St. Stanislaus football seniors earn first playoff win, a 45-14 victory over Port Gibson
There was plenty to celebrate Friday as St. Stanislaus ran through Port Gibson, 45-14, in the opening round of the Mississippi 3A state football playoffs.
Head coach Nate Encrapera and the senior class earned their first playoff win, and running back Chandler Chapman set a new single-season school rushing record.
The senior took a handoff 24 yards for a score in the third quarter to put his team up 45-0. More importantly than the running clock the score created, the run gave Chapman the record — 1,668 yards.
“I’m proud of myself,” Chapman said. “I worked hard. I came into this season saying I was going to break this record. That was one of my goals. That’s just something I can check off and my next goal is to win a state championship.”
Chapman helped his team get one step closer to that goal with 164 rushing yards, 35 receiving yards and two scores against the Blue Wave.
His 1,668 yards break an 11-year-old record previously held by Bennett Rimmer, at a school known for its history of producing quarterbacks.
“It’s special, historically, a St. Stanislaus team is known for throwing the ball around,” Encrapera said. “The run game is like an add-on. I feel like what we’ve been missing is that physical run game that you need to have later in the season. You’ve got to be able to run the ball in playoff games... he’s done a great job this year and I couldn’t be more proud of our offensive line.”
The win gives the Rock-a-Chaws an eight-win campaign for the first time since 2016, and ended a five-game postseason losing streak.
“I feel like the monkey is off my back,” Encrapera said. “I think we’ve had some tough draws. Ultimately it comes down to me. I’ve got to do a better job preparing our guys in the postseason. Our coaching staff has done a great job this year. They’ve done a great job getting these guys ready for these type of moments. I’m proud of everyone in the organization.”
“We’ve been working hard all summer, all through the season we’ve been working hard so it’s well-deserved,” Chapman added.
St. Stanislaus has won six of its past seven games and has more than just Chapman’s hard running to thank. Senior quarterback Hudson Osborne is in his first year as a starter and has quickly matured over the previous seven contests.
In the wins over that stretch, Osborne threw 12 touchdowns to only one interception. Much improved from the four touchdowns against seven interceptions through the first four games of the year.
“I think we’ve had some issues in the receiving corps that I think we got squared away, some issues in protection that have gotten squared away,” Encrapera said. “I think he’s been able to put good numbers together. I’ve never had a doubt in his ability. He’s always been our guy.”
St. Stanislaus will travel to face the Raleigh Lions next week in the second round. Raleigh has the state’s top-ranked class of 2023 prospect in Ole Miss commit Suntarine Perkins.
“We’re going to put this win behind us and we’re just going to focus on next week,” Chapman said. “We’re 0-0 at the end of the day. We’re just going to keep grinding.”
