(NEW ORLEANS) — There’s no doubt that the Wolves have a promising season in store for 2015. They started off the season with an impressive 34-7 win over the talented Edna Carr, with the help of an extremely tough defense and relentless offense. Now, let’s not forget that in the previous year, their victory over the Karr Cougars was not as easily achieved, with SPS’s Matt Myers’ last minute touchdown reception putting the Wolves on top in the last minute of the game. In fact, the play earned a nod from the Times Picayune as TD of they year.

The second match-up of the 2015 season, however, was not as satisfying. In 2014, the St. Paul’s Wolves were defeated by the Jesuit Blue Jays 49-22. The Blue Jays went on the win the 5A state championship, and rightfully so. They had an incredibly ruthless passing attack along with a solid run game that the SPS defense could not stop. The Wolves were hoping to overcome the reigning champs when they marched into Tad Gormley Stadium on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015, wearing their new and snazzy alternate yellow jerseys.

The first quarter was a defensive showcase for both teams. Besides a few deep runs by Jesuit’s Connor Prouet, the Wolves shut down their powerful offense. The same goes for the Blue Jay’s defense. The Wolves simply could not get anything going offensively in the entire first quarter.

In the second quarter, the first points were put up on the board by Jesuit’s Prouet, putting the Jays up 7-0 with seven minutes left in the first half. After another impressive defensive outing, the Jays were able to put up another three points two minutes before the end of the half. The score at halftime had Jesuit on top, 10-0.

After a defensively dominated first half, both teams came back onto the field hoping to put some more points on the board, but that was not the case in the third quarter. Both teams continued to prevent the other from showing off their threatening offenses. The score at the end of the third quarter was still 10-0, Blue Jays.

The Wolves finally put up their first points in the fourth quarter with a risky fourth-down conversion on the one-yard line with a QB sneak by Kenny Sears, making the score 10-7. The Wolves knew that they had to use this momentum to their advantage, and they surely did. The Wolves continued to shut down the Blue Jays on defense, which set them up perfectly for a textbook drive and touchdown by running back Corey Williamson, making the score 14-10 St. Paul’s with 5:45 left in the game.

The Blue Jays were not willing to give up this game easily, and they gave their following offensive drive all of their efforts. The Wolves simply could not stop their persistent run game, led by Prouet. With 2:15 left in the game, Jesuit put up another rushing touchdown, making the score 17-14 with only 2:15 remaining.

The Wolves had just enough time for one more offensive drive, and they took advantage of it by using their strong running game composed of sophomores Cameron Vidal and Corey Williamson. Both running backs tore through the Jesuit’s defense, with the clock quickly running down. The St. Paul’s student section could be heard yelling during the drive, “AYYYEEE, WE WANT SOME COOORAYEEE!!!” Eventually, Jesuit’s defense was able to bring the drive to a halt, setting kicker Austin Means up for a potentially game-tying field goal with only seconds remaining. Perfect snap, perfect hold, but not perfect kick. Means barely missed the attempt by a few feet to the right, giving Jesuit the win 17-14.

Even though this was a heart-breaking game for the Wolves, there were many positives taken out of this game. For the majority of the game, St. Paul’s defense was superb against the Jesuit offense, an offense that lifted the team to a 5A state championship last season. Also, the Wolves showed continued positive strides on the offensive end involving the run game, but they still need some work in order to prepare for upcoming district play. St. Paul’s shows much promise for a great season this year, but this game gives the Wolves a handful of items to work on before facing a talented Denham Springs squad at home this Friday.

(Photos by Carson Caulfield)