Basile moves to 2-1 in district with win over Elton

ELTON – The Basile Bearcats dominated from start to finish in their 41-8 pounding of the Elton Indians Thursday night.
With the win, Basile moved to 3-3 on the season and 2-1 in District 4-1A play. The Bearcats will host East Beauregard for homecoming this Friday night.
In the game, Basile racked up over 400 yards of total offense, averaging 8.9 yards per play, and punted only one time the entire night. The Bearcat defense held Elton to 169 yards, with most of those yards coming late with the game in hand.
“This was the most complete game we have played all season,” stated head coach Kevin Bertrand. “It was one of those games where we played hard from the opening whistle and did not let up all game long. Offensively, I thought we did a good job of moving the ball. We did miss some opportunities to score more points. Defensively, we changed some things up and made a conscious effort not to as aggressive with our play calling so as not to give up the big plays we have in the past. I think that allowed our players to play with more confidence.”
Basile did not take long to get points on the board. Just two minutes into the game, Isaiah Ceasar blasted his way into the end zone from 34 yards out. Jose Palacios knocked the extra point through giving the Bearcats the early 7-0 lead with 10:00 to go in the first quarter.
Basile’s next score was the longest of the season for the Bearcats as quarterback Cole Manuel found Keeman Ivory for a 94-yard pitch and catch. Palacios’ extra point attempt was good making it a 14-0 game in favor of Basile with 2:56 left in the opening quarter.
Elton found some success in the final seconds of the initial period. With 59 seconds left in the first quarter, Bryce Laughlin ran it in from 22 yards out to cut into the Bearcat lead. Laughlin tacked on the two-point run cutting the score down to 14-8.
Basile ramped up the intensity in the second quarter, picking up two more scores. The first, a Manuel run from nine yards away with 7:46 to go in the period put the Bearcats back on top by two touchdowns, 20-8, after a blocked extra point.
The second came at the 2:11 mark of the quarter when Logan David punched it in from seven yards. This time the extra point was good by Palacios and the Bearcats took a 27-8 lead into the locker room.
Basile added another score in the third quarter on a 53 yard pass from Manuel to David. With the extra point, the Bearcats now held a commanding 34-8 lead with 8:34 to go in the period.
Basile finished off their scoring for the night in the final quarter on a one yard touchdown run from Ethan Bazinet. Palacios nailed the extra point, making it a 41-8 game with 4:52 left in the contest.
Ceasar led all Bearcat rushers with 109 yards on nine carries and one touchdown. Manuel was three for seven through the air for 147 yards and two touchdowns.