senior Edward Francis (6-0, 260), juniors Tre Benson (5-10, 165), Noah Nash (5-10, 160) and Jalen Toaston (6-1, 170).

“We are really about our receivers,” Fertitta said. “We have a kid who was ineligible who transferred from Christian Life in Solomon Singleton who can play. There are a whole host of guys who can contribute. It is a position of strength for us and that is important in a spread offense. The unsung part of their contributions is their perimeter blocking, which is excellent.”

The best offensive lineman is senior tackle Truett Bankston (6-3, 280), who has an offer from Southeast Missouri State. Also returning up front are junior center Brian Hibbard (6-1, 225) and senior tackle Hunter Chauncy (6-2, 240). The new starters are junior guard Joseph Alexander (6-3, 290) while juniors Thomas Beale (5-10, 260) and Cole Miller (5-10, 240) are battling for the other guard spot.

“We have three starters back and a fourth who started a couple of games last year,” Fertitta said. “Bankston is very good. Chauncy is a solid player as well. Hibbard is a two-year starter and even started some as a freshman. That experience is very important. He is very athletic. Joe Alexander played some last year and he has great size. Connor Finucane could play some on offense as well.”

The concern for the Bears is on defense, where just three starters are back.

Up front, Catholic will be big and physical. Senior Elijah Reames (6-3, 240) is superb at one end spot and was an All-State performer last season while seniors John Landry (6-1, 210) and Reid Babin (6-0, 210) will see action at the other end spot. Talented junior tackle Connor Finucane (6-3, 275) returns as well while senior Diamante Rogers (6-4, 250) and sophomore Christian Mannino (6-2, 245) will see action at the other tackle position.

“Finucane was good as a sophomore and will be better,” Fertitta said. “Reames was great for us last year. The other spots will be by committee but we have size.”

The linebackers are all new, including seniors Landon Richard (5-10, 205) and Harper Massey (6-0, 195), along with juniors Hayden Shaheen (6-0, 210) and Patrick Delatte (6-0, 210).

“We lost all three starting linebackers and they were our captains a year ago,” Fertitta said. “This will be our biggest question mark. The guys we lost were really good players and were phenomenal leaders. Shaheen has size and ability. Delatte has potential and Richard is a senior. We also moved Massey from wide receiver to linebacker and we think he will provide leadership for us.”

In the secondary, senior Jonathan Mestayer (6-1, 180) returns to anchor things as a three-year starter and is joined at the safety spot by Evan Venable (5-10, 185). The corners are seniors Jonathan Mestayer (6-1, 180), Jaylen Armwood (6-1, 180) and Tywon MacDowell (6-2, 180).

“We return Mestayer but that is it in the secondary but it should be a strong point for us,” Fertitta said. “Jaylen Armwood and MacDowell are pretty new to football and learning the game. Tim Morgan and Patrick Mensah took them under their wings and showed them the ropes. The new guys really have good ability.”

The kicker is senior Matthew Goodson (5-8, 165) while the punter is senior Cole Cazenave (6-1, 175). Junior Braelen Morgan (5-7, 155) and Mestayer are the primary kick return men.

The schedule is, if you’ll pardon the pun, an absolute bear.

The Bears face two defending state champions and two other recent state champions, among others.

Catholic opens at Olympia Stadium against defending Class 5A state champion Zachary and follow that with a contest against defending Division II state champion University High.

Then comes another difficult game with a trip to 2016 Division II state titlist St. Thomas More before a return trip to Lafayette to battle always tough Teurlings Catholic.

“This is year two of the schedule,” Fertitta said. “When we made the schedule last year, Coach Weiner and I talked about it and we both felt it was the best thing for us. This is the truth with the way the playoffs are in Division I, it doesn’t matter how many games you win. We haven’t worried about it, never got a top seed and won two state titles. For us, the regular season is like one big giant preseason.”

District 5-5A play opens on Oct. 5 at Olympia Stadium against St. Amant with a game against McKinley to follow. The Bears head to Gonzales to battle East Ascension on Oct. 19 before hosting Dutchtown at Olympia. The season finale is Nov. 2 at Broadmoor.

“We lost two district games last year (St. Amant, East Ascension) and they are both good again, along with Dutchtown,” Fertitta said. “They are all well coached and are highly motivated to beat us. We take every game for what it is as just one game. It is all about one game at a time and getting ready for the playoffs. District titles are nice but not what they used to be, unfortunately.”

The offense should be ready to click immediately while the defense has potential but will have to come of age on the fly against a brutal early schedule. Catholic lost three games a year ago and won the state title, largely due to the competition the Bears faced. The competition is just as tough in 2018 and if the Bears prove to be as tough, it is not inconceivable to envision Catholic winning a third state championship in four seasons.

“This is a great group of coaches and players who have committed everything to a team concept,” Fertitta said. “In the two years we’ve won state titles, we haven’t had a single senior sign a college scholarship. I think that’s a huge testament to the blue collar hard work of our kids and how well our coaching staff prepares the team for each week.”

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