ABBEVILLE Kaplan High football coach Vinnie Bullara knew his team would be in a dogfight.

As Bullara watched footage each week from Abbeville games, he noticed that the Wildcats were steadily improving, heading into Thursday night's District 5-3A contest in Abbeville, which was a tale of two halves.

The Wildcats surged to a 26-14 halftime lead behind the passing of junior quarterback Jacolby Campbell, but the Pirates dominated the second half to win 43-32.

"We knew it was going to be this way," said Bullara, whose Pirates (7-2, 2-0) gleefully hoisted the Russo Trophy awarded to the winner of each year's game.

"Everybody was talking about how (Abbeville) had no shot ...we knew it was going to be this way, so we tried to prepare the kids for that. In the end, we found a way to win."

The Wildcats (2-7, 0-2) got 138 yards passing and three TDs in the first half from Campbell, a four-star prospect as a receiver. Andrew Payton caught four of Campbell's six first-half completions for 110 yards and two TDs.

"Oh, my goodness," Bullara said. "We knew they were going to be this way. Hats off to coach (Brent) Indest.

"When you watch the film of those guys, each week they got better and better, more physical and more sound. They played their butts off."

With Abbeville determined to stop fullback De'Maurion Cormier, who was coming off a banner week against St. Martinville, Kaplan found success on the outside with sophomore Jeremy Roy, who ran for 206 yards and four TDs on 12 carries.

"He's a workhorse," Bullara said of Roy, who broke up an Abbeville pass that put the game on ice. "I think everybody sees his talent.

"What he is getting better at is becoming a leader. Talent is easy, work ethic is hard, so as he continues to develop, you're going to see more and more of that."

Abbeville regained the lead (32-28) on a fourth down pass from Campbell ((207 yards passing) to Jazavion Briggs, but Roy answered with the final two touchdowns.

"We knew we were going to have to exploit that," Bullara said of Roy and Matthew Breaux's outside running. "If you're going to stack everybody inside and stop our dive, we're going to have to exploit the edges.

"I thought we picked our spots well, and the kids executed well."

Cormier, who averaged more than 25 yards per carry with three TDs against St. Martinville, gained 46 yards on 15 carries. QB Jayden Hargrave (2 carries, 30 yards), ran for a score.

LeBrahn Cormier caught a TD pass from Campbell and led the Wildcats in rushing with 72 yards on 12 carries and a score.