Frontal assault

BASILE -- What happened Friday night here in Basile, after a rain drenching pre-game downpour, could be summed up in one powerful work: dominance.
Ville Platte High accomplished something that no team has done to Basile in the last four years with their commanding 28-0 win over the Bearcats; control the line of scrimmage from start to finish.
With the win, Ville Platte moves to 2-0 for the first time in five years. Basile fall to 0-2 on the season with the loss.
To understand how effective the offensive and defensive fronts were for the Bulldogs, all one has to do is take a hard look at the statistics.
Ville Platte carried the ball 38 times for 238 yards, while Basile could only manage 36 total yards on the ground on 29 attempts. On top of that, Basile ran only 39 offensive plays the entire game and of those plays only one was over 10 yards.
Still need proof? Basile went three and out on every drive of the first half. Even more so, the Bearcats had only one drive go for more than five plays the entire contest.
Meanwhile, four of Ville Platte’s nine possessions resulted in seven plays or more on offense. Two of their drives included 10 plays or more.
After the game, Basile head coach Kevin Bertrand acknowledged that his team just simply got outplayed up front.
“Their size and strength gave us trouble all night long,” said Bertrand. “We could not get off the blocks on the defensive side of the ball and could not block them on the offensive side of the ball. So, that is not a good combination and we did it bad on both sides.”
The Bulldogs asserted their control on the Bearcats right from the opening drive. Ville Platte elected to receive the ball and started on their 44-yard line after a nice return on the kickoff.
Running back Danthony Anderson got the call on the first four plays of the drive and chewed up 29 yards very easily. A 12 yard pass from Jaishaun Doucet to Rondrekus Ben gave the Bulldogs a first down at the Bearcat 26-yard line.
Three plays later, Doucet scrambled in from 17 yards out to score Ville Platte’s first touchdown of the evening. Doucet then tacked on the two-point run and at the 7:43 mark of the first quarter, Ville Platte had an early 8-0 lead.
“We have been preaching being the better team in the trenches all year long,” stated an ecstatic Ville Platte head coach Jorie Randle. “It is just a testament to the hard work and the depth we have with our linemen. They work really hard day in and day out to be the best they can be.”
After exchanging possessions and turnovers on a very sloppy field, Ville Platte was able to sustain another long drive late in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs regained possession on the Basile 45-yard line after a very short 29 yard punt off of the foot of Basile’s Stormy Comeaux. On the very first play, Ville Platte was flagged for holding.
But that did not deter the Bulldogs in the least. Behind the running of Doucet and Anderson, the Bulldogs were able to move the ball methodically up the field to the Basile 12-yard line. Two plays later, Doucet dove in from one yard out to add six more to the Ville Platte lead with only 47 seconds left in the half.
Once again Doucet plunged over the goal line for the two-point conversion and the Bulldogs now owned a 16-0 lead as the two teams headed into the locker room.
Not much action occurred in the third quarter, as Basile controlled the ball for two possessions, while Ville Platte was only able to have the ball on offense once.
However, the Bulldog defense came up with a big turnover right at the end of the third quarter, recovering a fumble at their 49-yard line. Doucet picked up two yards on the ensuing offensive play and then scooped a stray snap off of the ground and danced his way for 49 yards and a third touchdown of the game.
Doucet tried for a third two-point run, and was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, but Ville Platte now owned a insurmountable 22-0 lead with 11:49 left to go in the game.
Basile’s only real positive play came on their next possession. Facing a second and eight at their 37-yard line, quarterback Dawson Ashford hit fullback Andre Reed with a flat pass that picked up 23 big yards. Unfortunately, the Bearcats could not capitalize on the momentum and was force to turn the ball over on downs.
Ville Platte’s final score came with 2:21 left in the game, when Bernard O’niel jaunted 33 yards for the score. The extra point was no good.
“This was a huge win for us,” commented Randle. “Right now we are playing extremely well and hopefully we can continue to keep up the focus and intensity. These first games are important for our drive to the playoffs.”
Although disappointed in the end result, Bertrand still had praise for his player’s effort.
“We are going to play to the final whistle,” said Bertrand. “That is how our kids are. I believe playing a tough non-district schedule will make us more prepared for district.”
Ville Platte will travel to Lafayette Christian next Friday, while Basile will host South Cameron.