Basile embracing unfamiliar against Port Barre

By: RHETT MANUEL Sports Editor PORT BARRE – As quickly as it started, the football regular season is beginning to wind down. It’s Week 8 now. Teams are established in who they are and who they aren’t, and some teams have the hard work of trying to win a district title while also preparing for the long road of the playoffs. The Basile Bearcats are one of those teams. Currently sitting at 6-1 and 4-0 in District 5-1A play, the Bearcats are sitting pretty in the pursuit of another district title under head coach Kevin Bertrand. However, they still have three games remaining and Basile’s last non-district game of the year is a road matchup against the Port Barre Red Devils tomorrow night. Port Barre, a Class 3A school, aren’t a team Basile sees on a yearly basis. That can present some issues due to unfamiliarity. But Bertrand sees it differently as Basile attempts to close out the home stretch of the season on a high note while also starting to prep for the postseason. “It almost feels like a playoff week where you aren’t necessarily seeing somebody that you see all the time,” Bertrand said. “We’re treating it like a playoff week. We’re taking care of the little things. The techniques and making sure we’re lined up correctly; it’s being treated exactly like it’s the postseason.” The Red Devils, although winless on the year, have faced the brunt of a tough schedule that included a pair of 4A schools, Opelousas Catholic and athletic opponents in Northwest, undefeated Church Point and Ville Platte. It’s not a fact lost on Basile. “They’ve played a very tough schedule; they’re still battling,” Bertrand said. “You watch them on film against Ville Platte and even when they got down a couple scores they kept battling. They kept coming after them. We know we’re going to have to play hard. We’re not looking at records. We’re looking at the team itself and what they do well. “We’re going to be challenged playing against a 3A school and we’re going to give it our best effort.” The benefits of a late-season matchup against an unfamiliar opponent are numerous, according to Bertrand. “You just get too familiar with people every once in a while,” he said. “This one, we’re really dialing in and focusing. We’re playing a team that runs an offense like ours. We don’t see that often. It’s giving us a new challenge. It’s piqued our interest and our kids have really focused on what we’re trying to do.”