Mandeville’s Skippers set an early tone kicking a field goal on it’s initial drive and went on to defeat the Holy Cross Tigers 22-7 in the first game of the Covington Jamboree Friday night at Jack Salter Stadium.

The defending Class 2A state champion John Curtis Patriots then hung on to defeat the host Covington Lions 21-16 in the nightcap.

MHS senior quarterback John Wenzel clicked on 10-of-15 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns and tallied on a one-yard run to navigate the Skippers to victory.

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Wenzel also rushed the ball seven times for 44 yards.

MHS head coach Guy LeCompte said his senior quarterback (Wenzel) did a great job running the offense.

“We went out there and executed. We could have executed more plays because we didn’t score twice when we were inside the 10 due to some mistakes, but besides that we had some good runs and passes,” Wenzel said.

“My offensive line was able to get a push off the line of scrimmage and gave me passing lanes. I couldn’t have asked for more than that,” Wenzel added.

“It was a good start and there were some things that we can build on.”

Senior place kicker Matt Dombrowski put the Skippers up 3-0 connecting on an 18-yard field goal at the 10:43 mark of the first half capping off an eight-play drive.

The MHS defense then held Holy Cross regaining possession at it’s 23 with 7:55 left.

The Skippers put together a 77-yard drive culminating with Wenzel’s one-yard keeper for a 9-0 lead. The Tigers’ Ed Eagan blocked the PAT.

Holy Cross’ Devin Smith got the Tigers back in the game ripping off a 95-yard TD run off right tackle outracing the defense to the end zone. Smith picked up 115 yards on six carries. Nicholas Dale added the PAT to cut the lead to 9-7 with 7:02 remaining.

MHS’ Sylvester Martin returned the ensuing kickoff 40 yards. On the second play from scrimmage, Wenzel hooked up with Martin on a slant route. Martin did the rest outracing the Tigers’ defense for a 50-yard score with 6:18 to go. MHS failed to convert on a two-point conversion, but still led 15-7.

Following a Holy Cross three-and-out, the Skippers took over at midfield after a punt. On second down, Charles Jones gained seven yards. Facing third-and-three from the 43, Wenzel found Chris Houlemard, who caught the ball near the left sideline, made a quick shake-and-bake move to elude a defender and cut up field taking it to the house with 3:47 left. The point after closed out the scoring at 22-7.

LeCompte said his receivers Houlemard and Martin both did an excellent job along with Jones and Wesley LaBorde running the ball. Jones gained 37 yards on five carries and LaBorde picked up 28 yards. LeCompte also praised the play of the offensive line.

“They gave John (Wenzel) time to throw.”

MHS graduated all 11 of its defensive starters from last year. LeCompte felt his defense played well under defensive coordinator Craig Jones.

“Coach Jones has taken a young group and has done a lot with them in a short period of time.”

The MHS defense played a strong game recording three interceptions. Jerry Peterson, Sam McGivern and Kris Rice, a Fontainebleau transfer, picked off passes for the Skippers.

Peterson, who plays free safety, had three tackles and an assist, while defending two passes. LeCompte talked about Peterson having a nose for the ball.

“Jerry is a sophomore who has gotten better every day in practice. He is one of those players that understands the game,” LeCompte said.

Peterson got his baptism under fire.

“This is a lot faster than freshmen football, that’s for sure. It’s a high tempo. I just try to give 100 percent. I couldn’t have done anything without the help of my teammates. They are my brothers and I love them,” Peterson said.

Holy Cross passed for 130 yards connecting on 13-of-23, while gaining 112 yards on 11 carries.

Holy Cross coach Barry Wilson said a lot of his younger players got to see lots of action.

“They made a lot of mistakes, but they were out there competing. Mandeville is a very good football team and coach LeCompte does a tremendous job with them. They looked good and we are just not ready to hang with that an explosive power yet,” Wilson said.

