Bulldogs fail to capitalize in loss to Raiders

If the game between Ville Platte and Huntington would have been played on an 80-yard field, the Bulldogs would probably be 2-1 on the year. Unfortunately, football teams have to go the extra 20 yards to score. Ville Platte drove deep into Huntington territory on several occasions, only to come away empty in a 28-6 loss to the Raiders from Shreveport.
“We are working everyday to get better,” stated Ville Platte Head Coach Jorie Randle. “We are trying to be a great team; we are just not there yet. On offense, we had some mistakes that cost us some points. I can live with those mistakes because we had a lot of young kids playing out there tonight. I told the kids that we may have not won on the scoreboard, but we definitely won on the morale side of the game.” The Bulldogs were without five starters on offense because of injuries. “It gave us an opportunity to play some younger kids and get some experience that will definitely help us later on in the season.”
Ville Platte won the toss and decided to defer to the second half. Huntington took the opening kickoff to their 36 yard line. The Bulldog defense would show their teeth early in the game, forcing a four and out on the Raiders. On fourth down, the Raider punter Sha’Mikel Ashton faked the punt and took it around the right side of the Bulldog return team for what looked like a first down. However, a block in the back penalty negated the first down and forced Huntington to punt
Ville Platte took possession of the football after the punt at their 23 yard line. The Bulldogs began the drive with four straight runs that gained 35 yards of field position. But the momentum would be short lived as a holding call on first and 10 put Ville Platte in a first and 18 situation. A two-yard loss by quarterback Rodricas Fontenot and an incomplete pass made it third and 20 for the Bulldogs. The next play, a nine-yard gain by Fontenot was not enough for the first down and Ville Platte was forced to punt.
The Raiders took over on their 20 yard line after the touchback on the punt by Oxabein Serie. The first play from scrimmage, quarterback Aaron Roberson scooted down the left side for a 37-yard gain to the Ville Platte 43 yard line. Two plays later, the Raiders were forced to punt after losing two yards on second down and throwing an incomplete pass on third down. The punt rolled into the end zone for the touchback.
The Bulldog’s second possession of the game once again looked really promising. On first and 10 from their 20 yard line, Ville Platte picked up 19 yards in three plays on the ground and gained another 15 yards on a face mask penalty by the Raiders. With the ball at the Raider 46 yard line, the Bulldog running game continued to move the ball. Five plays later, Ville Platte faced a fourth and five from the raider 32 yard line. A swing pass from Fontenot to Jones could not muster enough for the first down and the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs. Once again, a Ville Platte drive had stalled deep in Raider territory.
Huntington wasted no time in putting up the first points of the game, after taking over possession at their 29 yard line. On first down, a holding penalty put the Raiders in a first and 15 at their 24 yard line. An incomplete pass on first down made it second and 15. The very next play, Roberson showed his athleticism and raced 76 yards on the quarterback trap to pay dirt. The extra point was wide left and with 10:52 left in the second quarter the Raiders led 6-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, Ville Platte’s Oxabein Serie broke a long 38-yard return to the Raider 42 yard line. Once again, the Bulldogs penetrated Huntington territory. Ville Platte could only manage two yards in three plays and had to punt on fourth down. The Bulldogs had squandered another golden opportunity inside Raider territory.
The Ville Platte defense was able to get the ball back for the offense, forcing Huntington to punt. The Bulldogs took over at their 29 yard line with 4:04 left in the second quarter. The Ville Platte run game got going as running back Dayton Jackson ran three straight times for a total of 42 yards. A five-yard loss by Fontenot put the Bulldogs fourth and six at the Raider 35 yard line. Coach Randle rolled the dice and decided to try for the first down.
The gamble paid off, as Jackson was able to dash 35 yards for the score with 1:52 left in the second quarter. The extra point was no good; however, the Bulldogs went into halftime tied 6-6.
Ville Platte began the second half receiving the kick off and right away had the ball in Raider territory as Shabby Moore returned the ball all the way to the Huntington 44 yard line. The Bulldogs were able to move the football inside the Huntington 15 yard line in just five plays. At that point, Ville Platte basically shot themselves in the proverbial foot. Two penalties and an incomplete pass later, the Bulldogs were forced to turn the ball over on downs.
Huntington took over at their 19 yard line after forcing the turnover on downs. The Raiders immediately put themselves in a deep hole as penalties on four consecutive plays had them in a second and 33 situation. Roberson then called his own number on the quarterback power and broke free for a 73-yard jaunt down the right sideline. Ville Platte added to the long run by hitting Roberson out of bounds after the play and the Raiders now had the ball at the Bulldog four yard line. Two plays later, Roberson snuck into the end zone over the right side for the Raider touchdown. Head
Coach Marvin Harris made the decision to go for the two-point conversion. The decision paid off as Roberson found Ashton in the corner of the end zone for the conversion. The Raiders now led Ville Platte 14-6 with 2:27 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs could not manage any type of offense on their next possession and were forced to punt the ball back to the Raiders. Huntington took possession and methodically drove the ball down to the Bulldog 14 yard line. On second and six, Raider running back Jeddrick Webster took the handoff from Roberson and weaved his way on the right side for a touchdown. The extra point was good from David Huerta and with 5:10 left in the ball game, Huntington led 21-6.
Ville Platte gave a valiant effort on the ensuing possession. Taking over on their 33 yard line, the Bulldogs marched down the field to the Raider 38. Facing fourth and 10, Fontenot tried to throw an out pass to Serie. The ball slipped through his hands and Roberson was Johnny on the spot as he took the ball out of the air and cruised 75 yards down the sideline for the Raider touchdown. The extra point was good by Huerta and Huntington now extended their lead to 28-6 with 1:22 left in the game. Ville Platte basically ran out the clock and the Raiders came away with the victory.
“We are real young on offense,” stated Harris. “Our plan was to try to stay away from their two big defensive tackles in the middle. We saw that they played a lot of players both ways and hoped we could be in the ball game in the fourth quarter, thinking maybe they would be tired. Hats off to Ville Platte, they had a good game plan. I told our kids that we want to be a tough team like them. We have the athletes, but we are just not tough enough yet. Winning on the road will be a big confidence boost to our team.”
For the Raiders, Roberson carried 17 times for 149 yards to lead all rushers. He also connected on one pass in six attempts for 65 yards. Huntington managed a total of 256 yards of total offense.
Coach Randle praised some of his younger players for stepping in and doing a good job in the absence of the injured starters. “Those young guys really played well for us tonight,” said Randle. “Guys like Rondrekus Ben on defense and Rodricas Fontenot on offense came in and did their job. These two young men are freshmen, but played like upperclassmen. As an offense we have to score in the red zone. We must execute and can’t kill drives with penalties and miscues. There was one or two of those drives that should have been scores. We will just go back to practice this week and work on those situations.”
On the night for Ville Platte, Dayton Jackson led all rushers with 134 yards on 14 carries. Fontenot was four of eight passing for 38 yards. Leading receiver for the Bulldogs was Serie. He was able to haul in one pass for 31 yards. Ville Platte managed 287 yards of total offense against the Raiders.
The Bulldogs are now 1-2 on the season and travel next week to Oakdale to face the Warriors. Success in the red zone is going to be an important factor next week and for the rest of the year for Ville Platte. Hopefully, some of the starters will be back next week. A 2-2 record would help as the Bulldogs face the meat of their schedule.