OAKDALE -- Coming off of two wins in a row including a win against Pickering in their last outing, the Ville Platte High Bulldogs looked to improve on their 2-2 record as they faced an Oakdale team that they had handled last season on homecoming night.
It looked like an easy target to reach as the Warriors came into Friday night’s game with an 0-4 record including two games where they gave up 30 points in the first quarter, but momentum shifted to the home sideline as the Warriors picked up a 33-6 win in both teams’ final contest before district play.
For head Bulldog coach Jorie Randle, the loss to Oakdale was chalked up to a lack of execution. “We didn’t execute the basic fundamentals of football,” he said. “We didn’t block, we didn’t catch, and we didn’t tackle. There’s no other way to put it. (Oakdale) controlled the line of scrimmage. That’s the reason why they won the game.”
Neither team could get much of anything going offensively for much of the first half. Oakdale was plagued by its usual mistakes of dropped passes, costly penalties, and other missed opportunities; however, an inspired Oakdale defense stymied the Ville Platte offense that scored 29 points in last week’s win against Pickering.
The Warriors broke through first and scored the game’s first points with 1:09 to go in the second quarter on a delayed handoff from quarterback Gabe Rodriguez to running back Javon Hayward for a 12-yard touchdown run.
The Bulldogs answered the score on their first possession of the second half. The drive began on the Ville Platte 39-yard line after the kickoff. Following a 9-yard gain and a subsequent 5-yard penalty for false start, a measurement confirmed that the Bulldogs picked up enough to move the chains for a first down. After the conversion, Terrian Roy was on the receiving end of a pass and got enough yards after the catch for a touchdown. The two-point conversion attempt was stopped just short, and the Bulldogs trailed 7-6 with 10:03 to go in the third quarter.
Oakdale went on to add two touchdowns in the quarter. The first came after Ville Platte muffed a punt that resulted in a turnover on downs to give the Warriors a 1st and 10 on the Bulldog 14-yard line. Hayward picked up a block by Jacob Black for a 7-yard gain before Rodriguez completed a touchdown pass to Hunter Longino. The point after attempt by Daniel Rodriguez bounced off the left upright to make the score 13-6.
The other touchdown drive for Oakdale was also set up by Bulldog mistakes on a punt that resulted in the Warriors getting the ball back on the Ville Platte 29-yard line. A defensive pass interference penalty on an incomplete pass moved the offense 15 yards closer to the end zone. Hayward, on his third consecutive touch of the drive, ran hard up the middle for 13 yards to set up a 1st and goal from the 2-yard line. On the next play, Hayward ran the ball the rest of the way for the score to go up 20-6.
For good measure, the Warriors added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter as they head into next week’s district game against East Beauregard with a win under their belts.
As for the Bulldogs, they enter next week’s district game at home against Lake Arthur with a 2-3 record. “Lake Arthur is going to come ready to play,” said Randle. “Prior to tonight, they had a 3-1 record. They are hard-nosed kids who are ready to play football.”
Lake Arthur, in Week 5, improved to 4-1 after a 48-22 win over East Beauregard.
During the coming week heading into the game against Lake Arthur, Randle is looking for his team to find itself, to take constructive criticism, and to “get back to the basics.”
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TONY MARKS Associate Editor