Ville Platte falls short to Lake Arthur in first district game

LAKE ARTHUR – The Ville Platte Bulldogs made the trip down to Lake Arthur Thursday night to tangle with the Tigers in hopes of extending their win streak to three in a row and picking a district win.
With both teams ready for battle, the game became a nail bitter until the final horn blew. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs would come up short on the night, as the Tigers came away with a 21-20 win.
With the loss, Ville Platte fell to 2-4 on the year and 0-1 in District 6-2A. The Bulldogs will host Kinder this Friday in continuing district action.
Both teams traded punts to start the game. However, on Ville Platte’s punt the Tigers fumbled the ball and Jalen Edwards jumped on the loose ball at the Lake Arthur 41-yard line. On the very first play from scrimmage, Ville Platte running back Jaishaun Doucet would dash around the left side and find day light, running the 41 yards for the touchdown.
The extra point by Brandon Veazie was good giving the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead with 8:53 in the opening quarter.
The Tigers would start their next possession on their 35-yard line. After a number of runs and passes the Tigers found pay dirt on the twelfth play of the drive as quarterback Derek Brister would find his receiver for a 13-yard touchdown. The extra point by Chris Broussard was true tying the game at 7-7 with 3:03 in the remaining in the first quarter.
The teams continued to exchange possessions as the game inched its way into the second quarter. Late in the period, Lake Arthur would find the end zone once again as Jerad McZeal dove in from one-yard out.
That drive ate up eight minutes of the clock and lasted 17 plays. The extra point was good, as the Tigers took the 14-7 lead with 2:38 remaining in the first half.
Ville Platte would answer on its very next drive. Starting at the 35-yard line, running back Jamal Byers took over the ground game gaining the next 43 yards. The next two plays came via quarterback Brandon Veazie’s arm, as he hit Kaybrien Ardoin and Keenan Markary on successive pass completions bringing the ball to the Lake Arthur three-yard line.
Doucet capped the drive off with a three-yard run for the touchdown. The extra point was true and the score was now tied at 14-14 with only 14 seconds left before halftime.
Lake Arthur took over and looked to find some more points in the final seconds of the second quarter. As Brister dropped back to pass, Vile Platte’s Travian Ardoin blasted through and shook the ball loose from Brister. Ardoin scooped up the fumble and rumbled all the way to the end zone. A blocked extra point, one that would come back to haunt the Bulldogs, gave Ville Platte the 20-14 lead going into the locker room.
The game became stagnate for the entire third quarter and most of the fourth quarter. Lake Arthur’s final drive of the night began on their 35-yard line. Seven plays later, Trahan found Nick Hibbets for a 19-yard touchdown pass. The extra point flew through the upright, giving the Tigers a 21-20 lead with 6:54 remaining in the game.
Ville Platte tried to mount one more scoring drive, but Lake Arthur intercepted the ball and was able to run out the clock.
For the Bulldogs, Jaishaun Doucet finished the game with 53 yards on eight carries and a touchdown. Veazie finished the night four of 10 passing for 63 yards.