Late TD lifts St. Thomas More past Lafayette Christian, 52-48, in Division II Select championship

By Tyler Cleveland 

St. Thomas More photo by WGNO-TV's Twitter page

NEW ORLEANS - Trailing by 10 points with less than two minutes left, the only folks in the Caesars Superdome who thought St. Thomas More still had a pulse were standing on the home sideline.

Apparently, that’s all the belief the Cougars needed.

Junior quarterback Sam Altmann tossed touchdown passes of 44 and 54 yards in the final minute of the game to send St. Thomas More to a stunning 52-48 win against crosstown rival Lafayette Christian in the LHSAA Select Division II championship Friday afternoon.

“I just couldn’t be prouder of the team and the way they fought all the way to the end,” Cougar coach Jim Hightower said. “I’ve been a part of more than 500 football games in my career, and I don’t remember any, off the top of my head, like that one.”

The Cougars (13-1) got the ball back with 1:45 to go, trailing 48-38. Altmann hit Christian McNees in stride on a 44-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 48-45 with a minute left.

St. Thomas More recovered the ensuing onside kick after it glanced off a Lafayette Christian player and right into the hands of sophomore Nicholas Blanchard.

On the very next play, Altmann faked a hand-off, rolled to his left, set his feet and fired an absolute dart to senior Connor Stelly. Stelly brought in the pass, right between two defenders and three steps into the end zone, for a 54-yard touchdown to put the Cougars ahead for good.

“We had a little smash with a flag on the inside,” Altmann said. “And originally, we had a hitch on the back side, but LCA called a timeout. Over on the sideline, coach (Hightower) said, ‘If the out’s not there, flip your hips and throw it up to Stelly and let him go make a play.’”

And that’s exactly what Altmann did.

Four plays later, Nick Beckwith picked off a prayer of a pass from Lafayette Christian quarterback Ju’Juan Johnson to seal the win.

After a wild opening 47 minutes, the pandemonium in the final 60 seconds seemed only appropriate. The sheer numbers from Friday’s championship game border on the absurd: The two teams combined for 1,392 yards of total offense and 58 first downs.

Altmann earned MVP honors, completing 22 of his 39 pass attempts for 422 yards with six touchdowns and one interception. McNees brought in 12 receptions for 227 yards and two touchdowns, while Stelly finished with nine grabs for 145 yards.

Johnson, who is rated as the top prospect in Louisiana for the class of 2023, was heroic in defeat. He passed for 347 yards and ran for 238 with five total touchdowns.

For all the offensive fireworks, both teams struggled to find their rhythm early.

St. Thomas More wasted no time on its first drive, as Altmann connected with receiver McNees on the very first play from scrimmage for a 74-yard gain to set the Cougars up with a first down at the LCA 11-yard line.

But the Knights red-zone defense held, forcing a 30-yard field goal from Brendan Bourque that split the uprights and put the Cougars ahead 3-0 with 10:38 left in the first quarter.

Lafayette Christian (10-4) responded, as Johnson marched the Knights right down the field. But facing a fourth-and-1 at the Cougar 6-yard line, Johnson was stood up on a keeper and the Knights turned it over on downs.

The two teams traded a couple of possessions, and just when it looked like Lafayette Christian was primed to take the lead, STM senior Tyler Collins made a diving interception at the Knights’ 7-yard line.

It turned out to be just the spark St. Thomas More needed.

The Knights’ high-powered offense went to work - junior Hutch Swilley broke free on a 43-yard rush that moved them across midfield, and Altmann found Stelly for a 23-yard touchdown pass to stretch the lead to 10-0 with 11:23 left in the second quarter.

Facing a double-digit deficit, the Lafayette Christian offense finally kicked into gear.

Johnson broke off runs of 14, 17 and 16 yards to work the Cougars down inside the red zone, then hit Trae Grogan for an 11-yard touchdown pass on a perimeter screen that pulled the Cougars back within three, 10-7.

On the Knights’ ensuing possession, Swilley converted two crucial fourth-and-short situations en route to a long touchdown drive that Altmann capped with a 2-yard scoring pass to Tanner Hornback.

It looked like STM would take that 17-7 lead into the half, but Johnson had other plans.

He hit two long passes to move the Cougars down the field, then connected with senior Dudley Jackson on a 16-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left in the half to trim the Cougars’ lead to 17-14 at the break.

After halftime, the Knights picked up right where they left off with two more quick scoring drives.

LCA scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 41-yard run by Jackson and led 21-17 just 36 seconds into the third quarter. After the defense forced a punt, Johnson stretched the Knights’ lead to 27-17 with a 36-yard touchdown pass to senior Alonzo Ryes.

But STM wasn’t done just yet - the Cougars climbed back into the game with a 60-yard touchdown run by Swilley to pull within three, 27-24, with 9:24 left in the third quarter.

The Knights answered right back, this time on the legs of Jackson, who found a crease in the right side and raced 57 yards down the Lafayette Christian sideline for a touchdown and a 34-24 lead.

Later in the third, STM took advantage of a Knights' fumble as Altmann found Hornback for another touchdown pass - this one from 10 yards out - to cut LCA's lead to 34-31.

The reprieve was fleeting for STM, as the Knights responded with another touchdown drive, Johnson’s 5-yard run that put LCA ahead, 41-31, with 59 seconds left in the third.

STM trimmed the deficit to 41-38 with 8:47 left in the fourth quarter when Altmann found McNees in stride for a 69-yard pass-and-catch.

Lafayette Christian came right back, driving 80 yards in 16 plays and scoring what appeared to be the knockout punch with 1:45 to go on a 1-yard run by Johnson. The junior was banged up on the play, but limped off the field to chants of “MVP! MVP!” from the Lafayette Christian fans.

But it wasn’t to be - Altmann’s heroics in the final minute sent the Knights home with a loss in a LHSAA Championship game for the second year in a row.

“It’s hard to get here and come up short again,” Lafayette Christian coach Trev Faulk said. “But I couldn’t be prouder of my guys and the way they played. They will come out of this game as better players, better teammates and better men.”