Slow start but same results as Karr moves past Carver, 33-7

NEW ORLEANS – It’s the same old song for the Karr Cougars.

They do not always come out the gates at their best but Karr continues to show their opponents that they are the number one seeded team for a reason.

On chilly Friday night at Joe Brown Stadium, the Cougars eventually heated up and secured a 33-7 win over the No. 9 seed Carver in the Class 4A quarterfinals.

With the momentum and home field advantage, the Rams enjoyed the sharp start and controlled the clock most of the first quarter. Quarterback Christian Cojoe connected with John Emery for a 14-yard touchdown strike, giving Carver (8-2) a 7-0 lead.

The Rams went with a two-quarterback system, looking to keep the Cougars defense off balance. However, Karr made the necessary adjustments, keeping their opponents in check.

Karr’s offense sputtered in the first half before a huge lift came from their special teams. Tulane commit Jaylin Lucas woke-up the Cougars sideline with a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown. A missed extra point try kept Carver on top 7-6/

The defense rose to the occasion with a game-changing play from a pair of Karr defensive standouts.

Linebacker Skylon Jean-Louis intercepted Cojoe and sprinted for a 50-yard touchdown return.

“We knew it was going to be a challenge coming here to face Carver,” said Karr’s Jean-Louis. “I told my teammates to just stay at it and something will fall our way.” I’m happy I was there at the right place at the right time to make the play,” said Jean-Louis.

It was so nice, Karr did it twice. Middle linebacker Keyron Ross came up with a 55-yard interception return to lift the Cougars to a 19-7 lead at halftime.

“Defense played lights out,” said Karr head coach Brice Brown. “Offense struggled tonight not converting on third downs, but defense and special teams won the game for us.”

Karr also forced a pair of fumbles and held the Rams to a 275 yards of total offense.

In the second half, Karr found rhythm on offense with the running game, thanks to a 1-2 punch of Christopher Vasquez and Jawin Newman. The Cougars only finished with a total of with 11 first downs and 232 yards of total offense against a stout Carver defense.

“I want to say I’m proud of my guys. We really came out here and competed. Defensively, we can compete with anybody,” said Carver head coach Byron Addison. “You can’t make mistakes against a team like this though.”

It wasn’t their best display of offense we are accustomed to seeing from the Cougars, but it was enough to get the job done against an Orleans Parish foe carried by their defensive unit.

Karr (11-0) will be back home next Friday at Behrman Stadium to host a semifinal game against the Westgate Tigers (11-2) of New Iberia.