The Catholic-Baton Rouge ball carrier had what looked to be a clear path to the end zone when Edna Karr linebacker Kylon Jones put his arms around him and Ronell Kindell knocked the ball loose.
That takeaway by the Karr defense was its fourth of the game and sealed a 17-10 victory Friday at Morris F.X. Jeff Sr. Stadium in Algiers that advanced the top-seeded Cougars (13-0) back to the LHSAA Division I select state final next week at the Caesars Superdome.
Defensive end Romeo Brown recovered the football that let Karr regain possession with 1:27 remaining, and senior running back Tre Garrison (26 carries, 121 yards) ran 12 yards for the first down that allowed the Cougars to kneel out the clock.
Catholic (10-3) had the ball at the Karr 20 after a pass interference call on fourth down let the visiting Bears keep possession, but the next play resulted in the fumble that all but sealed the win for Karr.
Karr will face St. Augustine in the state final — a rematch from when the Cougars won 42-21 in the regular season.
“Week 15 again, at 4400, that sounds good to me,” Karr coach Brice Brown said in reference to the General Meyer Avenue address for the high school.
Karr and Catholic played a closely contended semifinal for the second year in a row after last season’s game resulted in a 21-19 victory for the Cougars on their way to winning a seventh state championship.
In this one, Karr quarterback John Johnson ran for one touchdown and threw for another, all before halftime, as neither team scored after the break.
The other three Karr takeaways came on interceptions, the first two by Maurice Williams just before halftime and LSU signee Aiden Hall on an underthrown pass near the goal line.
Jones, who wrapped up the ball carrier that led to the fumble, caught a pass tipped by defensive tackle Richard Anderson — another LSU signee — for the other takeaway.
Another key play came on a fourth-down stop deep in Karr territory when quarterback Baylor Graves tried to escape pressure and threw incomplete to the end zone.
“Turnovers — in a margin-of-error game, a one-possession game — things like that are going to make a big difference,” Catholic coach Hudson Fuller said.
The lead changed hands three times before halftime. Karr senior Xavier Owens caught a 36-yard pass to the end zone for a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter. Catholic responded when Graves scored on a 36-yard keeper around the left end. Johnson put the Cougars back in front with an 11-yard keeper up the right sideline for a 14-10 lead.
Karr took a 17-10 lead into halftime when Brayan Castellon kicked a 25-yard field goal with less than a minute remaining.
Karr won with 14 players on the field who signed with Division I colleges on Wednesday against a Catholic team that also had Ohio State signee Blaine Bradford on defense along with UL signee Harrison Kidder at linebacker.
