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PONCHATOULA - Senior running Christian Ducre tallied three touchdowns and rushed for 161 yards on 23 carries to lead the Fontainebleau Bulldogs to a 28-7 District 5-5A victory over the Ponchatoula Green Wave Friday night.

Fontainebleau's victory coupled with Covington's loss to St. Paul's gives the Bulldogs a share of the District 5-5A lead at 5-1. The Bulldogs are 7-2 overall and travel to St. Paul's next Friday to battle the Wolves, seeking revenge from a loss last year in the final regular season game.

Ducre's touchdowns came on runs of 3, 1 and 10 yards as he averaged seven yards per carry. Ducre went over the coveted 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season and has 13 touchdowns.

"We just had to get this win, and it will help us in our playoff seeding. It was a big team victory," said Ducre.

Fontainebleau coach Larry Favre knows he has a special athlete in Ducre and praised his effort.

"We got our typical Christian Ducre performance. It seems as the game goes on he just gets better and stronger. I don't know what we will do without number 24. He has pretty much dominated every football game he ever played in for this high school," said Favre.

"He's a hungry player, and he is definitely on a mission. He's out to prove to the college coaches he can play at the Division I schools he wants to go to."

Fontainebleau wore down the Ponchatoula defense by pounding the ball on the ground, picking up 242 yards on 40 carries led by Ducre's quality performance.

The Bulldogs' senior signal caller, Ben Cunningham played a solid game, connecting on eight of 14 passes for 67 yards. FHS totaled 309 yards on offense while picking up 15 first downs.

Fontainebleau's defensive unit put together a strong game holding Ponchatoula to 135 yards total offense. The Green Wave rushed for 124 yards with 87 of those yards coming on two big plays. Ponchatoula only gained 11 yards through the air while making seven first downs.

The Green Wave received the opening kick off and picked up one first down before punting from their own 28-yard line. Nick Green got off a 52-yard punt.

Fontainebleau took over at its 20 with 7:08 left.

Cunningham engineered an impressive 14-play, 80-yard drive, which consumed 6:34.

Ducre put the Dawgs on the board, cashing in from 3 yards out. Justin Beitzel's extra point try was no good, wide left. Fontainebleau led 6-0 with 34 seconds to play in the opening quarter.

During the drive Cunningham connected on four of four passes for 32 yards. He hit Steven Korte twice totaling 12 yards and Daniel Cassisa for a 9-yard completion. Facing a third-and-nine from the 16, Cunningham found Ducre circling out of the backfield for an 11-yard completion, but the ball was fumbled. The Bulldogs recovered, giving Fontainebleau first-and-goal from the 5

Ducre gained two yards on first down and then slithered into the end zone from the 3 for the game's opening score.

Ponchatoula was unable to generate anything on its second series and Green was forced to punt. He got off a 44-yarder, giving Fontainebleau a first-and-10 from its 41 with 10:16 left in the second quarter.

Facing third-and-one from midfield Ducre picked up eight yards to move the chains. On first down Cunningham linked up with Korte on a 13-yard pass play moving the ball to the Ponchatoula 29. On first another down Korte rushed for two yards and Cunningham lost a yard on second down. Facing third-and-nine Cunningham fired incomplete.

With the ball resting on the Green Wave 28, Fontainebleau decided to go for it on fourth-and-nine. Cunningham couldn't find an open receiver so he tucked the ball under his arm and headed for the end zone. Cunningham rambled for 27 yards before being stopped just inside the one. Cunningham's scramble kept the momentum with the Bulldogs.

Coach Favre said he felt that was a key turning point in the game.

"I called the play but the scramble and the great effort was all his. He played a solid game for us," said Favre.

Cunningham described his scramble play. "Everybody was covered, so I just ran. It was like the Red Sea opening up. I got to the outside and the defender caught me low and I couldn't get in the end zone," said Cunningham.

Following Cunningham's fourth-down scramble, Korte finished off the nine-play drive cruising in over left guard for the one with 5:55 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs went for a two-point conversion and Korte made his way into the end zone for a 14-0 Fontainebleau advantage.

Ponchatoula took over following the kick off at its34. Josh Chester gained six yards on first down and broke off a huge chunk of yardage gaining 36 yards before Blake Guidry made a touchdown saving tackle at the Fontainebleau 24. On third-and-five Ponchatoula's quarterback B. J. Hill was sacked for a 5-yard loss by Rudy Odom after defensive back Ashton Autin flushed him out of the pocket. The sack set up fourth-and-10 from the 22. Ponchatoula coach Scott Martin decided to go for a 39-yard field goal attempt but Green's try was wide left with 2:39 to go in the half.

Odom, the Bulldogs senior defensive end, made some key stops.

"We played well defensively, and I thought we were going to shut them out, but we gave up one big play that hurt us. We went at them and controlled the game," said Odom.

Fontainebleau picked up one first down on its next possession but was forced to punt with less than 10 seconds in the half. Ponchatoula ran one play and the horn sounded with Fontainebleau taking their 14-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Fontainebleau received the second half kickoff, starting at its 20 following a touchback. The Bulldogs put together a 13-play drive that took up six minutes, but it stalled at the Ponchatoula 33. On fourth-and-eight, Beitzel attempted a 49-yard field goal attempt. The kick was short and wide right, giving Ponchatoula first-and-10 from the 20.

Fontainebleau's defense forced a punt after giving up one first down. Green was under a heavy rush and was unable to get the punt off and was downed for a 7-yard loss.

Fontainebleau had great field position at the Ponchatoula 21. Ducre got the call three consecutive times, picking up eight and three yards before scoring his second TD on a 10-yard scamper, making it 20-0. Beitzel was true on the PAT for a 21-0 cushion with just 11 seconds to go in the third quarter.

With 9:13 remaining in the game Fontainebleau took over on its 11 following a 61-yard punt by Green. Fontainebleau ran the ball six straight times. On the drive's seventh play Cunningham was picked off by John Alexander. Ponchatoula took over at its 36 with 4:40 left. The Green Wave picked up a first down on a 15-yard personal foul penalty. On second-and-10 from their own 49 Akino Brumfield broke free down the right sideline, slipped out of a tackle, and raced 51-yards to paydirt. Green tacked on the extra point and Fontainebleau led 21-7 with 2:11 to play.

Ponchatoula tried a pooch kick in an attempt to regain possession but Fontainebleau gained control, first-and-10 on Ponchy's 49.

Ducre busted one up the middle, twisting and turning, breaking four tackles along the way, before finally being caught at the 5.

"Everybody blocked really good on the play. The line walled everybody out and I just cut it in, and then cut it back outside," said Ducre.

On first-and-goal from the 5 the Bulldogs were penalized 5 yards for illegal motion, moving the ball back to the 10. Korte slashed off right tackle for a 9-yard gain to the one. Ducre closed out the scoring on the next play, tallying from a yard out. Beitzel's point after was good, making it 28-7 with a 1:32 left to play.