Catholic controls fourth quarter to down Rummel, 28-16

BATON ROUGE – Catholic scored on its first two possessions Saturday afternoon and held Archbishop Rummel scoreless as the third-seeded Bears defeated the 18th-seeded Raiders 28-16 in the LSHAA Select Division I semifinals at Memorial Stadium.

The game was a continuation of the contest which was suspended at the end of the third quarter Friday night, due to lightning and a very bad weather forecast.

When the game was suspended, the two teams were even on the scoreboard and separated by one total yard.

When the game continued, the scales tipped heavily in one direction.

Catholic handled the delay in excellent fashion, after Rummel had tied the game, had momentum and had the ball when play was halted Friday night.

When play resumed Saturday, Rummel played a second-and-eight from its own 33-yard line and proceeded to go two-and out.

The Bears got the ball at their own 33-yard line and took the lead for good, driving 67 yards in nine plays to take the lead.

The drive was sustained by two big fourth down conversions.

First, Catholic converted a fourth-and-two at the Rummel 48-yard line as running back Barry Remo hit Colin Coates with a jump pass for 11 yards and a first down.

Then, on fourth-and-seven at the Rummel 35-yard line, Daniel Beale went deep to Brooks Wright in the end zone. Wright was tightly covered by Lennis Finister but went up over the defender, made an excellent catch and the Bears took a 21-14 lead with 6:50 to play in the game.

Rummel battled back, driving to the Catholic 31-yard line. Buggage went deep for Kendrick Joseph, who laid out and appeared at first to make a great catch but after a slow decision, the pass was ruled incomplete, though Joseph and Rummel coach Nick Monica hotly contested the call.

BIG call in the 4th quarter of the @RummelFootball1 and @CurDogFootball semi-final game. This could have tied the game at 21 but it was ruled an incompletion. Catholic would go on to win 28-16. @WGNOtv @WGNOsports @FNFwgno @CatholicLeague_ @ArchRUMMEL

What do you think? pic.twitter.com/P1kuJ96cZK

— Richie Mills (@richiemills) December 2, 2023

The Bears then distanced themselves, driving 69 yards in five plays with Beale taking it right up the middle and raced untouched, 46 yards for a score to make it 28-14 with 2:34 to play in the game.

Wright then made a big play defensively, intercepting a deep ball thrown by Generald Buggage.

Four plays later, Catholic took an intentional safety to make it 28-16 with 45 seconds remaining.

The Raiders reached the Catholic 3-yard line on a 33-yard completion from Buggage to Ruben Ramirez but time ran out before Rummel could attempt to score.

Beale, a University of Louisiana commit, was outstanding, completing 15-of-19 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown and he rushed 10 times for 106 yards and two scores. Wright had three catches for 57 yards and a touchdown.

Barry Remo II rushed 18 times for 86 yards and a touchdown.

Buggage finished 14-of-28 for 183 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions and he rushed nine times for 51 yards. Jaidyn Martin had 17 carries for 86 yards and Joseph had seven catches for 126 yards and a touchdown.

The win was the fifth in the last six meetings for the Bears over the Raiders, all in the playoffs.

Catholic (11-2) advances to the Select Division I state championship game Friday night at 7 p.m. against eighth-seed Acadiana.

The Wreckin’ Rams (11-2) downed Karr 30-24 Friday night.

Acadiana will be in search of a seventh state title, with all six coming in this century.

Catholic is looking for its third official state championship and first since 2021.

FINAL
Catholic 7 7 0 14 — 28
Rummel 3 3 8 2 — 16

Scoring:

Scoring:
1st Qtr.
RUM—Chris Wallace, 27-yard field goal
CATH—Daniel Beale, 49-yard run (Tanner Forbes kick)

2nd Qtr.
CATH—Barry Remo, 1 yard run (Tanner Forbes kick)
RUM—Chris Wallace, 19-yard field goal

3rd Qtr.
RUM-Kendrick Joseph, 13-yard pass from Generald Buggage (Chris Wallace pass from Generald Buggage)

4th Qtr.
CATH—Brooks Wright, 35-yard pass from Daniel Beale (Tanner Forbes kick)
CATH—Daniel Beale, 45-yard run (Tanner Forbes kick)
RUM—Safety (Beale tackled in end zone)

First Downs:
RUM 19
CATH 16

Turnovers:
RUM 2
CATH 0

Sacks:
RUM 0
CATH 1

Penalties:
RUM 9 for 33 yards
CATH 9 for 66 yards

Rushing:
RUM 145 yards
CATH 219 yards

Passing:
RUM 187
CATH 158

Total Yards:
RUM 332
CATH 377

Individual Rushing:
CATH—Barry Remo II 18 carries for 86 yards and 1 touchdown, Daniel Beale 10 carries for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns, Rylan Parker 2 carries for 12 yards, Jeremy Fisher 5 carries for 11 yards, Bradley Wright 1 carry for 3 yards, Cohen LeBlanc 1 carry for 1 yard

RUM—Jaidyn Martin 17 carries for 86 yards, Generald Buggage 9 carries for 51 yards, Coryan Hawkins 2 carries for 8 yards

Individual Passing:
CATH—Daniel Beale 15-of-19 for 147 yards and 1 touchdown, Barry Remo II 1-of-1 for 11 yards

RUM—Generald Buggage 14-of-28 for 183 yards and 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, Jaidyn Martin 1-of-1 for 4 yards

Individual Receiving:
CATH—Brooks Wright 3 catches for 57 yards and 1 touchdown, Bradley Wright 5 catches for 37 yards, Cohen LeBlanc 2 catches for 25 yards, Colin Coates 1 catch for 11 yards, Amari Clayton 1 catch for 10 yards, Hunter Ullrich 1 catch for 8 yards, Rylen Parker 1 catch for 4 yards, Barry Remo II 1 catch for 0 yards

RUM—Kendrick Joseph 7 catches for 126 yards and 1 touchdown, Ruben Ramirez 4 catches for 46 yards, Chris Wallace 1 catch for 5 yards, Generald Buggage 1 catch for 4 yards, Jaidyn Martin 1 catch for 2 yards