SM-JHS game stopped after 2nd quarter melee

St. Martinville – Last Friday night at St. Martinville Sr. High’s Tiger stadium presented several firsts, not all of them good.
It was the school’s first game on the sparkling new artificial turf field and coach Vincent Derouen’s debut as the team’s new coach.
It also turned out to be the first SMSH football game suspended due to an on-field melee that emptied both benches.
The fracas erupted at the 3:45 mark of the second quarter when a SM punt rolled in front of the Jeanerette bench. Players from both teams tried to cover the ball and suddenly many on the Jeanerette sideline appeared to move onto the field. Members of the SM team quickly ran across the field to join the fray.
It took game officials, coaches and the principals from both schools and law enforcement officers several minutes to separate the players and JHS coach Aranias Johnson eventually ordered his team to board their bus and depart.
The officiating crew and school officials conferred for some time at mid-field before apparently deciding to end the contest.
St. Martinville had stormed to a 32-0 lead by that time, with the Tiger offense moving at will against an outmanned Jeanerette team.
The Tigers scored on each of their first four possessions and had returned a pass interception 50 yards for another TD that was nullified for a blocking infraction.
And Jeanerette’s top offensive threat, sophomore Ahmad Mitchell, was injured on the second play of the game and never returned to action.
Deandre James scored three of The ’Ville’s four TDs, running nine yards for the first score and taking passes of 13 and 22 yards from quarterback Dyllan Derouselle for two more touchdowns.
Senior Kain Pitre, who rushed for 86 yards on 11 carries, scored the fourth Tiger TD early in the second stanza.
The SM defense limited the impotent Jeanerette attack to a net six yards before the game was called.
In less than two 12-minute quarters, officials flagged both teams for a combined 17 infractions.