Getting defensive

PINE PRAIRIE - In a must win for both teams in order to stay in the playoff picture, the Ville Platte Bulldogs used a suffocating defensive effort to shut out the Pine Prairie Panthers 12-0 here Friday night.
Ville Platte held Pine Prairie to a jaw-dropping 45 yards on 31 carries for a meager 1.5 yards per carry. Additionally, the Panthers were only able to cross over into Bulldog territory twice in the game.
With the run game wounded, Pine Prairie tried to attack Ville Platte through the air. However, the Panther passing game failed to contribute any offensive output, as they did not complete a pass in five attempts.
“We had a really good game plan against their run game tonight and the defensive line and linebackers executed it perfectly,” stated Ville Platte head coach Jorie Randle. “They kind of gashed us on the counter a couple of times, but we made an adjustment that gave us the edge back.”
Even Pine Prairie head coach Yves Prince had to acknowledge the dominance of the Ville Platte defense.
“My hats off to them,” commented Prince. “Coach Randle and his staff came in with a good game plan and they executed it. But, it has been like that all season with our offense. We really don’t have a passing quarterback and our offense is not designed to throw the ball a whole lot. I told the players whoever scores first will win and that is exactly what happened.”
Meanwhile the Ville Platte offense racked up 315 total yards on the night, with 260 of those yards coming on the ground. The only negative in the game for the Bulldog offense was their execution in the red zone; something that has haunted Ville Platte all season.
The Bulldogs were able to move inside the Panther 15-yard line on four occasions without coming away with any points at all. The two touchdowns for Ville Platte both came on runs of 25 yards or more.
“It has been something we have had to deal with all season,” said Randle. “It seems like every time we get close to our opponent’s goal line, we kill ourselves with penalties or turnovers. I really believe that comes from immaturity. We will definitely have to clean that up moving forward.”
It did not take Ville Platte long to score the first points of the game. The Bulldogs kicked off to open the contest and immediately put themselves in great position, as Ville Platte’s Martin Jason stole the ball out of the kick off returners hand and brought the ball up to the Pine Prairie 22-yard line.
On the first offensive snap of the night, the Bulldogs were flagged for an illegal shift. With the ball now at the Panther 27-yard line, Ville Platte running back Jaishaun Doucet took the handoff and burst through the left side, racing the distance for the touchdown.
The extra point was no good off of the foot kicker Brandon Veazie, but the Bulldogs owned a 6-0 lead with only 43 seconds taken off of the clock.
The two teams traded possessions with neither team gaining any advantage what so ever.
Ville Platte got the ball for the third time in the game at their 32-yard line and proceeded to march 55 yards in 14 plays down to the Pine Prairie 13-yard line. The possession ate up 7:10 seconds and continued into the second quarter.
However, the drive stalled when the Panther defense came up with a big stop on a fourth-and-one play.
Ville Platte would get on the board once again in the second quarter. The Bulldogs would get the ball on their 38-yard line after forcing Pine Prairie to punt the ball.
After a gain of five yards on a run from Doucet, running back Dantony Anderson took a handoff and raced down the middle of the field for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Ville Platte would be penalized on the extra point and proceeded to try and run the ball in from the eight-yard line for a two-point conversion attempt, but Doucet was stopped well short of the goal line. Still, Ville Platte now led 12-0 with 4:58 to go in the half.
The second half did not produce much action from either team, as the score remained the same for the final two quarters.
Anderson led all players with 130 yards on 13 carries and one touchdown. Gaten Chaddrick had 46 yards on eight carries for Pine Prairie.
“We really needed this win to keep us in the playoff picture,” commented Randle. “Now if we can find a way to beat Church Point, we can hopefully move up in the power rankings and not have to play a top five seed in the first round.”
With the win, Ville Platte improves to 5-4 on the season and 2-2 in District 5-3A. The Bulldogs will host Church Point this Friday night.
Pine Prairie falls to 3-6 on the season and 1-3 in district play with the loss. The Panthers will travel to Eunice to take on the Bobcats this Friday.