Sweet revenge: LCA football beats Notre Dame to advance in LHSAA Playoffs

Posted by Admin November 23, 2024 Football

The stakes couldn’t have been any higher for Lafayette Christian Academy football as it entered the LHSAA Select Division III Playoff second round taking on a familiar foe, Notre Dame.

The Knights suffered a loss to the Pios earlier in the season and no one on the Knight sideline forgot about it. With a chip on their shoulder and revenge on their mind, the Knights went blow for blow with the Pios and came out on top winning the playoff matchup 35-28.

“This is the biggest win our kids have had because Notre Dame did a great job against them the first time,” LCA football co-head coach Matt Standiford said. “Every time somebody asked me about this game, I felt really good because I knew as a staff and as a group of kids, we were going to be ready to go.”

LCA more than proved it was ready for the moment as it punched its ticket to the Select Division III quarterfinals with this win.

Walker makes a name for himself

The Knights in the past have been no stranger to stellar postseason outings especially with 2024 alum Ju’Juan Johnson leading them as quarterback. This go-round, a new star arose at the quarterback position in Braylon Walker. The 5-foot-11 junior signal caller etched his name in LCA playoff history giving the Pios more than they could handle.

“Braylon Walker is a heck of a player and he often gets compared to Ju’Juan and that’s not fair to him or Ju’Juan,” Standiford said. “They’re two similar players but they’re different and tonight Braylon did a lot of great things,”

Walker led the Knights passing and ground game finishing the night with four rushing touchdowns and a passing touchdown. He broke out for big runs on almost everybody’s quarterback keeper as the Pios struggled to contain him all night. When he wasn’t moving the chains on the ground he was throwing darts.

Walker connected with senior wide receiver Ashton Begnaud for around 50 yards and a touchdown. His main target was junior Brayden Allen, though ,who made a diving catch for about 40 yards to get the Knights into the red zone in the first half. No matter how many times Notre Dame scored, Walker and the Knights had an answer.

“It feels amazing to come out here and help my team get a victory,” Walker said. “We came out here as a unit and it wasn’t only me. My teammates were the ones who opened things up for me to allow me to go make plays.”

Notre Dame goes down fighting

Momentum was on the Pios side to start the game. They had home-field advantage and marched down the field for a touchdown in their first possession of the game. Senior Jackson Casanova punched it in for a six-yard touchdown to give his team a 7-0 lead but instead of creating more momentum, it awoke LCA’s defense.

“We knew last time we played them we left a lot on the table,” Walker said. “This week throughout practice we came back, we played a lot better, we practiced way harder and with a lot more energy. So we came out tonight playing loose and we weren’t as uptight.”

That energy translated into defensive stops for the Knights and gave way for them to snatch the lead. Notre Dame stayed composed though and let senior quarterback Parker Faust and its running game keep them in the game.

Faust ended the night throwing for a 36-yard touchdown to junior Drew Lejeune tying the game up. When it wasn’t him for the Pios it was Casanova who rushed for three touchdowns all trying to get them back the lead. He scored his team’s final touchdown of the season to make it a one-score game.

“Our guys fought their tails off to hang in there within one score,” Notre Dame football head coach Lewis Cook Jr. said. “We’re hoping to get the ball back one more time just to take a shot but they were able to finish it off. It’s disappointing anytime it’s your last game. I know they’re hurting but we’ll bounce back.”

Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at sbelt@gannett.com.