Nicholas Borne emerging in Catholic-NI's secondary

It wasn’t the first time Catholic-New Iberia’s secondary encountered a challenge this season. The Panthers gave up 312 passing yards to West St. Mary on Oct. 4 despite winning 63-26.

But it was clear last week that Ascension Episcopal’s potent passing attack would stress Catholic’s defensive backs as much any opponent during the regular season. And the Panthers’ delivered, especially junior strong safety Nicholas Borne.

Borne came down with two of Catholic’s four interceptions — cornerback Peter LeBlanc was responsible for the other two — during the Panthers’ 58-35, district-clinching victory over the Blue Gators. Ascension completed only 11 of its 23 passes for 163 yards.

“I thought overall we played really well in the secondary the other night,” said Catholic coach Brent Indest. “What was disappointing is two of their touchdowns were because they got behind us in zone coverage, which is a big no-no. But other than those two plays, I thought we did well.”

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Borne is in his first year as a contributor for the Panthers, and much like the rest of the defense, he’s steadily improved as the season has progressed.

“Each week, he seems to be getting more physical and becoming more understanding of what we’re trying to do,” Indest said. “He’s definitely got some athletic ability, but also he plays a lot faster when he’s mentally prepared to do what he needs to do.”