Bulldogs wear down Panthers in key district win

On Thursday night, the Ville Platte High Bulldogs traveled the short distance to Pine Prairie for a parish rivalry game with important playoff implications. The Bulldogs ran past the Panthers with a 25-7 win. This gave Ville Platte High the much-needed power points to keep them in the playoff mix.
Ville Platte won the coin toss and selected to receive the ball. Shabby Moore took the handoff for three yards. Terese Thomas ran the next two plays for eight yards, giving the Bulldogs a first down. After a holding call on Ville Platte, they would face first and 22. Terez Alfred would drop back to throw down the field. Pine Prairie’s Dylan Doucet would intercept the pass.
The Panthers took over at the Bulldog’s 41 yard line. Ville Platte forced a quick three and out and the Bulldogs started their second drive of the night at their 13 yard line. Alfred ran three straight plays for 12 yards. Dayton Jackson took the next two plays for eight yards. On third down, the Bulldogs lost yardage, forcing them to punt.
The Panthers took over at their 40 yard line. After a false start penalty, Pine Prairie had second and 15. Doucet found Allen Myers wide open for 65 yards and a Panther touchdown. The extra point by Chandler Johnson was good, giving Pine Prairie a 7-0 lead with 4:44 left to play in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, Moore took the ball for 75 yards and a Bulldog touchdown. Ville Platte tried for two points and failed. The Panthers would still lead 7-6 with 4:31 to play in the first quarter.
On Pine Prairie’s first play after the kickoff, from their 35 yard line, Ville Platte would force a fumble, which was recovered by Vondarious Freeman. Ville Platte took over at the Panthers’ 35 yard line. The Bulldogs had eight plays for 25 yards before the drive was stalled with three penalties, forcing Ville Platte to turn the ball over on downs.
The Bulldogs’ defense forced the Panthers to go three and out. On the punt, Dylan Doucet would shank it for only eight yards, giving Ville Platte excellent field position.
Starting at the Panthers’ 29 yard line, Moore would take the snap for two yards, but Pine Prairie was flagged for a personal foul; face mask. Now the Bulldogs would have first and 10 on the Panthers’ 11 yard line. The next play, Thomas would take the hand off for an 11-yard touchdown. The two-point try would be no good, giving Ville Platte the lead, 12-7, with 11:30 to play in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs would force another three and out and the Panthers’ defense would also stand strong, forcing Ville Platte to turn the ball over on downs.
Pine Prairie put a nice drive together starting at their 28 yard line. The drive consisted of 14 plays for 56 yards. Doucet had 43 yards rushing on the drive, setting up first and goal. However, the Bulldog’s defense stuffed the Panthers, forcing them to turn over on downs. This brought the game to halftime with Ville Platte leading 12-7.
In the second half, both teams’ defenses came out re-energized and fired up. Pine Prairie took possession at their 38 yard line. On the first play, Doucet got sacked by Traylon Thomas for a 10-yard loss. Two incomplete passes would force the Panthers to punt.
The Bulldogs started at their 48 yard line. The Panthers’ defense stuffed Daylan Jones for a four-yard loss. The next play, Alfred threw a pass that was intercepted by Gaten Chaddrick. Ville Platte’s defense would stand strong again, forcing a three and out.
The Bulldogs took over at their 27 yard line. Jones would take it around the right side for five yards. On the next play, Thomas took the handoff for five yards and a Ville Platte first down. Now at their 36 yard line, the Bulldogs would run with Alfred on the next three plays for five yards, forcing Ville Platte to punt.
The Panthers took over at their 31 yard line. Doucet would take the snap for no yards on first down. The next play, Doucet dropped back to pass, looking for Douglas Fontenot when Alfred cut in front and intercepted the pass for the Bulldogs.
On the next possession, Jackson would take the next two plays for 31 yards, setting up first and goal from the five yard line. Alfred kept the ball for one yard and Jones ran to the right side for four yards and a Ville Platte touchdown on another play. The extra point by Quan Fontenot was good, giving the Bulldogs a 19-7 lead with 2:41 to play in the third quarter.
Pine Prairie took over at their 37 yard line. Douglas Fontenot ran the ball for two yards on first down. On third and eight Doucet’s pass was incomplete but Ville Platte was penalized for hands to the face, giving the Panthers new life. On first and 10 at the Bulldog 31 yard line Doucet would scramble before getting sacked by Thomas, his second sack of the night. Pine Prairie would then turn the ball over on downs.
The Bulldogs took over at their 45 yard line and ran nine straight plays led by Jackson, going 28 yards on four carries and another Bulldog touchdown. With 7:18 remaining in the game, Ville Platte led 25-7.
The Panthers took over at their 35 yard line. On the first play, Doucet threw a deep pass that was intercepted by Terese Thomas. The Pine Prairie defense forced the Bulldogs to go three and out. With 5:55 remaining, both defenses, still fighting strong, would force three and outs to finish the game.
After the game, Head Coach Jorie Randle said, “This was a big win for the team. We are now 2-0 in district.” Coach Randle also praised Pine Prairie’s football team and Coach Prince for battling hard the whole night and not quitting. Head Coach Yves Prince said his team fought hard the whole game. “We could not get any breaks on offense.”
The Ville Platte Bulldogs are 2-0 in district and will head to Livonia on Friday. Pine Prairie is now 0-2 in district play and will host Northwest on Friday. Both teams look for key wins to keep their playoff hopes alive.