Bearcats take on old rival Iota needing to get off on right foot

BASILE -- Getting off to a great start is the major theme for the Basile High Bearcats in 2017.
Last season, Basile was 1-4 after the first five games, a start that led to an un-Bearcat like 3-8 season.
For the new gridiron campaign to be successful this year, Basile head coach Kevin Bertrand knows that his club must take care of business tomorrow night against an old rival Iota on the road. Game time for the contest is set for 7 p.m.
“Our mission this year is to erase the start we had last season and begin on the right foot,” said Bertrand. “The key to that will be for us to finish games off. Last year, we had chances to win ball games, but could not finish. We do not want to be wondering ‘What if?’ after each game.”
The Bearcats had some opportunities to knock off Pine Prairie last week at the Evangeline Parish Jamboree, but some unfortunate mistakes left Basile with no points in a 0-0 tie with the Panthers.
“I mean we moved the ball offensively,” stated Bertrand. “But, every time we had a little momentum going, we killed ourselves with penalties. We have to erase that if we want to be a better team this season. However, I thought we played with a ton of intensity and fought the whole game. That is definitely what I want to see going forward.”
The Bearcats get to improve on those areas against a team that is on the rise. The Bulldogs were only able to collect two wins in 2016, but according to Bertrand they are a team that you cannot take lightly. Iota fell 27-7 to Eunice last week in the Joe Ngata Memorial Jamboree.
“They (Iota) played a really good team last week in the jamboree,” commented Bertrand. “But, they played as well as can be expected. They are a much improved team. They will be big and physical. Of course next to us everyone is big. They return a number of players from last season, so they know what is going on. They are the type of team that can throw and run.”