Dominant up front

MAMOU — In a game marred by sloppy play in the second half from both teams, the Ville Platte Bulldogs used dominant offensive and defensive line play to pick up a huge 28-0 win over the Mamou Demons here Friday night.
Ville Platte asserted their will on Mamou up front, especially in the first two quarters of play, as the Bulldogs garnered 150 yards of offense with 122 of those yards on the ground.
After the game, Mamou head coach Brian Brumfield was the first to acknowledge the commanding performance of the Bulldogs’s interior on both sides of the ball.
“They definitely dominated us up front all night long,” stated Brumfield. “We knew they were going to be physical and I think our guys underestimated them. The key to success is interior line play. I was very disappointed in how we played up front and it showed tonight.”
Ville Platte got things started early in the game, as they took the opening drive 57 yards for the first score of the contest. In fact, the first two plays of the game covered 56 yards as running back Danthony Anderson and quarterback Jaishaun Doucet ripped off runs of 27 and 29 yards respectfully.
On the fourth play of the drive, Doucet plunged in from one yard out and Brandon Veazie tacked on the extra point to make the score 7-0 Ville Platte at the 10:28 mark.
Mamou could not jump start their offense on their opening drive and had to punt the ball away.
Ville Platte was held on their next possession and gave it right back to the Demons.
On the ensuing Mamou drive, Demon quarterback Levi Fontenot was picked off by Ville Platte’s Keenan Markray, who had seemingly took the interception to the house. But, a holding call on the play brought the ball back to the Mamou 33-yard line.
For the Bulldogs, it did not matter, as they marched 33 yards in six plays for their second touchdown of the night, as Doucet hit Martin Jason on a 12 yard crossing route in the back of the end zone. The extra point snap was low and Doucet, the holder, had to scramble around right end for the two-point conversion to put Ville Platte up 15-0 with 3:11 left in the first quarter.
Bulldog head coach Jorie Randle was satisfied with the play of Doucet Friday night, after a shaky outing in the Jamboree.
“As far as Jaishaun is concerned, I told him that if he can put it together, the sky is the limit,” said Randle. “I think the touchdown throw gave him some confidence and hopefully he will carry that on for the rest of the season. He is a valuable asset for us.”
If the interception was not bad enough for the Demons, the next two possessions were even worse, as Mamou fumbled on back-to-back offensive drives. The second fumble led to a Ville Platte score when Bulldog defensive lineman Jalen Edwards picked up the ball and rumbled 35 yards for the touchdown. The extra point was no good, but Ville Platte led 21-0 with 9:29 left to go in the first half.
Ville Platte’s final score of the game came with 1:31 left in second quarter. After taking over possession of the ball at the Mamou 40-yard line following a 29 yard Demon punt, the Bulldogs only needed four plays to pick up their fourth touchdown. Doucet took the ball in from two yards out and Veazie added the extra point to give Ville Platte the 28-0 lead.
Mamou was intercepted on their last possession of the first half to complete the Bulldog dominance in the initial two quarters. It was their fourth turnover of the half, as the Demons finished with five turnovers total in the game.
After a near perfect first half in which Ville Platte scored all of their points, the Bulldogs committed seven penalties and turned the ball over three times in the second half. After the game, Ville Platte head coach Jorie Randle spoke about his concern for the lackadaisical play of his team in the latter part of the contest.
“The second half really dampened what we had accomplished in the first half,” commented Randle. “We trying to get it through to the players to finish off a team. With a young team, I think it is just going to take time. We are going to talk about being more mentally tough at practice this week. We cannot become complacent at any time in the course of a game, even if you are up by such a larger margin.”
Leading the way offensively for the Bulldogs was Doucet, who had 105 yards on 14 carries and one touchdown. He was also two for five with 28 yards passing and one touchdown.
Ville Platte (1-0) will be on the road again this Friday, as they travel to Basile to take on the Bearcats.
Mamou (0-1) will remain at home to host Class 1A East Beauregard in another non-district contest.