Ville Platte High: Bulldogs looking for fresh faces to fill voids

By: NICK JAGNEAUX
Staff Reporter

Player Development – that’s going to be the story of the Ville Platte Bulldogs for the 2015 football season.
With key injuries and a host of graduated players last year, Ville Platte finds itself fielding several inexperienced players this year, especially at key positions.
According to Bulldog head coach Jorie Randle, how the new players adapt and grow during the non-district slate will be important in once the district schedule opens up.
“We need to take baby steps at the beginning of the season,” Randle said.
But, by the time district arrives against Eunice on Oct. 9, Randle is expecting his pups to be mature Bulldogs, whose bite is worse than their bark.
Randle took the need for growth into consideration when making the upcoming schedule.
“I looked for teams similar to us,” he said, “similar in size and location. I looked for teams that will challenge us, force us to grow, but give us a chance to be successful.”
The ’Dogs will open up by hosting Mamou, Basile, and Lafayette Christian Academy before traveling to North Central. They will close out the non-district at home against Opelousas.
“These are five good teams and good match-ups for us,” Randle explained. “They’re just as skilled as us, and for many of them, it’s like looking in the mirror.”
Randle says that while winning early in the season is the goal, the team understands that player development is actually the key to the contests.
“Wins are great,” Randle said, “but I can deal with losses as long as we’re competitive in the games. Regardless of the outcome, I’m looking for pure competition” in the non-district schedule.
Ville Platte opens up the District 5-3A slate on Oct. 9 at home against long-time rival Eunice.
The Bulldogs travel the next two weeks, to Port Barre and to Northwest, before closing out the regular season at home against Pine Prairie and Church Point.
“Those are some very good programs,” Randle complimented his district opponents. “By the time district comes, it will be very important for us to have grown in maturity and understanding of the game, if we are going to be competitive in district.”
One issue that the Bulldogs will have against district teams is fatigue. Because of a small squad, Ville Platte will be forced to field many two-way players.
The larger district opponents, however, will be able to give their key players rested on the sidelines.
“We’ve designated one coach just for subs,” Randle said. “We need to keep an eye on our players, making sure that they can get a breather when they’re starting to become tired. We’ll need them to be fresh throughout the fourth quarter.”