Published: 9/23/2022 10:32:16 PM
Modified: 9/23/2022 10:39:55 PM
ORANGE — Drury running back Louis Guillotte looked like a flash of white and blue on the field Friday night.
The Blue Devil senior scored all five of his team’s touchdowns and torched the Mahar defense for more than 290 yards on the ground as Drury dominated the Senators, 36-6, in an independent contest at the Woodward Complex.
“Louis is a difference-maker,” said Drury head coach Al Marceau. “Even when we weren’t driving guys out of the hole, he’s patient. He gets behind them and then as soon as green grass opens up, he’s gone … he really is a very smart running back and very gifted.”
Guillotte broke open several 40-plus yard touchdown runs – and a 40-yard punt return called back because of a penalty – as he used cuts in the open field to slice past defenders. The Blue Devils struck first on a long touchdown run six minutes into the first quarter and never looked back. Following a Mahar punt, Guillotte took the first-down handoff and brought it straight to the house for a 60-yard score.
“We didn’t play very well. They made some mistakes, we didn’t capitalize. We made too many mistakes and when that happens, that’s how you end up 36-6,” said Mahar head coach Chris Bailey, whose team lost for the first time all season after winning their first two contests. “They’re a good football team and (Guillotte) is a hell of a player.”
The Senator offense was held scoreless for the majority of the first half, even after a botched pitch on fourth down gave them the ball at Drury’s 11-yard line. A 10-yard run had Mahar knocking at the door, but a stuffed quarterback sneak and a fumbled snap recovered by the Blue Devils ended their possession.
Three snaps later, Guillotte was off to the races with a 73-yard touchdown run that saw him make a cut near the right sideline and shift directions, flipping the field and scoring on the left sideline.
A Blue Devil interception shut down the Senators’ ensuing drive, but a stolen pitch had Mahar at Drury’s 23 with 34 seconds in the half. On the first play after the turnover, senior quarterback Kaleb Lemcke dropped back to pass and sailed one over a Blue Devil defender right into the hands of fellow senior Domanic Cacciolfi for a 23-yard touchdown, Mahar’s only score of the game.
“We did some things well … we threw the ball OK,” Bailey said. “We left some stuff on the table, we definitely have some work to do.”
In the second half, Mahar punted on its first four possessions and as it was driving down the field in the final seconds, Lemcke rolled out to pass and was picked off by Guillotte to close out the game.
With the loss, the Senators now stand at 2-1 heading into Intercounty League North play against Franklin Tech next weekend. Bailey said the team is ready to build on what they did well and take on their county opponents in the coming weeks.
“The priority is to correct our mistakes and play well,” he said. “Obviously in the league, it’s teams we’re more familiar with and there’s a little bit more of a rivalry to things and we hope that’s enough to get us excited and show up to play.”