Bulldogs give valiant effort against Bears

Halloween night was not all treats for the Ville Platte Bulldogs. With a number of starters out for the Bulldogs, they lost to the Church Point Bears with a final score of 34-14.
Church Point started out the night winning the coin toss and decided to defer to the second half. After a touchdown on the kickoff, Ville Platte would start out at their 20 yard line. Terese Thomas would take the snap for six yards, and then on the next play he would run the same play for another nine yards and a Bulldog first down. Dayton Jackson would take the ball on the next play for 10 yards and another first down. Jackson would then lose a yard on the next play from the line of scrimmage. On third and 10, Rodricas Fontenot would find Oxzabain Serie for 10 yards and a Bulldog first down. The ball was now at the Bear’s 39 yard line.
Jackson then rumbled for five yards; and Serie would lose yards on the next play, forcing Ville Platte to punt. Church Point then started their drive at their seven yard line.
Deion Monroe would run the ball for two yards. On the next play, Tyler Wheeler ran around the right side of the field for 15 yards and a Bear first down. Ville Platte’s defense came to life and forced Church Point to punt after three plays totaling four yards.
The Bulldogs took over at their 38 yard line. Five straight plays by Terese Thomas for 26 yards would bring up third and short for Ville Platte. Thomas then tried to find Serie, but the pass was incomplete, forcing the Bulldogs to punt.
The Bears would start their second drive of the night at their 18 yard line with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter. Christian Veronie took the ball up the middle for 10 yards. Frederick Williams had the next two plays for six yards. Now, forced into third and four, Church Point would hand the ball off to Monroe for 37 yards. The Bears were now in Bulldog territory. They handed the ball of to Veronie for four yards. On the next play, the Bulldogs stripped the ball and Tralon Thomas would fall on it.
On first down, at their 16 yard line, Ville Platte’s Jacoby Randell would take the snap for two yards. Fontenot would air it out to Terese on the next play, but Church Point’s Tyler Wheeler would jump in front and intercept the pass. The Bears would take over the ball at their 48 yard line. Williams ran around the left side of the field for a total of 12 yards.
The next play Veronie ran up the middle for nine yards. Church Point got flagged for a false start on two straight plays, bringing up third and eleven. On the next play, Troy Matte would throw it out of bounds, bringing up forth down. The Bears went for it and Ville Platte was flagged for a controversial pass interference, giving Church Point new life. It would pay off two plays later when Matte would run a quarterback sneak for a touchdown. Kian Richard made the extra point, giving the Bears a 7-0 lead with 7:16 remaining in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs would then start out at their 20 yard line. Three plays for six yards would force Ville Platte to punt. Church Point then took over at the Bulldog 43 yard line. Monroe got the ball and the Ville Platte defense forced him to fumble. Randell would recover the ball for the Bulldogs.
Ville Platte would start the next series of plays at their 37 yard line with 4:54 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs put up a 13 play drive and Terese Thomas would run the next three plays for 25 yards. Now with the ball at the Bears’ 38 yard line, Fontenot took the snap for 13 yards, but the Bulldogs would get penalized for a false start two plays in a row. On third down with 20 yards to go, Fontenot dropped back and found Terese Thomas in the middle of the field for a 30-yard gain. Now at the Bears’ five yard line Ville Platte could smell the end zone.
Three straight running plays and another false start penalty on the Bulldogs would bring up fourth down at the nine yard line. Fontenot threw the ball to Serie in the end zone, but the pass went straight through Serie’s hands. The first half ended on the next play by Church Point kneeling the ball.
The Bears began the second half with the ball. At their 40 yard line, Veroine would take the hand-off for two yards. On the next play, Matte would throw the ball deep and find Jacques Wimberly for 58 yards and a Church Point touchdown. The extra point was good and the score was 14-0 in favor of the Bears with 11:06 to play in the third quarter.
Ville Platte would start at their 20 yard line. Terese Thomas would run five straight plays for 28 yards. The Bulldogs were now at the Bears’ 42 yard line. Fontenot would call his own number, but lose two yards. Johnson ran the next three plays for six yards, turning the ball over on downs. Church Point got good field position and it would not take them long to capitalize. Williams then ran around the right side of the field for 37 yards. Veronie would then carry the ball the next two plays and pick up 14 yards. Monroe would score on the next play from the one yard line. The extra point was dropped by the holder, giving the Bears a 20-0 lead with 6:42 remaining in the third quarter.
Ville Platte would go three and out on the next drive, giving Church Point the ball right back. The Bears began at their 29 yard line. Veronie ran for 11 yards and a first down. Monroe would carry the next two plays for 13 yards. Wheeler would then run for eight yards. Monroe again got two straight carries for eight yards and Wheeler ran for 10 yards on the next play. Veronie would bulldoze his way in the end zone from 15 yards out. The extra point was good giving Church Point a 27-0 lead with 1:08 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs would show heart and will by not quitting. Down by 27 points to start the fourth quarter. Fontenot would find Serie for a 63-yard reception on third down. Terese Thomas would take the next snap for eight yards. Johnson ran the next play for two yards. The ball would now be on the seven yard line and Vondarious Freeman would get the hand off and run over the Church Point defenders for a Bulldog touchdown. The extra point by Fontenot was no good and the score was 27-6 with 10:30 remaining.
The Bears started their next drive with Veronie running up the middle, but he would get stripped of the ball. Justin Ardoin of the Bulldogs recovered the fumble. Thomas would run the ball before finding Terese Thomas in the corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown. The Bulldogs then got two points after a successful conversion by Freeman. The Bulldogs were now down 27-14 with 8:27 remaining in the game.
The kickoff gave the Bears the ball at their 44 yard line. The Bears ran eight straight plays capped off by an 11-yard touchdown run by Williams. The game ended with the successful extra point try by Richard, giving the Bears a 34-14 victory over the Bulldogs.
Terese Thomas led the Bulldogs with 24 carries for 141 yards along with two catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. Bulldog Head Coach Jorie Randle went on to say, after the game, that his team played hard and had a lot of heart and class. Even with a lot of injuries for the Bulldogs they fought hard against two of the best teams in the state the past two weeks.
Ville Platte will now travel to Northwest to battle the Raiders with a playoff spot on the line.