Pine Prairie hosts Beau Chene looking to pick up second win

It took Pine Prairie up until the fourth quarter to get their engines going in a 22-3 win over Bunkie this past Friday.
But, when the Panthers started, they went full throttle. Pine Prairie scored all 22 points in a matter of 11 minutes and turned around a 3-0 deficit into their first ever opening game win in school history.
According to Pine Prairie head coach Yves Prince, it was just a matter of believing in themselves that made the difference in the end.
“Bunkie went up 3-0 on us early in the game, and I could see the players start to panic,” stated Prince. “I just kept telling them to stay confident and we will win this game. At halftime, we made some defensive adjustments and kept pounding away on offense. They kept crashing on the fullback, and when we finally pulled the ball, our quarterback took it for 65 yards. After that we just played like winners.”
Just to understand, Pine Prairie had less than 30 yards of offense going into the fourth quarter. However, the Panthers finished with 119 yards for the game. Prince knows that with any new offensive scheme, patience is a virtue.
“We know now that if we keep attacking, that eventually our offense will break through,” said Prince. “This is an offense of patience. We will get some big plays, but that will only come when we stay focused on the little things.”
Defensively, Pine Prairie did an excellent job of stymieing the Bunkie offense, especially through the air. The Panthers held Bunkie to only 109 total yards and zero yards passing.
“One of the adjustments we made was to add another defensive lineman,” commented Prince. “That allowed us to control the running game and put more pressure on their quarterback.”
Pine Prairie will need that defensive output and more as they host Beau Chene out of Class 4A. The Gators defeated West St. Mary 14-6 last week and according to Prince will be a tough non-district opponent.
“They run the ball very effectively,” said Prince. “Their quarterback does a tremendous job of controlling the flow of the game and managing the game. Defensively, they fly to the ball and are very physical. We will have to be very patient again on offense and our defense will have to give us another outstanding effort for us to be 2-0.”