St. Paul’s Wolves couldn’t hold onto a 22-0 lead and came up short falling to the unbeaten Thidodaux Tigers 25-22 as junior place kicker Drew Williamson booted a 43-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.

St. Paul’s (9-3) playoff journey ends on the road with a gut-wrenching loss in a game they dominated in the first half building a 22-0 advantage, heading into the locker room.

Thibodaux (10-0), the No. 5 seed travels to Barbe, the No. 4 seed, which edged Dutchtown 28-26 to battle each other in the quarterfinal round.

Alec Duncan

St. Paul’s running back Stephon Smith caught a 24-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Alec Duncan in the first quarter to put the Wolves on top. Jake Saltalamacchia kicked the extra point for the 7-0 lead.

Wolves’ senior fullback Josh Pereira tallied on an 11-yard run followed by Saltalamacchia’s point after to make it 14-0. Later in the second quarter, Duncan found Mikhail Washington on a 55-yard touchdown pass. Following two Thibodaux off side penalties, the Wolves decided to go for a two-point conversion. Pereira made his way into the end zone to make it 22-0, which is how the first half ended.

Thibodaux head coach Dennis Lorio, who coached the Tigers to a state championship back in 1991, returned to the program this year.

“It’s hard to believe how bad we played in the first half, and how good we played in the second half to steal a victory. Our players believed in themselves. Give credit to St. Paul’s for their outstanding play in the first half,” Lorio said.

“St. Paul’s is a very good team. Their offense did a good job in the first half. They kept us off balance defensively.”

Lorio said his club missed a few open receivers in the first half. “We just didn’t play with confidence.”

Thibodaux got back into the game in the third quarter, converting on a fourth-and-seven by faking a punt to keep a drive alive. The Tigers’ Donnie Morgan picked up 10 yards on the fake punt. Thibodaux junior Trovon Reed tallied on a 55-yard run with Williamson kicking the PAT to cut the Wolves’ lead to 22-7.

Lorio said Trovon Reed put the team on his shoulders.

“His 55-yard TD run gave us some momentum, and the fans got behind us. We were dead in the water at halftime, and his score gave us confidence to come back. Our stadium has seen some tremendous games over the years, but this ranks right up there with them,” Lorio added.

St. Paul’s coach Ken Sears said the fake punt swung momentum Thibodaux’s way.

“They made the key plays they needed to in the second half, and we didn’t. It’s an extremely tough loss,” Sears said.

“I’m real proud of my seniors (22). They gave a tremendous effort. They put their heart and soul into the program. They are an outstanding group of young men,” Sears added.

Thibodaux got on the board again in the fourth quarter with senior quarterback Carmichael Pharagood hooking up with Reed on an 11-yard scoring pass with 10:05 left in the game. Following a Wolves’ off side call, the Tigers went for two with Brandon Duncan converting on the two-point try to cut the margin to 22-15.

Reed got into the end zone again, this time on a 47-yard run. Williamson was true on the point after to tie things at 22-22, which set the stage for Williamson’s heroics.

Coach Lorio said it was only Williamson’s second field goal of the season. He kicked a game-winner in the Tigers’ 3-0 victory over Lutcher in the third game of the season.

SPS generated 12 first downs with 355 yards of total offense. Duncan went 9-of-23 for 157 yards with one interception. The Wolves rushed for 198 yards. SPS fumbled twice, losing one.

Thibodaux gained nine first downs with 354 yards of total offense. The Tigers rushed for 216 yards. Pharagood was 8-of-24 for 138 yards. Thibodaux fumbled three times, coughing up one.