Sacred Heart has no answer for top ranked Notre Dame

VILLE PLATTE – Sacred Heart knew it was going to be a tough task Friday night against the number one team in class 2A, the Notre Dame Pioneers Friday night.
What the Trojans did not expect was how dominating the Pioneers were on both sides of the ball, as Notre Dame cruised to a 61-0 win over Sacred Heart.
The Pioneers scored in every quarter, racking up 442 yards of offense against a depleted Trojan defense.
Sacred Heart could not get anything going against one of the best defenses in the state, only gathering 23 yards of total offense.
Trojan head coach Josh Harper was realistic after the game.
“I told the players before the game to come out and embrace this type of game,” said Harper. “I don’t think we gave the effort and accomplished what I wanted them to accomplish.”
Notre Dame scored early and often, collecting three touchdowns in the first quarter alone.
After holding Sacred Heart to minimal yards on their first drive, the Pioneers forced a Trojan punt.
Notre Dame’s Hayden Bourgeois took the punt 55 yards for the score. The extra point was no good from Jarrett Douget, however the Pioneers led 6-0 with 9:45 left in the first quarter.
The Pioneers scored twice more in the opening period on a seven yard pass from Joe Faulk to Boedy Borill and a seven yard run by Justin Guidry.
With both extra points, Notre Dame led 20-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Pioneers added four more scores in the second quarter.
Lance Bertrand took the ball into the end zone twice, on a 48-yard swing pass and a 27- yard run.
Notre Dame’s other two touchdowns came on a 14-yard interception return by Michael Bourgeois and a 49-yard run by David Gonzalez to put the Pios up 47-0 at the half.
In the third quarter, with running time on the clock, Mason Romero scampered 16 yard down the right sideline to put Notre Dame up 54-0.
The final Pioneer score came in the fourth quarter when Steve Zaunbrecher raced 53 yards for the score.
After the game, Pioneer head coach Lewis Cook mentioned how tough it is to try and build a program like Sacred Heart is trying to do.
“They are going to have an opportunity in the league to win some games,” stated Cook. “I’ve been there before trying to put a program back together. They have a good ball club and you can tell they work hard. You can tell the coaches are doing a good job with them.”