FW Nolan Catholic pounds Austin St. Michael's, returns to state final

By Tim Waits

Special to the Star-Telegram

TEMPLE -- As far as Fort Worth Nolan Catholic coach Joe Prud'homme is concerned, his Vikings have yet to play their best game this season.

They only have one game left to reach their potential.

Three Vikings each rushed for more than 100 yards as Nolan Catholic wore down Austin St. Michael's 40-14 Saturday afternoon at Wildcat Stadium to earn a fifth straight trip to the TAPPS Division I state championship game. Nolan (11-2) will meet Addison Trinity Christian (11-2) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco.

"We want to peak at the right time," said Prud'homme, whose team will be defending its title and looking for a fourth in the last five years. "We played pretty well, but we haven't put all three aspects of the game together."

It couldn't get much better from the offensive aspect. The Vikings piled up 397 yards rushing as Luke Alves (135), Joseph Prud'homme (112) and Joe Montez (111) all crossed the 100-yard barrier.

Alves and Prud'homme both scored twice and Montez added the other touchdown. Alves scored on runs of 38 and 2 yards. Prud'homme, the Vikings' quarterback, went in from 19 and 30 yards. Montez went in from the 7 midway through the second quarter. All but one of those touchdowns came in the first half.

Nolan overcame a 14-13 second-quarter deficit after the Crusaders connected on a 79-yard touchdown pass from Reed Carlton to Scotland Butler with 10:11 to go in the half. The Vikings answered quickly to take a 30-14 halftime lead.

A 23-yard strike from Prud'homme to Nick Boudreaux and a 23-yard rush by Alves set up a 7-yard touchdown run for Montez to put the Vikings back in the lead, 20-14.

Jonathan Faltynski picked off a Crusader pass and the Vikings needed just four plays to get in from the St. Michael's 38 as Prud'homme kept on a 30-yard score.

McCaleb Taylor kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired in the half for the 16-point margin. He added a 45-yarder in the third quarter.

Nolan added a final touchdown with Alves going in from the 2 with 7:01 to play.

"We can't panic. We just have to play with intensity," Joe Prud'homme said. "We have a veteran team and they've been here before."

Looking for comments?