Louisiana LookBack: Top 10 takeaways from Week 5 of high school football

Holy Cross continues stunning turnaround with thrilling game-ending win against John Curtis

We're officially through with the first half of the regular season. 

I know, I know. Football season passes fast, doesn't it?

Some districts, such as District 3-5A, have been in full swing since the beginning of the year due to their large size. Other small districts haven't begun league play yet.

There were both important league matchups and scintillating non-district matchups in Week 5, highlighted by three games in which both teams were ranked in the SBLive Louisiana Top 25.

We are rolling out a new weekly statewide recap called Louisiana Lookback. Here is a quick look at 10 interesting matchups that took place over the weekend.

1. Holy Cross, Holy Cow

Holy Cross didn't win a district game last year, finishing 0-6 in the Catholic League. But that was before the arrival of coach Scott Wattigny, a Tiger alum, who has the program off to a 5-0 start. On Saturday night, Holy Cross stunned reigning Division I select state champion John Curtis to improve to 2-0 in District 9-5A play.

Quarterback Cole Canatella tossed a 32-yard TD pass to Derrick Johnson on the final play of regulation. Georgia Tech receiver commit Koby Young ran for a two-point conversion in the 42-41 thriller. It was the Tigers' first win over John Curtis since the Patriots joined the Catholic League in 2015, according to nola.com's Chris Dabe.

2. Sending in the Calvary

Westgate made the long trip from New Iberia to Shreveport to challenge Calvary Baptist in a non-district matchup of teams ranked in the SBLive Louisiana Top 25. The Class 2A Cavaliers showed that size doesn't always matter, at least when it comes to enrollment.

Late in the game, the Class 4A Tigers were knocking on the door in the red zone, looking to take the lead. Julius Moss played spoiler, intercepting a pass and returning it 90 yards to paydirt in a 32-22 Cavalier win. 

3. Ruston Rallies

North Louisiana large-school rivals Neville and Ruston hooked up in a non-district game in Monroe between two undefeated clubs. As expected, it was a low-scoring affair.

Neville carried a 10-0 lead into the fourth quarter before the Bearcats scored two touchdowns to win, 14-10. Yards were difficult to come by, according to Jake Martin of the Ouachita Citizen. Ruston gained 204 yards and Neville had 201. 

4. Running of the Broncos

On the other side of the Ouachita River, another showdown of undefeated teams took place with Zachary visiting West Monroe. This one was not low-scoring, as far as the Broncos were concerned.

The 6-foot-6 LSU tight end commit, Trey'Dez Green, caught two TD passes as Zachary bounced the Rebels, 48-7. West Monroe came within seven, 14-7, on Hayden Federico's 45-yard keeper, but Zachary reeled off 34 unanswered points, according to Cody Futrell of the Baton Rouge Advocate.

5. Taking the Sting Out

Undefeated Carencro was locked in an offensive slugfest with winless New Iberia for the first half of a District 3-5A contest at New Iberia. The Yellow Jackets led 7-0 and 13-7, and later went into the break tied 34-all with the Bears.

Carencro surged ahead 27-13 in the second quarter, but the Yellow Jackets promptly answered, The two teams combined for over 700 yards of offense in the first half, according to Neal McClelleand of the Acadiana Advocate. However, it was all Bears in the second half, as they pitched a shutout in the second half to win, 55-34.

6. Cougars Clamping Down

Edna Karr continued to make its case as the top defense in the state. The undefeated Cougars have allowed 37 points in five games with two shutouts.

Though Karr trailed Catholic League rival Brother Martin 7-0 at halftime, the Cougars scored 19 unanswered points in the second half at Tad Gormley Stadium. 

7. Finally Taming the Tigers

You had to throw the records out the door when River Parish foes East St. John and Hahnville squared off in a District 7-5A game on Friday. The undefeated Wildcats had what seemed to be a comfortable 42-22 lead, only to have the 1-4 Tigers roar back into contention.

Spurred by Savayon Weber's 56-yard fumble return for a score, Hahnville posted 15 straight points before falling, 42-37, according to Clyde Verdin of nola.com.

8. Purple Knights Perplexed

Jesuit handed St. Augustine its third consecutive loss. The 2-3 Blue Jays held their Catholic League rival scoreless until the final minute of the game, according to nola.com's Mike Strom. Jesuit gained only 143 yards compared to 249 for the Purple Knights, who were penalized 15 times for 117 yards.

St. Aug, which lost to Zachary and Edna Karr in its previous two games, faces undefeated Holy Cross on Saturday. The Purple Knights defeated Holy Cross last year, 40-21.

9. Less Is More

In what may be the zaniest statistic of the season to date, Lafayette Christian had the ball for less than five of 48 minutes in the Knights' 52-14 win over Avoyelles Parish. According to the LCAKnightsSports "X" page, quarterback Ju'Juan Johnson and the offense possessed the ball for 4:13.

The Knights scored on one play on three possessions. Avoyelles ran 65 plays from scrimmage - 63 on the ground. The Knights had 25 plays.

10. Consistently Complete

St. Thomas More is making a bid for the state's most complete team through the midway point of the season. The Cougars shut down Denham Springs, 35-3, on the road to stay perfect at 5-0. STM's offense is always high-octane, and coordinator Terry Tidwell's defense has been equally good.

Denham Springs came into the game on a three-game winning streak, averaging 45.7 points over that span. According to Charles Salzer of the Baton Rouge Advocate, Denham Springs managed only two first downs over its first five possessions. 

Holy Cross photo by Savanna Heller

-- Mike Coppage | @SBLiveLA