De La Salle rode a powerful rushing attack and a strong defensive effort to a 47-6 win against Booker T. Washington in a District 10-3A game at Joe Yenni Stadium on Thursday.
The win for the Cavaliers (4-4, 3-0) marks their third win in a row after starting the season with three straight losses against Class 5A schools St. Paul's, Holy Cross and Central-Baton Rouge.
"We played a really tough predistrict schedule to get ourselves ready for the postseason," De La Salle coach Graham Jarrott said. "Three wins in a row is really nice. It's helped us build our confidence and allowed us to play better."
Booker T. Washington (1-6, 0-3) started the game off with authority and went on a six-play drive that was capped with a 1-yard scoring run by quarterback Cory McCraney to give the Lions a 6-0 lead after a failed 2-point conversion with 9:37 left in the opening quarter. The junior quarterback completed a 36-yard pass to Ton'yah Jones to the 1-yard line the play before the touchdown.
But it was all De La Salle after that.
The Cavaliers took a 30-6 lead into halftime after scoring four touchdowns and a field goal. Eamon Williams had the team's first score on a 74-yard touchdown scamper on De La Salle's first offensive possession. The sophomore finished the contest with 116 yards rushing on 14 carries and paced a Cavaliers' ground attack that racked up 226 yards.
"I really have to give it to the offensive line," Williams said. "They blocked really well, and we fight hard for every yard."
Kicker Connor Butler drilled a 23-yard field goal with 5:42 left in the first quarter to put the Cavaliers on top 10-6. The senior had a 36-yard field goal in the third quarter and added three catches for 65 yards as a wide receiver on offense.
Quarterback Evan Arceneaux found wide receiver Ronald Cash on a 29-yard scoring strike near the end of the first quarter to swell De La Salle's lead to 17-6.
The defense had the Cavaliers' third touchdown of the game on a 4-yard interception return by defensive lineman Jaiden Ely to push the advantage to 23-6 after a failed extra-point attempt.
The defense held Booker T. Washington to 74 yards of total offense and registered six sacks.
"That's a real nice defense we got," Williams said. "We got a couple of really good seniors that can make plays."
De La Salle finished off the first-half scoring spree on a 12-yard touchdown dash by Charles Irvin to give the Cavaliers a 30-6 lead with 1:12 left before halftime. Irvin added 84 yards on nine carries on the ground.
Arceneaux had 166 yards passing and two touchdown passes. His second scoring toss went 6 yards to Garen Lewis in the third quarter.
For Booker T. Washington, Demeico Barnes led the team in rushing with 30 yards. Jones had two catches for 39 yards.
De La Salle will face John F. Kennedy next week in a game that could decide the district crown. Booker T. Washington will square off against L.B.