• By DAMIAN FOLEY
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Nov 14, 2009

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PLAQUEMINE — The final numbers may not indicate it, but St. John and Christian Life fielded a full complement of defensive players during their clash in the opening round of the Class 1A playoffs on Friday night.

The defensive players were little more than spectators though, as the two teams combined for 818 yards and 84 total points in St. John’s 53-31 win over the Crusaders that stretched beyond three hours.

St. John will play at Ouachita Christian next week in the second round.

The Eagles (10-1) were led by Josh Johnson, who rushed for 92 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, while Michael Martinez completed 10 of 17 passes for 183 yards and a score.

Christian Life (2-9) had two quarterbacks throw for over 100 yards, with Kevin Wright posting 8 of 13 for 123 yards and a touchdown and Steven Whisnant adding 103 yards.

“We knew they were going to throw some stuff at us that we didn’t see last time, and that made it tough,” said Eagles coach Tut Musemeche, whose team beat the Crusaders 41-7 in a district game on Oct. 16. “They came out and played loose and with energy, but we made some adjustments and in the second and third quarter put some distance between us.”

“Our guys played their hearts out,” said Crusaders coach Warren Capone. “We played a very good football team that will probably be there when it’s time to play in the dome.”

Corey David got the scoring spree started for St. John with a 62-yard run up the middle midway through the first quarter. Christian Life answered with a 35-yard field goal by Whisnant.

On fourth-and-long from 25 yards out with a minute left in the first quarter, Martinez found Davante Williams streaking down the left touchline for a touchdown.

A 57-yard pass on the first play of the Crusaders’ next drive from Whisnant to Frank Bartley got Christian Life in scoring range. On their second play of the drive, Wright rushed in from 3 yards out to cut the lead to 14-10.

The Crusaders successfully attempted an onside kick, and on the first play from scrimmage Wright hit Joe David Wilkerson from 42 yards out for the go-ahead score.

Josh Johnson and Martinez added a pair of short-yardage rushing scores. When David returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown, the Eagles led 34-17.

Johnson provided the final score of the half when he rushed in from 2 yards out with only minutes remaining on the clock.