Top-seeded Zachary overcame a sloppy start and held on to beat No. 17 East Ascension 24-21 in a second-round Class 5A playoff game Friday night at rowdy Spartan Stadium.<\/p>\n
Zachary (12-0) advances to the quarterfinals, where it will host No. 9 West Monroe, which crushed No. 8 Chalmette 49-7 on Friday.<\/p>\n
Zachary quarterback Eli Holstein, a Texas A&M, commit lost fumbles on the first three possessions, and East Ascension (6-4) scored touchdowns after two of them to take a 14-0 lead seven minutes into the game.<\/p>\n
Troy Dunn threw scoring passes to Allen Starks and Joseph Hobdy to give the Spartans momentum.<\/p>\n
The Broncos tied the game with two scores in the second quarter.<\/p>\n
Holstein hit Kameran Senegal on an out route on the sideline, and Senegal sprinted 60 yards to get the Broncos rolling.<\/p>\n
Holstein scored on a 1-yard keeper later in the quarter to tie the game 14-14 at halftime.<\/p>\n
Zachary scored on its first possession of the third quarter to take the lead for good.<\/p>\n
Connor Wisham rushed for a 9-yard score to put the Broncos up 21-14 with 4:17 remaining in the third quarter.<\/p>\n
The defenses traded stops until 4:38 remaining in the game, when Kellen Conachen connected on a 21-yard field goal that put Zachary up 24-14.<\/p>\n
The Spartans drove 70 yards in eight plays, including a conversion on fourth-and-11, and pulled within three points on a Zhavier Jupiter 5-yard run with 2:12 remaining.<\/p>\n
After the kickoff, Zachary needed one first down to put the game away. Facing a third-and-5, Holstein completed an 8-yard out pass to Charles Robertson to seal the victory.<\/p>\n
Zachary wide receivers Kameran Senegal and Charles Robertson: The duo combined for 207 yards receiving. Senegal caught four passes for 113 yards and a score, and Robertson hauled in seven catches for 94 yards.<\/p>\n
Zachary coach David Brewerton: I dont think we played particularly well, but that has a lot to do with how East Ascension played tonight. Hat's off to them. When you are in a playoff run, you have to win games like this. You gotta be able to figure out a way to get it done, and we did it.<\/p>\n
East Ascension coach Darnell Lee: Our defense played lights-out. We jumped on them (Zachary) early, and neither team quit. We had other opportunities in the half, but we didnt do a good job. We fought hard. We didn't lose this game ... they (Zachary) won it.<\/p>\n
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Read this article: <\/p>\n
How Zachary and its SEC-bound QB found a way vs. East Ascension - The Advocate<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Top-seeded Zachary overcame a sloppy start and held on to beat No. Continue reading