CROWLEY — Neither head coach would want to be in the situation the Crowley Gents were in, heading into Friday’s Class 4A state quarterfinal against the Franklinton Demons.

And Franklinton’s seasoned coach Shane Smith knew exactly how to handle it.
Crowley lost its three-year starting quarterback Pate Broussard to a shoulder injury in last week’s state regional road win over Livonia.

Smith’s Demons’ defense pressured Crowley sophomore starter Paul Dugar early and often. So much so that the Gents had zero total yards after the first quarter.

And the No. 10-seeded Demons never really let up in posting a dominating 56-14 road win over the previously undefeated, No. 2-seeded Gents at Gardiner Memorial Stadium.

“They were in a tough situation (with a backup quarterback),” Smith said. “But (Dugar) played well last week. We did a good job of pressuring him into some mistakes early.”

Franklinton (10-3) will now return home to host Edna Karr in the 4A semifinals, while the Gents finished their season 12-1.

“They did just what a seasoned team does against an inexperienced quarterback,” Crowley coach Josh Fontenot said. “I give 100 percent of the credit to Franklinton.

“We want to focus on the 12 (wins) and not on the one loss. These seniors accomplished a lot. We had a great season.”

While the Gents’ offensive issues were real without Broussard, Franklinton’s backfield presented an additional problem for Crowley.

Bruising back Renaz Wilson paced a dominating 320-yard rushing effort with 138 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.

Azende T. Magee added 120 yards and two scores on 18 carries.

Quarterback Tahj Magee wasn’t taxed much in the blowout win, only carrying it 11 times for 53 yards. He completed half of his 14 pass attempts for 122 yards and one touchdown.

“We didn’t need to run him much, but he completed some passes when he needed to,” Smith said.

That one touchdown catch was by Dijimon Jenkins on a 35-yard grab in the back of the end zone on the final play of the first half to make it 42-7. Jenkins finished with three receptions for 54 yards.

Jenkins also began the half with a big contribution, catching a 9-yarder for a first down to help Franklinton take an early 8-0 lead on Azende Magee’s 10-yard touchdown run and Wilson’s two-point conversion run.

After turning it over on downs on Crowley’s 26 when Ed Yokum sacked Magee on fourth down, Franklinton scored on its next four possessions, as well as on defense.

Wilson’s 19-yard touchdown run made it 22-7 with 4:42 left until halftime. Then, after Crowley was forced to punt, a bad snap resulted in a fumble that was Martavius James recovered in the end zone for a 28-7 lead.

“That fumble on the punt was the back-breaker for us,” Fontenot said.

The first of two Tremario Magee interceptions set up Azende Magee’s 28-yard touchdown run and the rout was on at 35-7 with 1:45 left until halftime.

This story was written by Kevin Foote of the Lafayette Advertiser.