Sacred Heart blasts Slaughter Charter; picks up win No. 6

VILLE PLATTE -- For the second week in a row the Sacred Heart Trojans took care of business and blasted past their opponent, as they took a 47-14 win over district opponent Slaughter Charter.
With the win, Sacred Heart improved to 6-2 on the year and 3-2 in league play.
“I was very impressed with the way we played tonight, despite the all of the distractions of homecoming,” stated Sacred Heart head coach Josh Harper. “The offense clicked on all cylinders tonight, and our defense played great assignment football. This is a good win for us after sputtering on the offensive side of the ball the last few weeks.”
The Trojans wasted no time getting on the board, scoring on the opening drive of the game. Sacred Heart took control of the football at its 43-yard line after the kickoff.
After a 10-yard run by Alec Gotro on the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Drew Scully, filling in for normal stater Wesley Launey, carried the ball four times in a row for a total 39 yards, getting the ball down to the Knights’ six-yard line.
On the next play of the series, Gotro took it in for the touchdown. The two-point run was stopped giving Sacred Heart the 6-0 lead with 10:06 left in the first quarter.
Slaughter Charter received the ball at its 48-yard line on the ensuing kickoff and was able to put together a decent drive. The Knights moved the ball to the Trojan 28-yard line in only eight plays. But, Sacred Heart’s defense came to life, when Tyler Perron intercepted a pass in the end zone for a touchback.
However, the Trojans were unable to capitalize on the miscue, as Sacred Heart was forced to punt after only six plays.
Slaughter gave the ball back to the Trojans on the next possession, as Sacred Heart forced the Knights to punt on a four and out series. On the kick, Sacred Heart’s JT Harper fielded the ball at the Knight 31-yard line and took it down the left sideline before being pushed out at the Slaughter two-yard line.
On the very first play following the long punt return, Harper plunged in from two yards out to add to the Trojan total. Launey added the two-point run and Sacred Heart now led 14-0 with :37 seconds to go in the first quarter.
The Knights did not go away quietly. Starting their next possession on their 37-yard line, Slaughter Charter put together a 12 play 63 yard drive that was capped off by a Daniel Gross three-yard touchdown run. The two-point run failed and with 6:22 left before half the score was now 14-6 in favor of the Trojans.
It did not take Sacred Heart long to answer the Knight scoring drive. The Trojans took over on their 35-yard line and three plays later found pay dirt when Gotro sprinted over the goal line from 15 yards out. Gotro tacked on the extra point giving Sacred Heart the 21-6 lead with 5:34 left in the second quarter.
The Trojans forced the Knights to punt once again on the ensuing possession and took over at the Slaughter Charter 35-yard line. A false start penalty backed the Trojans up to the 40-yard line.
On the first official snap of the drive, Harper blew past the Knight defense for a 40 yard touchdown sprint. The extra point was no good, making the score 27-6 at the 3:29 mark of the second quarter. That score would remain until the first half horn sounded.
The second half played out much like the first half did; a ton of scoring from the Trojans and not much offensive production from the Knights.
Slaughter Charter went three-and-out on their first possession of the second half, giving the ball back to Sacred Heart. Once again, the Trojans did not need much of a drive to score as Harper broke free and motored his way for a 67 yard touchdown run. Gotro was true on the extra point and with only 2:15 minutes gone in the third quarter, Sacred Heart had opened up a 34-6 lead.
Another punt by the Knights on the next possession gave the Trojans excellent field position once again, as they were able to start their next drive at the Slaughter Charter 32-yard line. Four plays later, Launey took it into the end zone from seven yards out. The extra point was no good, however, Sacred Heart now led 40-6 with 6:35 left in the third quarter.
The Trojans added to their lead on the very first play of the fourth quarter. After getting the Knights to turn the ball over on downs at their 45-yard line, Sacred Heart needed only five plays to get back in to the end zone when Jacob Castille blasted his way over the goal line from two yards out. The extra point was good, making the score 47-6.
Slaughter would pick up another score, running the ensuing kickoff back 84 yards. From that point on, it was a matter of running out the rest of the clock for the Trojans.
Sacred Heart will host the Hanson Tigers this coming Thursday night in a non-district contest.