Rummel scores late, holds off Ehret for 31-24 first round victory

It came down to who made the fewest mistakes.

No. 15 Archbishop Rummel earned that distinction and it earned the Raiders a hard-earned victory in the Division I state playoffs Friday night.

Casey Avrard ran for three scores and the Raiders held off a late drive by No. 18 John Ehret to win 31-24 at Joe Yenni Stadium Friday night.

The Patriots started well, staging a 55-yard drive with quarterback Royal Falgout scoring on a 1-yard run to take a 6-0 first quarter lead after a missed extra point.

The lead was gone in the blink of an eye.

LSU commit Ashton Stamps received the ensuing kickoff and raced 96 yards for a touchdown to give the Raiders a 7-6 lead after Chris Wallace converted the extra point.

The Patriots then drove 98 yards with Charles Coleman scoring on a 1-yard run to make it 13-7.

Ehret then got a stop and on its next possession, elected to fake a punt from its own 20-yard line but Fred Banks of the Raiders read it and stopped Eric Davis cold, giving Rummel a short field.

Avrard took advantage, running 19 yards for a score to give Rummel a 14-13 lead.

Right before halftime, Edis Chavez banged a 48-yard field goal on the final play of the half to give the Patriots a 16-14 lead.

Rummel recaptured the lead midway through the third quarter on a 14-yard run by Avrard to take a 21-16 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Wallace padded the lead with a 38-yard field goal to make it 24-16.

The Patriots fought back with Falgout connecting with Coleman on an 8-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-22. Ehret then tied it as Damien Smith ran for the 2-point conversion to make it 24-24.

John Ehret then got the stop it needed, Wallace punted, Coleman fumbled it and Stamps recovered at the Ehret 46-yard line.

Avrard then produced the game-winner on a 38-yard touchdown jaunt with 1:49 to play in the game to make it 31-24.

The Patriots had one more chance and drove to the Rummel 27-yard line but a dropped pass stalled the drive and preserved the win for the Raiders.

Avrard finished with 15 carries for 122 yards and the three scores and he completed 5 of 8 passes for 35 yards.

Speaking on Ken Trahan’s Original Prep Football Report Friday night, Rummel coach Nick Monica was happy and relieved.

“We made a bunch of individual big plays throughout the course of the game,” Monica said. “We should have done some things better but I thought that ultimately, that’s what won the game. We found a way to make plays and we really haven’t done that much this year.”

While the passing game was limited for Rummel, Avrard came up big in the run game.

“Casey has been running the ball for us toward the back end of the year,” Monica said. “We haven’t really been able to run the ball successfully in the traditional way. He’s helped us.”

Stamps was a huge factor in the victory as well.

“He’s a good player,” Monica said. “He plays corner for us so teams can avoid him and try to take him out of the picture but he made plays in the kicking game tonight. Ashton kind of ignited us. That kick return kind of played a huge factor.”

Rummel (6-5) advances to the regional round to take on a familiar opponent in second seed and defending Division I state champion Catholic of Baton Rouge at Memorial Stadium next Friday night.

In what has been a thrilling series of games, Rummel has a 4-3 edge, including a 14-10 win in the 2019 state championship game over Catholic at Yulman Stadium.

The Bears ended Rummel’s 2020 season with a 42-35 win at Memorial Stadium and edged the Raiders 13-10 in the playoffs in 2018 in Jay Roth’s final game as head coach at Rummel.

Catholic also edged Rummel 31-28 in the 2015 Division I state championship game.

While Catholic will be a prohibitive favorite, history tells us not to underestimate a young Raider squad.