Ladue Reverses Trends in First Home Game

played its first Suburban East Conference game at its first home game on Saturday. Going in, the Rams were 0-2 and their opponents, the McCluer South-Berkeley Bulldogs were 2-0. Good for the Rams, the game went against the trend, in a big way.

Ladue overwhelmed Berkley with passing and rushing, shutting down the Bulldogs 35-0.

Senior running back, Deavin Edwards lead the Rams in rushing with 125 yards in 15 carries. He had lost the ball three times in the two previous games, but not here. “Zero fumbles is better,” he said.

Junior, Shawn Whitley, who ran for over a 100 yards in each of the two previous games was held to 41 yards in five carries, as he was injured on a tackle at the end of the first half.

“Deavin is a powerful runner. He does a good job of bouncing off guys and keeping his feet moving,” Ladue coach Mike Tarpey said. “When Whitley got hurt, it was kind of his, those are our main two tail backs, so Deavin stepped up.”

Ladue lead at the half 14-0 on a 26-yard touchdown run by Edwards and a 2-yard run by senior, Michael Horton-Lofton. Sophomore kicker, Eric Stuber was five-for-five with his 1-point conversions.

The Rams goose-egged the Bulldogs, but they didn’t take the game lightly, Rams senior receiver, Jehu Chesson said.

“They have a great quarterback, good athletes on their team, they alway put up a fight so we had to fight tooth and nail,” Chesson said. “This whole week, no joking around, no laughing, everything was serious.”

Chesson was the leading receiver for the Rams, accounting for 46 yards in seven receptions. Senior quarterback, Brandon Carr was 16 for 26 attempted passes, throwing for a total of 191 yards. Ladue rushed for a total of 201 yards.

Berkeley junior quarterback, Deon Miller-Harris used the option play very effectively, and had some success with it agains the Rams.

“But we made some adjustments,” Tarpey said. “We hadn’t seen the option yet, and when you see the option for the first time it’s something new for the kids.”

The Rams scored in the third quarter on a 31-yard pass play to junior, Chase Lambie, and twice in the fourth on runs by Edwards (12 yards) and senior, Daylen Dean (6 yards).

Bulldogs coach Howard Brown said his team “would have loved to have been 3-0, but Ladue is a good team. Jehu Chesson is a magnificent receiver. I’m so happy he’s graduating,” he said.

Next week Ladue will play away at Jennings. Tarpey said they expect to see a similar offense there. Berkeley will play at Clayton.