Bearcats score late in thrilling win over Trojans

The Basile Bearcats and the East Beauregard Trojans came into Friday’s contest with identical records. Both squads had lost to Hamilton Christian. Both squads had very similar stats, so one could expect the showdown between these district 4-1A opponents to be a thrilling game to watch. Neither team disappointed, as the Bearcats scored the go ahead touchdown with 5:15 left to go in the game to squeak by the Trojans 13-12. With the win, the Bearcats now extend their record to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in district play.
More importantly, Basile picked up some much-needed power points to try and work their way into the top six in the power rankings. A top six ranking would ensure the Bearcats a bye in the first round of the playoffs and a home game in the second round.
The East Beauregard Trojans would jump out to the early lead in the first quarter. Coleton Guidry would run the ball into the end zone from five yards out. The two-point pass would fail and the Trojans led 6-0 with 6:25 left to go in the first quarter. At the time, East Beauregard would not know how important that extra point would be in the grand scheme of the contest.
Basile would answer back in the first quarter. Bearcat workhorse Gabe Fontenot would continue to lead Basile in the category of touchdowns. Fontenot took the handoff from Mark Ivory and scampered 47 yards for the Bearcat touchdown.
Basile tried for the two-point conversion, but the pass attempt failed. With 4:29 left in the first quarter, the score was now
The second quarter did not produce a score. Both squads continued to move the ball, but to no avail. Neither team could put up points on the board. As the half came to a close, the score remained tied at six a piece.
The third quarter basically mirrored the second quarter. Like two boxers circling the ring to find a weak spot in his opponent, the Bearcats and Trojans continued to exchange possessions. Neither club was able to put up points in the third stanza, and the score remained 6-6 as the third quarter came to an end.
The fourth quarter opened with East Beauregard taking the lead from the Bearcats. Colby Lafauci rumbled his way into the end zone from four yards out. Again, the Trojans decided to go for the two point conversion. The run failed and, for the second time in the game, East Beauregard could not tack on the extra point. The score with 9:09 left to go in the game was now 12-6 in favor of the Trojans.
Basile now had to battle the rest of the way to come away with the victory. What has been a theme for the Bearcats this year, running back Gabe Fontenot came up huge. With 5:15 left to go in the contest, Fontenot plunged in from three yards out to tie the game. The only thing left was the extra point. Mark Ledoux was true on the kick and the Bearcats now had their first lead of the game, 13-12.
The Basile defense was called upon to hold East Beauregard the rest of the way. This was not something that the defensive unit hadn’t faced during the season. The Bearcat defenders were able to bow up and keep the Trojans out of the end zone for the rest of the game and take the 13-12 victory.
On the night, the Bearcats collected 224 yards of offense on 35 plays, while allowing the Trojans 261 yards on 44 plays. Leading the way for Basile on offense was Fontenot, who ran for 112 yards on 14 carries. Kendrick Ceasar was limited to 24 yards on six carries.
Basile will now take on long-time rival Elton High School. The Indians are 5-2 on the year and 3-1 in district play.
Elton brings the leading rusher in the state Marcus Lemoine into the contest. The Bearcats need this win to stay in the hunt for that ever important first round bye in the playoffs.