Rummel will try to snap 33-year-old title drought

   Catholic football powers in New Orleans have won 13 football championships in Louisiana’s highest classifications dating back to 1933, when Jesuit won the penetrations battle over Byrd, 2-0, in a scoreless game.
    The local parochials were on a roll in the war-torn 1940s as Jesuit was victorious in 1940, 1941, 1943 and 1946, and Holy Cross notched its first of two Class 2A crowns in 1945.
    With the exception of the 1970s, when Catholic League schools won four Class 4A titles (three by St. Augustine) and were runners-up four times, the title door has been closed.
    The last Catholic League championship came in 1979 when St. Aug defeated New Iberia, 16-7, in Lafayette.
    That was 33 years ago.
    Since then, Archbishop Shaw  has been to the finals in 1988, 1997 and 2000; Brother Martin was a finalist in 1989; and Archbishop Rummel made it to the Superdome in 2009. But all were denied a championship.
    That may change on Dec. 8  when Rummel, the top-ranked team in Class 5A with a perfect 13-0 record, faces No. 2 Barbe (13-1) of Lake Charles in the final game of the Prep Classic at 8 p.m. on Saturday.
    The facts are in the numbers.
    First of all, Barbe is a team of destiny and the darling of the Calcasieu Parish Public School System. It is the “have” among the “have-nots” in the Lake Charles area. It has facilities other schools can only dream of.  I’ve been there.  I’ve experienced it.
    The last time Barbe played for a championship was 1980, but it lost 15-8 to East St. John, which, incidentally, was coached by Rummel’s current athletic director, Phil Greco.
    Barbe has been a championship contender for decades but always seemed to get crushed under the giant feet of West Monroe. In their eight meetings, West Monroe had defeated the Buccaneers seven times, all in the state playoffs.
    That changed on Nov. 30 when Barbe finally beat its nemesis, rallying from 27 points down in the fourth quarter and 20 back in the final 2:11 to outlast the Rebels, 49-48. The game was played in Lake Charles.
    Barbe never led until it mattered most, finally taking the lead on a Kennon Fontenot-to-Trey Quinn pass with 13 seconds left in the game.
    As Barbe continued to attack, suddenly West Monroe looked lost, the Lake Charles American Press reported. The Rebels’ defense allowed Bucs receivers to run open in the secondary when one play would have ended the game.
    I doubt that will occur against Rummel’s defense.
Maximum firepower
    Barbe’s forte is its explosive offense, led by quarterback Fontenot, a 3,000-yard passer.
    As he’s done throughout the season, Fontenot passed the Rebels silly. He completed 24-of-36 passes for 418 yards and six touchdowns (four in the fourth quarter). He also picked  up 60 yards rushing on 14 carries. His favorite target, Trey Quinn, caught eight passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns.  Courtney Galentine had seven catches for 115 yards and one touchdown. Smith had four receptions for 48 yards and two touchdowns, both coming in the fourth quarter, which helped fuel the comeback.
    Fontenot is outstanding, but he has not passed against a defense like Rummel’s, a unit that allows just 12 points per game.
And the Raiders’ balanced offense has accounted for more than 37 points per game against comparable competition.    
    Barbe averages 41.7 points per game, but it has a glaring chink in its armor. Its defense has allowed six opponents to score five or more touchdowns.
    In their loss to Teurlings Catholic on Sept. 28, the Bucs gave up 42 points and lost by seven. They had to tally 48 to top Evangel’s 47 on Sept. 14.
    They have never played a game under the Big Top, which Rummel has. Its 2009 team was blanked by West Monroe, 35-0, and the players who are now seniors remember it well.
    Ron Brocato can be reached at [email protected].