Sacred Heart hopes to carry momentum into Port Barre

After an enormous come from behind season opening 34-26 win over Iota last week, the Sacred Heart Trojans are looking to bring the momentum with them tonight as they take on Class 3A Port Barre on the road. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The victory against Iota was a tale of two halves. Sacred Heart went into the locker room down 14-7 and was even behind by 12 at the end of the third quarter. However, the Trojans used their offseason conditioning and preparation to score three times in the final quarter to take the win.
That win just reinforced the confidence Sacred Heart received from their jamboree win over St. Ed’s.
According to Trojan head coach Josh Harper, the game against the Bulldogs was about as emotional as any game could get.
“It was just a roller coaster of emotion,” stated Harper. “I mean from being down 14-0, and then to get within seven, then to fall down two touchdowns at the end of the third quarter, to finally going ahead in the fourth quarter, was just crazy. I was so proud of how resilient our players were. I think we just started dominating up front and we basically wore them down.”
That domination showed itself late in the game, especially in the run game. Sacred Heart totaled 238 yards of offense, with 136 of those coming from the running game.
Sophomore running back JT Harper was the beneficiary of most of those run yards, as he collected 99 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns.
Quarter back Wesley Launey was six for 19 through the air for 102 yards and one touchdown.
One important aspect of the game that Harper emphasized as a key to their win over Iota was the minimal mistakes Sacred Heart made. The Trojans only turned the ball over once and was guilty of eight penalties all night. The Bulldogs, however, committed five turnovers and had 115 yards of penalties.
“When you win the turnover battle, you give yourself a great chance of winning,” said Harper. “We have done that now the last two outings. If we can continue to do that, we have the ability to stay successful.”
Sacred Heart’s win over Iota avenged their four overtime loss to the Bulldogs a year ago. Tonight, the Trojans will look to avenge another close loss from 2015; an 18-14 heartbreaker against the Red Devils.
“Last year we had our chances against Port Barre, but just could not finish the game,” commented Harper. “We want to come out from the opening kick-off and make sure we play a complete game. They are big up front and have some big backs. But, I think that if we can keep it close our conditioning will give us a huge advantage late in the game. It would be nice to be 2-0 to start the season.”