Catholic-New Iberia heads back to Dome after wild win over Country Day, 57-54

METAIRIE – With a trip to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on the line, the Catholic-New Iberia and Country Day offenses put on a show in their Division III semifinal Saturday evening.

In the end, the defending state champion Panthers came up with the key plays late to prevail 57-54 before an overflow crowd at Wenzel Field.

The No. 6 seed Panthers (12-1) will meet top-seeded Notre Dame in the Division III title game Dec. 6 in the final game of the opening night of the Allstate Sugar Bowl LHSAA Prep Classic.

But first, they will revel in getting back to the Dome for the third time in five years after a wild, back-and-forth affair that produced 1,133 yards of offense.

While the Panthers – led by quarterback Trey Amos and fullback Trey Henry – executed the WIng T offense to near perfection and got all of their 515 yards of offense on the ground, the Cajuns rode the arm and legs of Justin Ibieta, who accounted for 545 yards – 148 rushing and 397 passing – and all eight Country Day touchdowns.

Amos, who rushed for 313 yards, scored his sixth touchdown of the night on a 74-yard run with 2:46 remaining to give the Panthers the lead for good at 50-46.

“He could have Madden numbers right now,” Catholic coach Brent Indest said of Amos, who came in with 1,139 rushing yards, “but we’ve saved him in games we don’t need him. But when we need him, we ride him like Secretariat.”

After the Catholic defense held on downs, Henry, who finished with 189 rushing yards and two scores, tacked on a 15-yard touchdown run with 1:29 left to make it 57-46.

Ibieta and the Cajuns weren’t done, though, covering 60 yards in just two plays, with C.D. St. Hilaire catching a 44-yard touchdown pass with 1:03 left and the ensuing two-point conversion.

Catholic recovered the on-side kick and ran out the clock to punch its return ticket to the Dome.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids, and the coaching staff,” Indest said.

Catholic led 21-6 late in the first half before Country Day put up two touchdowns in a 59-second span to close within 21-19 at halftime.

Sparked by an on-side kick recovery and a takeaway, the Cajuns added two more touchdowns in the first 4:31 of the second half to take a 32-21 lead. They remained in front for most of the second half before the Panthers got back on track.

The teams traded scores for the rest of the third quarter, which ended with Country Day in front 39-36, before Catholic finally got a stop to force a punt on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Henry had two huge plays on the next drive – a 50-yard run on the first play and a 31-yard touchdown – as the Panthers regained the lead, 43-39.

Country Day answered with a 12-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 14-yard Ibieta run, to go back in front at 46-43.

Again, the Cajuns recovered an on-side kick and drove to the Panther 5. Nicky Corchiani’s touchdown run that would have stretched the lead back to two scores was nullified by a holding penalty. Catholic held on downs and got the ball at its 11 with 3:10 left, and needed just two plays to score and take the lead for good.

Country Day (11-1), the No. 2 seed in the Division III bracket, fell just short of a first-ever appearance in the finals despite 618 yards of offense.

“That’s a really good football team; we just came up short,” Cajuns coach Joe Chango said. “I’m so proud of these kids. This is an awesome group of 31 kids and they really stepped up and left their legacy at this place.”

Catholic’s win continued a weekend trend of select teams returning to the Dome. Of the eight teams to play in the four division championship games in 2017, seven are back in 2018. Only St. Thomas More is new to the field this year.
 

 
CHSNI – Amos 24 run (Boutte kick), 7:39 1st
CHSNI – Amos 28 run (Boutte kick), 5:31 1st
CD – Williams 8 pass from Ibieta (kick blocked), 6:43 2nd
CHSNI – Amos 56 run (Boutte kick), 5:08 2nd
CD – Williams 6 pass from Ibieta (2-point attempt failed), 1:25 2nd
CD – Williams 6 pass from Ibieta (Lopez kick), :26 2nd
CD – St. Hilaire 5 pass from Ibieta (Lopez kick), 9:47 3rd
CD – Ibieta 7 run (kick failed), 7:29 3rd
CHSNI – Amos 32 run (Amos run), 6:15 3rd
CD – Ibieta 3 run (Lopez kick), 2:02 3rd
CHSNI – Amos 32 run (Boutte kick), 1:38 3rd
CHSNI – Henry 31 run (Boutte kick), 11:08 4th
CD – Ibieta 14 run (Lopez kick), 6:08 4th
CHSNI – Amos 74 run (Boutte kick), 2:46 4th
CHSNI – Henry 15 run (Boutte kick), 1:29 4th
CD – St. Hilaire 44 pass from Ibieta (St. Hilaire pass from Ibieta), 1:03 4th