STM Wins State Title in a Wild Fourth Quarter Comeback

The battle for the LHSAA select division II state championship was set between two Lafayette area schools. It was an offensive showdown between the Knights of LCA and the Cougars of STM. The Knights were 10-3 and coming off of back-to-back electric offensive performances in the quarter and semifinal games. The Knights battled back against Da LA Salle in a 70-49 victory and then proceeded to put up 68 points on Teurlings Catholic. They set up a rematch with in-district rivals STM. The Cougars were 12-1 on the season and coming off a dominant 38-7 win over E.D. White. With the stage set for the Lafayette showdown, let's take a look at how the game went.

STM would come hot and pick off of LCA with 7 minutes reaming in the first and then later add a touchdown on their second possession to go up 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was a wild one with LCA responding in big with their first score of the game. STM looked to keep it's ten-point lead and did just that with a score of their own. STM was looking to go into the half holding the explosive Knight offense to just 7 points but LCA would score with just seconds remaining to make it a 17-14 game at the Half.

LCA's offense would come to life in a big way in the second half as they would score on their opening possession in just 36 seconds. The Knights would continue to put pressure on the cougars and they would get the ball back and score again. This score marked a 21-0 run in the last 2:15 in favor of LCA.

STM wasn't going to go away quietly as they ripped off a 61-yard touchdown run to get themselves back into the ball game and make the score 27-24. LCA had no intentions of slowing down on offense as the knights would score on their fourth straight possession to get it back to a two-score ball game heading into the fourth quarter.

The Fourth was absolute madness as LCA would get a crucial stop on third down to give the ball right back to the Knights. LCA would go on to score once more to increase their lead to 41-24. The cougars continued to answer every LCA touchdown with a score of their own but time was running out and LCA held a commanding ten-point lead with less than 2 minutes remaining in the game.

This bizarre fourth quarter was far from over as STM would score on a long touchdown pass from the veteran quarterback, Sam Altman, to make it a 48-45 ball game. The Cougars weren't giving up hope on their championship dreams and they went on to recover an onside kick to keep those hopes alive.

What unfolded next, was something that every high-school kid dreams about. Sam Altman drops and throws a deep bomb on the money to Conor Stelly. The Cougars took the lead for the first time since early in the third quarter. This was the amazing play from Altman to Stelly.

The Knights were set to get the ball back with 45 seconds remaining and nothing would have surprised at this point in the game with the way this fourth quarter had gone. LCA didn't have a response for what seemed like the first time all game long. The Cougars intercepted a deep pass from LCA's quarterback to seal the victory.

The STM Cougars won the select division II State Championship. Here is coach Hightower on STM's big comeback victory.

What an amazing finish to an amazing game and an amazing year for STM. Sam Altman is an absolute warrior the way he battled in this game. This is a kid who had to replace Walker Howard, who was a five-star LSU recruit and surpassed everyone's expectations. Congrats to Sam Altman and the 2022 STM cougars on your state championship.