The stage was set and the script was perfect for the VC Eagles to pick up their first win of the season and hand Central-Catholic of Morgan City their first loss.

The script, however, was not written in stone.

VC found themselves on the short end of a good old fashion shoot-out, falling 54-42 to the no. 2 ranked CCMC Eagles.

“We keep fighting, we had some bright moments but we are still making mistakes we shouldn’t be making,” VC head coach Craig Beverlin said about his team’s performance after the game.

VC (0-6, 0-1) found early momentum, scoring the games first touchdown, when Aaron David found Emile Chiasson from 16 yards out for the early 7-0 VC lead.

The touchdown placed the Eagles in the drivers seat heading into the second quarter until CCMC’s bruising running back Blaze Watson got comfortable in the red zone.

Watson gave VC’s interior defense fits as he punched it in for CCMC on three consecutive trips to the red zone, scoring on runs from two, one, and nine yards out respectively, giving Central-Catholic the 20-7 lead with 5:18 to play in the first half.

“We just aren’t tackling well right now, but a lot of it has to do with the talent we are playing,” Beverlin said. “This is our sixth straight team that is pretty talented.”

After watching twenty unanswered points get mounted on the scoreboard, David connected with Etienne Trahan who fought his way down to the CCMC 30 yard line, setting up a pair of runs by freshman running back Jacoby Davis’ who found pay dirt from three yards out pulling VC within 20-14 with just under four minutes to play in the first half.

With just under a minute to play before halftime, and 34 combined points it seemed as if both offenses were just getting warmed up.

CCMC (6-0, 1-0) added 7 to their lead with :41 left before the break. But that is more than enough time for a VC offense that has begun to hit its stride the last couple of weeks.

David went to work, hitting Chiasson who got into CCMC territory down to the 37 yard line with :28 on the clock. Time, however, was not an existing factor, as David found Reiss Hebert who broke free down the side line, pulling VC within six at 27-21 with :13 left in the half.

The winless Eagles’, had the undefeated Eagles on the ropes giving them everything they could handle, and more heading into a none-the-less thrilling second half of district football.

After giving up the six point lead and a 31 yard touchdown run to CCMC’s Lloyd Grogan, the VC offense needed a quick response.

They found just that. An 18 yard run by Davis along with a pair of 15 yard face mask penalties, the Eagles set up shop at the Central-Catholic fourteen yard line. That was where Chiasson found himself on the receiving end of a David touchdown pass, pulling VC back within six at 34-28 with 7:21 to play in the third quarter.

Only a play or two was holding VC away from breaking the chains and taking the lead and potentially coming away with a huge upset.

The undefeated CCMC Eagles remembered how they got to 5-0 and went to that recipe in the third quarter.

But after the blink of an eye, and twenty unanswered points later, Central-Catholic jumped out to a commanding 54-28 lead with 4:17 to play in the game. The last of the three CCMC scores came on a Sean Anderman pick six that he took 61 yards for the score.

“We are struggling with defensive fundamentals; we were able to put up 42 points, though,” said Beverlin. “We thought we could compete with them and we did.”

The fight and heart of VC was certainly not questioned after this one.

With the game for the most part out of reach and time not on their side, David went back to work. This time teaming up with receiver Ben Primeaux. Striking on touchdown pass and catches of 53 and 8 yards, respectively.

The pair of scores within one minute made it a 54-42 game with :34 seconds to play, making it the last points for either team reaching the games final.

“Our opponents up until this game had a combined record of 25-2, we’re playing some tall caliber teams,” Beverlin said, “but these next four games I think we’re playing some teams more comparable to us in size, and we’re looking forward to that.”

VC was led by Aaron David 14-28-2-233-5 through the air. Jacoby Davis 16-57-1 and Drake Broussard carried nine times for 43 yards. Emile Chiasson was 2-30-2, Ettiene Trahan 4-68, and Ryan David 3-47.

VC finished the game with 112 rushing yards, 233 passing yards and 345 total yards in the loss.

The Eagles look to gain steam in district while searching to pick up that first win as they hit the road, traveling to Ascension Episcopal.