Scrimmages provide first look at season ahead

All five parish gridiron squads participated in their annual fall scrimmage on Thursday and Friday. Scrimmages are used as tools by the coaches to evaluate their starters as well as any other players that may get playing time. It’s a chance for some players to show their skills and maybe sneak into the lineup. How a scrimmage is run is determined by an agreement of the two head coaches.
Basile hosted Dequincy on Thursday for their first test of the season. Coach Kevin Bertrand was pleased with his squad overall but was even more pleased after the second series on offense. “In the first series, we tried to mix up the run and pass,” Bertrand commented. “I felt we were a little complacent and did not attack as well as I thought we should have. I challenged our players in the second series to come out and run the ball right at Dequincy. Our guys accepted the challenge and we did not pass in the series. I thought we really got after it and ran the ball effectively.”
Whatever Bertrand said obviously worked as Kendrick Ceasar scored on two big runs of 50 and 25 yards. “Our offensive line did a really good job of blocking,” said Bertrand. “They buckled up and played some big boy football. They allowed Ceasar and our fullback Gabe Fontenot to get going.” Defensively, Bertrand was excited about the way his squad played. “I really thought our offensive line did a tremendous job of plugging holes,” Bertrand remarked. “Our linebackers played well. The secondary came up with some big knockdowns and even picked off a pass. Overall I was pleased with our effort, especially later on in the scrimmage.”
The Bulldogs of Ville Platte High entertained the Lake Arthur Tigers on Friday at 6 p.m. The starters played two 15-minute halves. Lake Arthur took possession of the football to begin the contest. The Tiger offense opened the game showcasing its run game for three straight first downs. An offside penalty on Ville Platte gave the Tigers a first down on fourth and four. The Dog defense stiffened on the next play and caused a fumble which was recovered by Jordan Leday.
Ville Platte took over on offense and showed a run game of its own. The Dogs picked up two first downs; most of the yards coming on runs by quarterback Terez Alfred. The drive stalled inside Tiger territory. The next Lake Arthur possession resulted in a three and out. Ville Platte took over and picked up a quick first down, but an interception killed the drive. Both teams exchanged blows in the next possessions but could not muster a score. In the second half, Ville Platte was able to put up points against Lake Arthur. Tyler Fontenot scored on a 30 yard run and Daylon Jones scampered for 20 yards for the second touchdown. The defense buckled down in the second half and shut the Tigers down.
“We looked pretty nervous on offense to start the game,” stated Head Coach Jorie Randle. “Once our offensive line started drive blocking and our running backs began running north and south, we were able to move the ball. Jordan Leday did a pretty decent job up front for us on offense. Tyler Fontenot showed a burst of speed I really didn’t know he had when he scored the first touchdown. Terez Alfred has really good vision and quickness and he played well, we just have to keep working on his throwing mechanics.” Randle also had praise for his defensive unit. “We stepped it up in the second half on defense,” Randle explained. “The first half we missed some assignments and did not play as disciplined as I would have liked. We coached up the linebackers and defensive ends and got them to understand their assignments in the second half. I was impressed with Oxabein Serie. He set the boundary really well at cornerback. Tralon Thomas showed me he is improving every day and played well out there tonight.”
The Sacred Heart Trojans took on Houma Christian on Friday at Trojan Field. The Trojans took possession of the football to start the scrimmage and came out swinging. Backed up against their goal line, the Trojans called a tight end screen to Seth Shipp on third and 18 that produced 40 yards. On the ensuing play, quarterback Phillip Vidrine scored on a 45 yard run after keeping the ball on a perfect option play. Turning the ball around, the Trojans appeared to have scored on an 80 yard run. However a holding penalty nullified the score. Sacred Heart then began a long drive methodically running the ball right at Houma Christian. The Trojans picked up 50 yards on eight plays with Caleb Soileau doing most of the heavy lifting. The drive stalled deep inside their opponent’s territory on a fumble by Soileau.
The first drive by Houma Christian was mixed with the quick passing game and several runs. The Warriors moved the ball effectively down the field and scored on a 20 yard touchdown pass. Turning the ball around, Houma Christian advanced the ball down the field, but the Trojan defense buckled down and stemmed the Warrior tide. Sacred Heart did not waste any time on its next possession, scoring on a 50 yard Caleb Soileau touchdown run. The Trojans scored several more times showing its offensive prowess.
Head Coach Gary Adkins was enthusiastic about his team’s performance, even though there were some mistakes made. “Scrimmages are made to work out the miscues,” Adkins observed. “I have been doing this a long time and knew there would be mistakes and there were. I was still pretty pleased with our effort. We looked pretty good at times.” Offensively the Trojans showed the flashes of a solid squad, especially in the run game. “I think Dylan Scully played well in place of an injured Mickey Laughlin,” said Adkins. “Both of our quarterbacks played well and that gives us an advantage having them perform well. Our offensive line run blocked really well tonight and gave our backs some space to roam.” Sacred Heart’s defense did allow Houma Christian to move the ball, but when needed they stepped up and shut down the Warriors. “Both Jacob A. Lafleur and Jacob L. Lafleur played a solid ballgame,” stated Adkins. “I thought our linebackers need to get better. Our defensive line really did a good job tonight.
Mamou High School hosted the Oberlin Tigers on Friday for their first look at gridiron action this season. The Demons allowed Oberlin to score once and could not muster a score on offense. However Head Coach Brian Brumfield was satisfied with the effort of his club. “Our players were excited about playing football tonight,” declared Brumfield. “Offensively we did well but we are not quite where we need to be. We were able to move the football at times. Dropped passes and fumbles really killed drives on offense. If we can start doing the little things we will be OK. Right now we only have about 30 percent of our offense in.” Coach Brumfield was contented with the overall play of the defensive unit. “Because we have been focusing on offense at practice more than defense, I thought we played decent on that side of the ball tonight,” noted Brumfield. “Practice next week will see us putting in more of our defensive scheme.”
One coach who was ecstatic with his team’s performance is Coach Yves Prince. His young Pine Prairie Panther squad was on the road in Leesville for a three-way scrimmage with both Leesville High and Bunkie High. The Panthers were able to score against Leesville on a 45 yard pass from Dylan Doucet to Douglas Fontenot. The Panthers held the Wampus Cats scoreless. Bunkie did score on Pine Prairie on a pass that was almost intercepted. “We looked like a different team out there tonight compared to last year,” exclaimed Prince. “Even the coaches from Bunkie were impressed with our performance. We have shown a big improvement from last year. Our players were very pleased with themselves. It really got us motivated. Don’t get me wrong we have a lot of work to do and we have to continue working hard. We can’t be satisfied. Our coaching staff has done a tremendous job with this team. Hopefully we can clean up some of the mistakes and continue improving.”
Next week will be another test for all teams in the parish. Basile will play Pine Prairie in the first game at the Evangeline Parish Jamboree on Friday at Ville Platte High. Ville Platte and Mamou will battle in the second game of the Evangeline Parish Jamboree. Sacred Heart travels to Lafayette to take on Central Catholic in the Kiwana’s Jamboree at Teurlings High School.