Basile opens district play against Merryville

The Basile Bearcats have begun the season right on track with last year. Basile now stands undefeated after three games and imposing its will on the St. Edmund Blue Jays Friday night. The Bearcats rolled to a 42-20 victory, amassing 473 yards of offense. More importantly, the Basile defense stymied the potent Blue Jay offense, holding St. Ed’s to 256 yards of total offense. The Bearcats now host the Merryville Panthers on Friday in the district opener for both teams. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
“We played a total game Friday night,” an excited Basile Head Coach Kevin Bertrand said. “Every part of the game did an unbelievable job. It’s the first time we have played a complete game all year. They gave us the run off tackle all night and our offense took advantage of that. Most of our run yards came on power, veer and G plays. An important reason for us being 3-0 is that our offensive line continues to play extremely well.”
The Bearcats ran the ball 59 times for 384 yards, which calculates to an impressive 6.5 yards per carry average. Basile attempted three passes in the game, only completing one. However, that one pass was a big 89 yard strike from Mark Ivory to Jared Belle. “We continue to work on the passing game at practice, but Friday we really did not need to throw the ball. I know at some point in the season we will have to rely on that aspect of the offense. I believe we will be ready when that time comes.”
Basile’s defense was very impressive against an extremely talented Blue Jay offense. After giving up an initial touchdown early in the game, the Bearcat defense held St. Ed’s in check most of the night. The Blue Jays tried to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, but Basile came up with big stops when needed. St. Edmund quarterback Drew Brown, one of the best quarterbacks around the area, could not break into the plus side of rushing yards. Brown was held to a negative five yards on the ground and only 211 yards through the air.
“Our defense did a fantastic job of carrying out the game plan,” said Bertrand. “One of the biggest plays of the night came on defense. They were down to our five yard line with us only up a touchdown. The defense caused them to fumble and we took the ball and drove it 95 yards for a touchdown. That was a huge momentum swing for us.”
Coach Bertrand knows that his team must now put the game against St. Ed’s in the back of their minds and start preparing for Merryville. Merryville comes into the game 1-2 on the season, losing to Pickering in week two 53-6 and to Vinton in week three 42-12. Their lone victory was against Rosepine by the score of 42-20.
“Merryville is one of those teams that can come in and beat you if you are not mentally prepared,” stated Bertrand. “They get into multiple formations on offense. Sometimes they are in the wishbone and sometimes they are in the spread. We have to be ready to play against both sets. Their tailback is really good. Defensively they play a 4-2-5. Their front guys are big. I keep saying this, but our offensive line will have to play well again this week for us to be successful.”
At this point in the season, being undefeated is what every team hopes for. To be 4-0 would be even better, especially if you are 1-0 to start district. In order for that to happen for Basile, they must be able to re-focus after a huge win against a long time rival. Every team on their schedule will now be gunning for the Bearcats. After the success of last season, a number of these players have been in this situation before and are mature enough to know what to expect.