3 takeaways from Calvary-Rayville at the Eddie Robinson Classic

GRAMBLING -- The 4th Annual Eddie Robinson Classic featured four prep jamborees with teams from northwest Louisiana, northeast Louisiana, central Louisiana and Acadiana at Grambling State University’s Robinson Stadium on Saturday.

Here are three takeaways from Game 2 of the Eddie Robinson Classic that pitted the Calvary Cavaliers against the Rayville Hornets.

1. Calvary was red hot right from the start

On Calvary's first offensive possession, Cavaliers junior quarterback Cade Hart made it look easy on as he brought Calvary straight down the field to the Rayville 3-yard line while converting on two separate fourth down plays.

From the Rayville 3-yard line on fourth-and-goal, Calvary junior running back Isaiah Brown bulled his way into the end zone for the game’s initial score. Cavaliers sophomore kicker Jordan Wallace added the extra point kick and Calvary took the early 7-0 lead.

On Rayville’s third offensive play from scrimmage, Calvary’s defensive line had a great push to cause a fumble which gave the Cavaliers the ball on the Rayville 15-yard line.

Following a few penalties that moved Calvary back, Hart found senior wide receiver Micah Jernigan for a 36-yard touchdown pass. Again, Wallace was successful on the extra point kick to give the Cavaliers the 14-0 advantage with 3:44 left in the first half.

With 36.1 seconds remaining in the first half, Hart found junior wide receiver Mason Woodle for a 55-yard touchdown pass down the home sideline.  After making the catch, Woodle made a nice stiff arm on a Rayville defensive back that enabled the Cavaliers to score.  Wallace’s third point after touchdown was good to give Calvary a 21-0 halftime lead.

2. Rayville’s defense stepped up in the second half

Rayville coach Lent Bursey and his coaching staff made some adjustments at halftime to shut out in the second half what seemed like an unstoppable offensive attack from Calvary in the first half.

Calvary was able to move the ball well between the 20s, but the Cavaliers were unsuccessful in punching in a score which has to give Rayville a vote of confidence heading into Week 1.

Rayville was able to score its lone touchdown in the second half when quarterback James Powell, Jr. scored on a 3-yard touchdown run.  Rayville freshman kicker Jordan Debose added the PAT to close out the scoring at 21-7 in favor of Calvary.   

3. Calvary Baptist running back Isaiah Brown is a load

Calvary  junior running back Isaiah Brown (5-foot-9, 205 pounds) might not put up gaudy numbers in the Calvary spread offense attack. When Brown does get the ball, he can lower that big shoulder and bulldoze his way for positive yardage.

Facing a fourth-and-goal from the Rayville 3-yard line, Brown used his powerful legs to blast through the Rayville defense for the game’s first score.

Next week, Calvary Baptist will travel to face the Byrd Yellow Jackets on Thursday, while the Rayville Hornets travel to Winnsboro to battle the Franklin Parish Patriots on Friday,  in both teams’ regular season openers.

NOTE: The Arcadia Hornets crushed the Lincoln Prep Panthers 32-0 in the opening game of the Eddie Robinson Classic at Grambling State University’s Robinson Stadium on Saturday.