Bulldogs struggle for consistency against Warriors

The Bulldogs traveled the short distance Friday night to battle the Oakdale Warriors. The Bulldogs would fall short by a final score 14-0. The trip may have been short, but the night was long for Ville Platte. The Bulldogs’ offense never pulled it together, only gaining a total of 15 yards.
Ville Platte won the toss and elected to receive the ball. Two running plays by Dylan Jones resulted in negative three yards and forced the Bulldogs to punt. Oakdale would take over at their own 14 yard line. Two quick pass plays from Mason Jones to Timmy Townley would give the Warriors nine yards. The Warriors would then face a third and one. The Ville Platte defense would stop the running back for a two-yard loss and force Oakdale to punt.
The Bulldogs would then take over at their own 37 yard line. Three running plays by Terez Alfred for seven yards would be all the Bulldogs could manage before having to punt the ball again. Oakdale’s next drive would be three and out for zero yards.
The Bulldogs would then take over at their own 34 yard line. They would throw three incomplete passes and have to punt the ball back to the Warriors.
Oakdale would then take over at their own 44 yard line and run the ball for negative yards. After calling a time out, Oakdale threw the ball for six straight plays for a total of 55 yards and a Warrior touchdown. The scoring play was a pass from Mason Jordan to Darion Dunn for 20 yards. The extra point by James Welch would be good, and the Warriors would lead the Bulldogs 7-0 with 11:47 remaining on the clock in the first half of the game. Both teams’ defense would stand strong, forcing back-to-back three and outs to bring the game to halftime.
Ville Platte’s defense would come out from halftime fresh an fired up. Oakdale went three and out, giving the Bulldogs the ball. Ville Platte ran three plays for negative four yards and had to punt the ball.
The Warriors would get good field position, taking over at their 45 yard line. Oakdale would put a nine-play drive together mixed with both pass and running plays for 25 yards, before turning the ball over on downs. The Bulldogs once again would go three and out, losing four yards on the drive.
The Warriors would take over at mid-field and capitalize quickly off the great field position. Four passing plays were capped off with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jordan to Timmy Townley. The extra point was good, giving Oakdale a 14-0 lead with 3:35 to play in the third quarter.
After a personal foul on the kickoff, Ville Platte would take over at their own 45 yard line. Alfred would take the first snap for 12 yards an a Bulldog first down. The next play Alfred would get sacked forcing second and long. Ville Platte would pass the next two plays for zero yards. Both defenses would stand strong forcing back-to-back punts. The Warriors would now take over on their 36 yard line.
On the first play, Shabby Charles would intercept the pass for the Bulldogs. A quick three and out gave the Oakdale Warriors the ball right back. Ville Platte’s defense would stand strong, giving the offense hope. On the first play after the change of possession, Alfred would drop back and throw an interception.
The Warriors’ Bobby Murray would return the ball 44 yards down to the Bulldogs one yard line. The very next play, the Ville Platte defense would recover a fumble. The Bulldogs would then throw two incomplete passes. On third and 10, Alfred would drop back and get sacked for a 12-yard loss, causing Ville Platte to punt the ball and end the game.
After the game, Head Coach Jorie Randle praised his team’s defense for not quitting. He said, “They have to keep working hard at practice. The offense needs to improve also. We have too many three and outs, forcing the defense to stay on the field for most of the game.”
Ville Platte is now 1-3 on the season. The Bulldogs will host the St. Charles Comets on Friday. St. Charles is 3-1 on the year after defeating Miller-McCoy 49-6 Friday. St. Charle is a very sound, established program. Ville Platte will have to come up with answers on the offensive side of the ball if they are to have a chance of upsetting the Comets.