Everyone knows Carencro’s Chantz Babineaux is capable of impacting the game every time he touches the football on offense.

The decision to play Babineaux both ways has paid off big for the Bears.

One week after returning an interception for a touchdown in the jamboree, Babineaux accomplished the feat again in Friday’s season opener as he led the Bears to a 30-27 win over the St. Thomas More Cougars.

“How about that decision to play Chantz on defense,” Bears coach Gavin Peters asked rhetorically with a laugh. “That’s two weeks in a row. He’s a special player.”

Babineaux, a Nicholls State commit, finished the game with two interceptions and a touchdown defensively and caught four passes for 43 yards offensively.

“Coming in, we knew it would be a close game,” Babineaux said. “We knew it was going to be a dog fight.”

It was the first time the Bears have beaten St. Thomas More since 2006, Peters said.

“This is a big win,” Babineaux said. “We did it for the city.”

With the game tied 27-27 and 7:19 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Bears put together arguably their most impressive drive of the game. Starting from their own 25, the Bears went 65 yards in 16 plays – a drive that took nearly six minutes off the clock – to reach the Cougars’ 10-yard line. Bears kicker Matthew Latham then nailed a 27-yard field to give Carencro the lead at 30-27 with 1:28 remaining in the game.

“We made some critical errors,” Peters said. “We put a lot on the backs of some sophomores. We made some big plays.”

The Cougars, who battled back from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, moved the football down to the Bears’ 31-yard line. But a last second heave to the end zone was intercepted by Babineaux to seal the victory.

“It’s a big win for us,” said Bears running back Christopher Baham, who rushed for 127 yards on 11 carries in the second half. “We put a lot of work in during the offseason. The whole sideline was hype, and we were just waiting for the clock to go to zero. (At the end) we were just happy it was over.”

It was a game of big plays in the first half, as STM opened the scoring with a 41-yard punt return for a touchdown by Jared Quoyeser to take a 7-0 lead with 11 minutes remaining in the second quarter.

But the Bears responded on the ensuing kickoff, when Brandon Duffy returned the kick 98 yards for a touchdown to even the score at 7-7 with 10:41 left until halftime.

On fourth down and six from the Carencro 41, Babineaux gave the Bears the lead when he picked off Bergeron and returned it 73 yards for the touchdown.

The first of two touchdowns for Cougars running back Carter Melancon tied the game at 13-13 going into halftime.

In the second half, the Bears came out firing on all cylinders, scoring on each of their first two drives – a 40-yard touchdown run by Baham and a four-yard touchdown run by Khylen Taylor – to take a 27-13 lead going into the fourth quarter.

But the Cougars wouldn’t go away, cutting the deficit to 27-20 on Melancon’s one-yard touchdown run with 7:46 remaining in the fourth quarter. Melancon rushed for 84 yard and two touchdowns on 16 carries.

A penalty for too many players on the field was assessed on the kickoff and allowed the Cougars to kick from the Bears’ 45-yard line. STM perfectly executed the onsides kick, recovering the football at the Bears’ 35-yard line.

Two plays later, the Cougars tied the game at 27-27 with 7:30 remaining on a 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Cole Bergeron. Bergeron, who completed 16 of 48 passes for 145 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.

“It’s a long season,” Peters said. “We have another big matchup next week. We’re going to enjoy it (Friday). But then we have to move on.”