Eagles too much for Trojans

MONROE – The Ouachita Christian mascot might have feathers, but it’s not a duck. It’s a bird of prey.
The dynastic Eagles clawed apart the Sacred Heart Trojans, 40-7, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Select Division IV championship tournament.
On Wednesday nights, the people of Monroe might be watching must-see TV, but on Friday nights even Duck Dynasty’s Jase Robertson and his wife, Missy, are in the stadium watching highly-rated Eagle football. Robertson’s son plays for OCHS.
The Eagles have appeared in three straight state championship games, winning the last two in a row.
Ouachita Christian improves to 9-2 on the year. It will face the winner of Southern Lab and Delhi Charter next week.
Sacred Heart falls to 6-5 on the year, finishing the season for the second year in a row to OCHS. Last year, the Eagles beat the Trojans 43-15 in the first round of the playoffs.
Friday night Eagles scored twice in each of the first three quarters, taking a 40-0 lead, before substituting their second-team unit for the balance of the game.
Sacred Heart began the game in exciting fashion, recovering an Eagle fumble at midfield. The muddy, slippery conditions caused problems for both teams throughout the night.
Unfortunately, Sacred Heart couldn’t capitalize on the miscue and had to punt.
On its second drive, OCHS made up for the earlier turnover. On second down, Jake Slaughter opened up the scoring for Ouachita Christian with a 70-yard run. The extra point made it 7-0 just four minutes into the game.
After recovering a Trojan fumble on the ensuing possession, the Eagles scored again. Josh Pennebaker scored on a 12 yard run. The extra point failed, but OCHS led 13-0.
The two teams exchanged punts, and Ouachita Christian started its fifth drive of the evening near midfield. Pennebaker capped the drive with his second score, a 23 yard run. The Point-After-Try was good, and OCHS led 20-0 midway through the second quarter.
The remainder of the second quarter was a stalemate, with the Trojans unable to mount an offensive attack; but Sacred Heart’s defense was able to keep the Eagles within its own clutches.
However, near halftime, Ouachita Christian judiciously managed the clock, making sure it would get one last possession.
After a short Trojan punt, Ouachita Christian took over at its 41-yardline. Following three screen passes, the Eagles moved the ball down to the Trojan three-yardline. From there, quarterback Quinn Graves scored on the keeper. The PAT made it 27-0 going into the locker room.
OCHS scored two more times in the third quarter. After forcing a Trojan punt, the Eagles went on a 12-play, 66-yard touchdown drive, capped by Ahkeem Henderson’s one-yard plunge. The extra point failed, putting Ouachita Christian up 33-0 with four minutes to play in the quarter.
The Eagles scored for the last time on Pennebaker’s second touchdown of the night, a two yard scamper with 26 seconds left in the third quarter. The PAT made it 40-0.
Sacred Heart put together a scoring drive in the dying minutes of the game, as Ellis Parrott galloped 25 yards to pay dirt. Jonathan Fontenot made the PAT, setting the score 40-7.
The Eagles out gained the Trojans 388-89 in total yards, including 332 rushing yards. Pennebaker gained 126 yards and two touchdowns on ten carries, leading all rushers.