Holy Cross dominates rival Chalmette, 35-7

It was the 49^th meeting between Chalmette and Holy Cross, rivals who were once separated by the Orleans-St. Bernard parish line.

Chalmette, a 23-21 winner in a thriller last year in this series, has not won back to back games against Holy Cross since 1991 and 1992.

The Owls didn’t do it again in 2018.

Holy Cross cruised to a 35-7 victory at Chalmette’s Bobby Nuss Stadium on Friday night.

It only took three plays on the first drive for the visiting Tigers to score via an eight-yard run by Celven Hulbert, who tallied a team-high 12 carries for 103 yards and the touchdown. Holy Cross finished with 232 rushing yards on the game.

“It was an amazing first half. I thank the lineman very much and the receivers made some blocks. We played hard in the first half and went through with the game plan and got our results,” said Hulbert.

Junior quarterback Bryan Broussard completed 8-of-16 for 62 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also rans two times for 16 yards.

The Tigers were excellent on defense, allowing the only Chalmette score late in the contest.

“Adam Giglio has done a phenomenal job of preparing our defense all year.”, said Holy Cross head coach Guy LeCompte. “The kids are doing everything he’s asked and they’re playing really hard. I’m real proud of our defense right now.”

Chalmette was limited to 133 total yards of offense and just seven passing yards in the game. Quarterback Joshua Taylor was held to 2-of-7 passing for seven yards and 18 rushes for just 36 yards.

Tigers linebacker Tyler Grubbs was very active in the game, recovering a fumble and bringing pressure all night. Defensive back Dru Stephens also had an interception in the game.

“We knew he could run a lot and that once they established the run game then they might try to hit us in the air,” said Grubbs. “We really preached to our safeties and our corners to look at run, but always be prepared for the pass because it got us last year.”

Penalties and turnovers were apparent throughout the contest. Holy Cross racked up 10 penalties for 86 yards and Chalmette had 6 penalties for 59 yards. The two teams combined for seven turnovers, four for Chalmette and three for Holy Cross (3-0) .

“We made three major mistakes in the game,” Chalmette head coach Jason Tucker noted. “On kick return we muffed it, fumbled it and they get a touchdown. On the punt we called punt save, but our kid roughed the punter. And then we had an interception where we threw it right to the lineman. Besides, I think my kids fought hard all the way to the end. We’re gonna continue working hard on special teams and get that stuff right and move forward from there.”

After Holy Cross took the early 7-0 lead in the first quarter, Chalmette was penalized for making contact with the punter, giving the Tigers a first down in red zone territory.

Following the penalty, Broussard connected with wide receiver Alondre Wells for a 16-yard touchdown, making it 14-0 lead with 57 seconds left in the first quarter.

Things got worse for the Owls on the very next play. Chalmette (1-2) dropped the ball on the kick return, and Colby Brown was there to recover it in the end zone for another Holy Cross touchdown.

The second quarter featured a pair of interceptions, one by Chalmette’s Donte Brady and the other by Holy Cross defensive lineman Josh Guillory on Chalmette’s 33-yard line. The Tigers capitalized on the short field for another touchdown on a three-yard catch by wideout Jalen Johnson.

The score was 28-0 at the half.

Broussard hooked up with wideout Tyler Kirkwood for a six-yard touchdown to cap a four-play, 61-yard drive.

Chalmette kept fighting, avoiding the shutout in the fourth quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Brendan Hoorman. The play was set up by Sean Herbert’s fumble recovery near the goalline.

The Tigers did have a few injured players in the game.

“Seeing some players go down and some new players come in and make some plays that’s very positive. I like to see that. I think three guys on defense (were injured), but I think they’ll be good,” said Grubbs.

Holy Cross will face Archbishop Shaw next Friday in Marrero. Chalmette will stay at home against Grace King.

FINAL
Holy Cross 21 7 7 0 — 35
Chalmette 0 0 0 7 — 7

Scoring
1st Qtr.
HC- Celven Hulbert, 8 yard run (Nolan Heitmeier kick) 7-0 @ 9:53-1st
HC- Alondre Wells, 16 yard catch (Nolan Heitmeier kick) 14-0 @ 0:57-1st
HC- Colby Brown, fumble recovery in end zone (Nolan Heitmeier kick) 21-0 @ 0:52-1st

2nd Qtr.
HC- Jalen Johnson, 6 yard catch (Nolan Heitmeier kick) 28-0 @ 0:07-2nd

3rd Qtr.
HC- Tyler Kirkwood, 6 yard catch (Nolan Heitmeier kick) 35-0 @ 10:47-3rd

4th Qtr.
CHS- Brendan Hoorman, 1 yard run (Jeff Bell kick) 35-7 @10:39- 4th

Final Statistics
First Downs
HC 11
EJ 7

Turnovers
HC 3
CHS 4

Penalties
HC 10 for 86 yards
CHS 6 for 59 yards

Rushing Yards
HC 229
CHS 126

Passing Yards
HC 62
CHS 7

Total Yards
HC 294
CHS 133

Individual Rushing
HC
Celven Hulbert, 12 carries for 103 yards, 1 TD
Jaden Handy, 7 carries for 63 yards
Jordan Hurwitz, 11 carries for 50 yards
Bryan Broussard, 2 carries for 16 yards

CHS
Ralph Griffith, 9 carries for 37 yards
Joshua Taylor, 18 carries for 36 yards
Brandon Tillman, 5 carries for 28 yards
Brendan Hoorman, 8 carries for 11 yards
Daimon Wilson, 1 carry for 14 yards

Individual Passing
HC
Bryan Broussard 8-of-16 for 62 yards and 3 TD’s, 1 INT

EJ
Joshua Taylor, 2-of-7 for 7 yards

Individual Receiving
HC
Tyler Kirkwood, 3 for 31 yards, 1 TD
Jalen Johnson, 4 for 15 yards, 1 TD
Alondre Wells, 1 for 16 yards, 1 TD

CHS
Brendan Hoorman, 1 for 6 yards
Charles Bailey, 1 for 1 yard