Country Day looks to make history Saturday against Catholic-New Iberia

Been there, done that.

For No. 6 Catholic of New Iberia, that is certainly the case.

The Panthers are the defending state champion in Division III and are one game away from defending that title in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Dec. 6.

Catholic also won a state title in 1962. It was 55 years between titles for the Panthers.

The Country Day Cajuns have never been there or done that.

The scene is set when the unbeaten (11-0) and No. 2 Cajuns host Catholic Saturday at 5 p.m. in a game that you can watch live at CrescentCitySports.com.

Country Day has scored 40 or more points eight times, including in its last five games, led by the superb play of quarterback Justin Ibieta. Country Day advanced with a 58-35 win over Ascension Episcopal in the quarterfinals, accounting for 402 yards and seven touchdowns passing and he rushed for 35 yards and an eighth touchdown in a magnificent performance.

A junior, Ibieta has completed 172-of-259 (66%) passes for 2,507 yards with 34 touchdowns and four interceptions. Despite being nearly 6-foot-five and 220 pounds, Ibieta is a fine runner as well. He has rushed 122 times for 880 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Cajuns head coach Joe Chango has worked in New Jersey and at De La Salle, St. Charles Catholic and with a state championship team at Jesuit previously. He holds Ibieta in the highest esteem.

“He is definitely the best quarterback I have ever had,” Chango said. “He’s in the top five of all of the players I have seen since I have been doing this for 20 something years. He gives us a chance to win every week against anybody. When he’s playing really well, we are a very good team. He is special.”

The Panthers (11-1) have whipped St. Thomas Aquinas 47-0 and previously unbeaten Dunham 35-7 to advance. Their Wing-T attack has been awesome to watch again this year, eclipsing 60 points in five games this season while scoring 42 or more points in their other five victories. The only loss was a shocking 49-0 loss at the hands of unbeaten and No. 1 Notre Dame on Sept. 21. Catholic has bounced back just fine from that defeat.

“They’re a very good team, they’ve been here before and they are very experienced in these situations,” Chango said. “That alone is a big factor in their favor.”

Country Day has signature wins over Amite (24-23), Newman (35-31) and St. Charles Catholic (11-10). Chango sees parallels between the Comets and the Panthers.

“They are a very similar type of team to St. Charles Catholic,” Chango said. “They play very good defense and they try to run the ball all over your face. We’ve seen guys like them before but I don’t know that we’ve seen anyone quite like them. We are going to have our hands full. They are a good, well coached football team.”

With Catholic’s propensity to score, it would be prudent for Country Day to win time of possession.

“Offensively, we need to make first downs and score and we don’t necessarily talk about how long it takes to score, how many plays,” Chango said. “If we take advantage of our offensive opportunities, we’ll be okay.”

This is just the second appearance ever in the semifinals for Country Day, having previously reached the round of four in 1983. To get where the Cajuns have never been, it will take the biggest win in program history.

“If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best,” Chango said. “To get to the Superdome would be huge for our entire community. Just where we are right now is big for our community, for our program. To able to get to take that next step, to get to that next level would be an awesome thing for everyone around here. We are looking forward to the challenge.”