Bulldogs renew old rivalry with Bobcats Friday

A rivalry that ended over 20 years ago will be renewed once again this Friday, as the Ville Platte Bulldogs host the Eunice Bobcats in the opening district 5-3A for both clubs. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Ville Platte and Eunice played against each other from the 60’s up until the early 90’s, even competing in the same district, until Eunice moved up in class.
“It is going to be interesting to play Eunice once again,” said Bulldog head coach Jorie Randle. “I never had the fortune of playing in the series, but from what people tell me it was always a great contest between the two teams. I hope that this year’s game will live up to that standard.”
Ville Platte comes into the game 3-2 on the year after getting past the Opelousas Tigers 13-7 this past Friday. It took a last second defensive play for the Bulldogs to secure the win.
“We have to do a better job of finishing games,” said Randle. “It has been our Achilles’ heel all season long. We have been playing lights out in the first half, but not carrying that over to the second half. We need to stop being a one half team.”
A big positive from Friday’s game was the way that the Bulldogs ran the ball. Running back Daylon Jones had 179 yards of the 197 yards on the ground for Ville Platte.
“Our strong point this year has been our run game,” stated Randle. “The offensive line has done a tremendous job all season long. We are still looking to improve in the passing game. That is still a little shaky.”
Randle knows this upcoming game against Eunice will be tough. The Bobcats enter the game 4-1 and average 32 points per game.
“Eunice has a quality team,” commented Randle. “They are not fancy in what they do, but they do it to perfection. We are going to have to play solid, assignment defense. Offensively, we have to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball effectively.”