By Jake McCoy

In what is perhaps one of the best defensive performances in school history, the Grand Lake Hornets made one heck of a statement last Thursday in the district championship game against the Elton Indians.

The Hornets had their eyes set on this game when the schedule was first released earlier this year.

Elton and their star running back and McNeese commit Makelin Lemoine came into the game reeling from a heartbreaking 28-24 loss to Oakdale and had something to prove as Lemoine was averaging 272 yards a game and was currently second in the area in rushing yards but the Grand Lake Hornets were determined to change that and boy they certainly did just that!

The Hornets played very aggressive and very physical, shutting down anything and everything that Elton ran their way ultimately completely limiting Makelin Lemoine to just 16 yards which is a career low, Elton had just 50 yards of total offense on the night!

Offensively Grand Lake played just as great as Senior Mason Babineaux had a career night with 31 carries for 182 yards and four touchdowns.

With the win Grand Lake won their first district championship since 2021 and have some great momentum going into their bye week as they’ll for the Lake Arthur Tigers, who will come into the Hornets nest in two weeks.

Scoring Summary

GL: Mason Babineaux 12 yard run (Kick failed).

GL: Zac Manuel 2 yard run (Silas Pearce pass to Beau St. Romain).

GL: Mason Babineaux 7 yard run (Silas Pearce kick).

GL: Mason Babineaux 2 yard run (Silas Pearce kick).

GL: Mason Babineaux 15 yard run (Silas Pearce kick).

Stats

Rushing: Mason Babineaux 31-182, Zac Manuel 14-102, Beau St. Romain 4-29

Passing: Bransyn Mudd 3-4-0 for 44 yards.

Receiving: Noah Broussard 2-36, Mason Babineaux 1-8.

Final Score

GRAND LAKE 35 ELTON 0