Rummel rallies behind Burg, Foster to down St. Paul’s

The Christian Brothers Jamboree is always interesting, entertaining and competitive between Archbishop Rummel and St. Paul’s.

Friday night’s latest edition was no exception.

Junior baseball star Evan Burg came off the bench to throw a pair of second half touchdown passes and cornerback Aaron Foster III intercepted a pair of passes to rally the Raiders past the Wolves 13-10 at Hunter Stadium in Covington.

The Wolves controlled the ball and much of the play in the first half.

St. Paul’s took the opening kickoff and went on a 15-play drive which stalled at the Rummel 16-yard line and Drew Talley kicked a 33-yard field goal to give the Wolves a 3-0 lead.

St. Paul’s threatened again late in the half but senior cornerback Aaron Foster III intercepted Keim at the Raiders 5-yard line in the final minute of the half.

After junior Generald Buggage Jr. played the first half at quarterback for Rummel, Raiders coach Nick Monica inserted Burg into the game in the second half and the Rummel offense took off.

Burg immediately led the Raiders on a long drive, culminating with a 28-yard touchdown pass to junior Kendrick Joseph. The snap was high on the extra point and Rummel had a 6-3 lead.

St. Paul’s responded, taking advantage of a Rummel fumble which Conner Lacoste recovered and drove 65 yards in eight plays with Brandon Keim connecting on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Chase Ravain to give the Wolves a 10-6 lead.

The Raiders battled back to get the winning score on a 29-yard pass from Burg to senior Ruben Ramirez Jr. with under two minutes remaining.

Rummel coach Nick Monica acknowledged the lift Burg provided.

“He gave us the spark we needed,” Monica said. “He came in and executed the offense, getting us in a rhythm. Our receivers made plays. We didn’t break defensively. We’re a little undersized on defense. We gave up a ton of third downs on the opening drive. Aaron made two big plays for us. Overall, we were pleased with what transpired.”

Burg, a Tulane commit in baseball, completed 8 of 10 passes for 137 yards and two touchdown and rushed once for 16 yards. Senior Jaidyn Martin rushed 14 times for 57 yards. Joseph finished with three catches for 54 yards and a touchdown and Ramirez had three catches for 40 yards and a score.

Both teams open their regular season next Friday night with Rummel traveling to Monroe to take on Ouachita Parish while St. Paul’s entertains West Jefferson.

“It’s good work, two good schools and programs,” Monica said. “We saw a lot of things we needed to see to find out about themselves. Ouachita is an outstanding program. It will be a good test to bus four hours to face a very good team. It’s a good challenge.”