Talley kicks St. Paul’s to clinch at least a share of district title with win at Ponchatoula

If you have any heart issues, it is best if you do not watch or pull for the 2023 St. Paul’s Wolves football team.

With regularity, the Wolves are playing heart-stopping games.

The last four games, all in district play for St. Paul’s have been decided by a total of eight points.

The Wolves have won all four of them.

The latest thriller came Friday night when Drew Talley nailed a 40-yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining to give the Wolves a big 20-19 road victory over Ponchatoula at The Swamp in a key District 6-5A game. It was the seventh straight win for St. Paul’s and the first loss at home for Ponchatoula.

The victory clinched at least a tie for the district title.

“I felt really confident,” Talley said. “I’ve been kicking for a while. I started when I was in seventh grade. I’m just confident with the way I kick the ball. I have my teammates on my back. They’re always looking to help, block, they just have my back.”

Ponchatoula took the early lead, driving 80 yards in 10 plays with Bishop Davis scoring on a 4-yard run to take a 7-0 first quarter lead.

The Green Wave got a defensive stop but fumbled on its next possession, forced by Gage Brown, with Devan Menon recovering for the Wolves at the Ponchatoula 26-yard line. That set up a 5-yard touchdown pass from Brennan Keim to Sam Bonaldi to tie the game 7-7, still in the first quarter. On the play, Keim spun out of what looked like a certain sack to find Bonaldi for the score.

St. Paul’s took its first lead at 14-7 in the second quarter on a 4-yard-run by Ben Buisson.

Ponchatoula pulled close before halftime when wide receiver Brayden Perrin hit Shawn Puissegur with a 2-yard touchdown pass on a reverse pass in the final minute of the half but the extra point was missed and St. Paul’s led 14-13 at halftime.

Talley extended the lead to 17-13 early in the third quarter on a 45-yard field goal.

The Green Wave answered as Davis scored on a 6-yard run to make it 19-17, then got an important stop with an interception by Wyatt Bennett but St. Paul’s then got a key stop to give the ball back to its offense, setting the stage for the winning drive, keyed by a pair of completions from Keim to Buisson.

On Ken Trahan’s Original Prep Football Report on NASH ICON 106.1 FM Friday night, St. Paul’s coach Ken Sears stated the obvious.

“Another heartstopper,” Sears said. “It’s a little much for an old coach. Drew kicked a big one to put us up in the third quarter before making the game-winner. He’s incredible. He’s been doing it since he was a freshman and he’s just gotten better. He just works so hard at it. Good things happen for us with him on the field because of his work ethic and what he puts into it. He’s clutch. Our defense, at the right moment, got the right stop and we drove down and got the winning points in the final minute.”
The bond of this year’s Wolves is a solid one which has played a huge role in the success of the team.

“From the beginning of the season until now and certainly this is going to help us come playoff time, we are used to playing these types of games,” Sears said. “We’ve worked on all three phases very hard while focusing on getting better all the time. This is a great team with a great culture of guys that pull together. They have each other’s back. If one group is not doing well, another group steps up.”

It has been a while for St. Paul’s to sit on top of 6-5A.

“We’ve been in a seven-year drought after winning 10 district titles in 12 years,” Sears said. “It’s good to bring it back home but it’s just a share of the title. We have one more obstacle in front of us and we will do our best to try to win the title outright.

Keim completed 11-of-21 passes for 113 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Davis led Ponchatoula, rushing 27 times for 186 yards and two scores.

Currently sixth in the Select Division I power ratings, St. Paul’s (8-1, 6-0) can claim the title with a win next Friday night at home against Fontainebleau.

Ponchatoula (5-4, 3-3) is currently 18th in the Division I Non-Select power ratings and faces a tough road to earn a home playoff game. The Green Wave close the regular season at rival Hammond next Friday night.

FINAL
StP 7 7 3 3 — 20
PHS 6 6 6 0 — 19