In Friday’s nightcap, John Curtis had its hands full with Covington as the Lions failed to quit before the Patriots secured a hard-fought 21-16 victory.

CHS came out jelling on offense after receiving the opening kick off. Senior QB Tyler Scott, who completed 6-of-9 passes for 76 yards in the game, generated an 11-play 61-yard drive, which took 7:01 off the clock with Spencer Graham booting a 24-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

John Curtis responded with an eight play drive taking 3:08 off the clock with quarterback Bryce Jenkins hitting Josh Hanberry on a 19-yard strike to make it 6-3. Brandon Naumann added the PAT with 4:51 left in the first half. Jenkins hit on 5-of-9 passes for 76 yards on the night.

The Patriots defense stymied the Lions offense forcing a three-and-out. Patriots’ junior running back Torrey Pierce, who topped all ball carriers with 80 yards on 11 carries, hit pay dirt from 37 yards out with 1:28 left in the half with Naumann true on the point after for a 14-3 margin.

The Lions missed a 28-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the half.

Patriots head coach J.T. Curtis in his 41st season said Covington put on a strong effort.

“Covington played well and they had some nice plays in the second half.

“It’s a jamboree and what you want to do in a jamboree is come out and learn to improve from this week to next week. That is the key for us. I think coach Malter’s group (Scobel) did a great job,” Curtis said.

“It was a good game for us too and we got a lot out of it. That’s why you play these things. We have a little improving to do and we want to get better next week going against a really good Mandeville team,” Curtis added.

John Curtis scored an apparent 47-yard TD when Jenkins hit Leonard Wasike on the first possession of the second half, but the play was nullified due to a motion penalty. The series ended with a punt, but CHS couldn’t generate any offense and also punted.

The Patriots then went 58 yards in 11 plays with Dex Thibodeaux crashing in from four yards out. The PAT made it 21-3.

CHS’ Otis Jacobs nearly broke the kick off returning the ball 42 yards setting up the Lions at the Curtis 45 with 5:25 remaining. Scott found David “Tank” Mizell for 15 yards. Mizell caught three balls for 40 yards. Lions’ senior running back Phillip Bickham, who finished with 40 yards on 16 rushes cashed in from the two with only 1:29 left. Graham’s point after cut the lead to 21-10.

Phillip Bickham talked about his coaches saying the game would be a war.

“We never gave up even though we were down. Tank Mizell and my linemen made a hole and I followed them in on the short touchdown,” Phillip Bickham said.

”I’m not going to lie John Curtis played really good defense. They read our offense really well. They keyed in on all the runs. They are quick off the ball and are well disciplined on defense,” Bickham added.

CHS coach Malter Scobel said he was proud of the way his team fought and battled back.

“One thing I told our players before the game was I expect hustle, focus and discipline and not to give up. We respect John Curtis, but we weren’t going to back down,” Scobel said.

Following Bickham’s short run with time running out to nobody’s surprise, Graham tried an onside kick and the Lions Robert Memleb recovered the kick. The Lions took over at midfield. Phillip Bickham carried for 11 and 4 yards. After a sack, Scott hit Chuckie Humphries for a gain of seven. Following an incompletion, Scott linked up with Jarius Bickham on a perfectly thrown 23 yard TD with Bickham elevating to out jump the defender in the left corner of the end zone to trim the lead to 21-16. The Lions went for two, but were unsuccessful on Scott’s keeper.

Bickham praised his younger brother Jarius for making an outstanding catch on the Lions’ final possession. “He just went up and got it.”

Scobel credited Memleb, a senior, with playing a strong game, replacing linebacker Otha Peters who was out with an injury.

“He stepped in and played his heart out. He also played on special teams. I was proud of his commitment and leadership,” Scobel said.

With just 28.2 seconds left, the Lions attempted another on sides kick, but the Patriots recovered and then ran out the clock to finish off the 21-16 victory.

CHS travels to St. Amant Friday to get the regular season underway, while John Curtis heads to Mandeville.