Defending their turf

By: SYLIS MANUEL Staff Reporter MAMOU – The Mamou Green Demons successfully defended their home turf on homecoming night Friday, defeating the Ville Platte Bulldogs 36-31 after fending off a last minute comeback attempt from the Bulldogs. With the win, Mamou improves to 3-2 on the season and 2-1 in district contest. They will host the Oakdale Warriors next Friday for their second-to-last home game of the season. With their loss, Ville Platte falls to 1-5 on the season and 1-2 in district play. They will welcome the Port Barre Red Devils next week on home soil. After the game, Ville Platte head coach Roy Serie was asked how he felt about how well his relatively young and fresh team was meshing together. “We showed some resilience and fought back, so you can’t be mad about that. When you get two touchdowns called back and are still in the game, its a good sign of growth,” Coach Serie remarked. Before the game started, you could feel the energy exuding from the sidelines, with the two rivals eager to get on the field. And right from the opening whistle, that energy didn’t stop for a single moment. Ville Platte started things off, returning the opening kick to their own 36-yard line. After a failed rushing attempt that netted negative yards, quarterback Bastian Veillon was picked off by the Demons, who returned the ball to the 35-yard line. After the big pick, Mamou’s Devin Ardoin punched in a 30-yard and five-yard run back-to-back to score for the Demons in just under two minuted. Mamou tried for an extra two points, but was unsuccessful, leaving the score at 6-0 with 10:12 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs didn’t take long to answer, after Omarion Frank received the following kickoff, returning it 78 yards to set Ville Platte up on the two-yard line. After that, a quick slant from Veillon to Adonis Thomas opened up the scoreboard for the Bulldogs. Ville Platte’s following kick was unsuccessful, leaving the score tied at 6 with 9:51 remaining in the first quarter. Mamou returned the kickoff to its 35-yard line and looked to keep its foot on the pedals after their error. After a solid 9-yard rush from Mamou’s Sheamus Frank, Ville Platte’s Chance Fontenot recovered a fumble off a muffed snap, bringing the ball down to the Mamou 23-yard line. However, the Bulldogs couldn’t capitalize on the favorable yardage, and the drive resulted in a turnover on downs. The two teams traded possessions, but neither were able to convert their drives into points before the first quarter came to a close. The Demons started the second quarter off at the Bulldogs’ 42-yard line on second down, but after back-to-back sacks from Ville Platte’s Traelyn Doucet, Mamou was forced to punt inside their own territory. Ville Platte’s rushing attack started to pick things up in that drive, marching from their 23-yard line to their 43-yard line in three snaps. Then, Frank recorded his second huge run of the game, finding a hole and blitzing the remaining 57 yards to give the Bulldogs a 12-6 lead after an incomplete 2 point conversion pass attempt. Mamou didn’t let that lead sit for much longer, however. Starting on their 34-yard line, the Demons found themselves on the Bulldogs’ 5-yard line after 46 yards on the ground from Ardoin and an additional seven from Frank. Ardoin would earn the remaining 5 yards, also adding in two extra points with another run, setting the score at 14-12 with 4:41 remaining in the first half. Ville Platte couldn’t find much success on its next drive, which resulted in a turnover on downs, and Mamou on the Bulldogs’ 42-yard line. Ville Platte left far too much time for the Demons, who were able to score off the back of Ardoin, who yet again added the extra two points with a pass to Caden Lejeune as time expired in the half. The Demons brought that momentum into the next quarter, scoring on their opening drive of the half, this time form a 36-yard rush from Frank, which turned out to be his first touchdown of the season. Mamou couldn’t convert on the two point try, leaving the score at 28-12 in the opening minutes of the quarter. After getting shutout on its following drive, Ville Platte was able to cool off the red hot Demons, forcing a turnover on downs on the Mamou nine-yard line. Thomas was able to notch those 9 yards, relieving some of the pressure the Demons were putting on, but the Bulldogs remained behind 22-18 after a missed extra point. Ville Platte seemed to get some of its confidence back after the score, because after an incomplete pass form the Demons, Doucet stripped the quarterback, and the Bulldogs’ Jarian Leday returned that fumble 17 yards for a score. A successful extra point would leave the score with a 28-25 Demons advantage with time expiring in the quarter. The fourth quarter was a slow burn, but once things started, they didn’t slow down. After a stalled Ville Platte drive, Mamou’s William Cane blocked the punt, which was recovered on the Bulldog 30-yard line. Ardoin punched in those yards on the ground, setting the score at 36-25 after another 2 points with 7:36 remaining. Ville Platte would return the kickoff for a touchdown, but the score was called back due to a holding penalty. Still, the Bulldogs were not deterred, as Veillon earned 46 yards through the air, where Jakahalan Slaughter added 11 yards on the ground for a Bulldogs score, making the score 36-31 with 5:19 remaining. Mamou wasn’t able to stay on the field long enough and was forced to punt the ball with just under two minutes remaining. Ville Platte faced a third down with 7 yards to go and 1:17 remaining. Veillon launched the ball downfield when Isaiah Bell jumped the route and picked the ball off, sealing the Mamou victory. “This is why I study film, “ said Bell after the game. “I saw the play and knew the route before it came out. I just hope I can keep that momentum moving forward and hopefully into the playoffs.” Despite the loss, Ville Platte’s Traelyn Doucet had a fantastic defensive game, recording 5 tackles for loss including 4 sacks and a forced fumble. Mamou’s star player was Devin Ardoin, who added 164 yards on the ground and 2 touchdowns.