By: SYLIS MANUEL
Staff Reporter
PRAIRIE RONDE — The Pine Prairie Panthers fell to the hosting Northwest Raiders 36-33 on Friday night in a shoot-out decided on the very last play of the game.
With the loss, the Panthers fall to 0-8 on the season and 0-5 in district play. They will travel to Mamou next week to take on the Green Demons in their final away game of the season.
The Raiders improve to 4-4 on the season and 3-2 in district play. They travel to play the Ville Platte Bulldogs next week, also in their last away game of the season.
Pine Prairie had a rough start on their opening drive, going three-and-out. Northwest struck first after the punt, marching from the their own 14 yard-line to the opposite one yard-line, where Ethan Aucoin punched in the last yard to put the Raiders up 6-0 early on.
The Panthers seemed to have a fire lit under them after their previous unsuccessful drive, and scored on a 65-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Branson Fontenot to Da’jon Lemalle, to get on the scoreboard.
With the game tied at 6-6, both teams started to pick up the pace.
After starting on the its own 25 yard-line, the Raiders relied on their rushing attack to carry them to the Panther nine. There, Davon Thibodeaux punched in the remaining yardage for another touchdown. Their two point attempt was successful, giving them a 14-6 lead with 2:10 left in the first quarter.
Pine Prairie would quickly answer back, earning a touchdown of their after a 26 yard pass to Cayden McCullough and a 40 yard pass to Lemalle for a touchdown.
Pine Prairie would fail to convert on the two point attempt, leaving the score 14-12 with 1:46 remaining in the quarter.
Northwest’s next drive would go into the second quarter, but they were forced to punt. Receiving the punt on the Raider 46 yard-line, the Panthers diversified their attack all the way up to the 14 yard-line, where Fontenot threw a slant to Preston Bass for their third score.
This time, Pine Prairie was successful on the two point try, improving the score to 20-14 with 9:14 remaining in the half.
The two teams would go scoreless for the remainder of the half, and they each headed into the locker rooms with he score still sitting at 20-14.
A great return on the kickoff to open the second half set Northwest up on the Panther 30 yard-line.
Once again, Northwest pounded the rock and found themselves on the 17 yard-line, where Chauncey Roberson would reach pay dirt on the next play and after a successful two point conversion, the Raiders retook the lead at 22-20.
A Pine Prairie turnover-on-downs, gifted the ball to the Raiders on the Pine Prairie 43 yard-line on its next possession.
Northwest kept things status quo, letting their run game do the talking. Devon Anders earned the yardage in just two rushes, increasing the lead to 30-20 after a successful two point try.
Pine Prairie struggled on the next drive, and punted. Northwest tried to get fancy and let their running back, Aucoin, throw a pass on their first play, but he was immediately picked off by Pine Prairie’s Conner Higginbotham.
That was all the Panthers needed to gain back momentum, and they proceeded to drive 40 yards to the Raider 40 yard-line. There, Fontenot recorded his fourth touchdown of the game with another slant to Lemalle, who punched in his third touchdown to reduce the lead to 30-27 with 6:02 remaining in the third quarter after the extra kick off the foot of Hayven Sharp.
Northwest would take the game into the final quarter, but couldn’t muster up a score, resulting in a turnover-on-downs on the Pine Prairie 27 yard-line.
The Panthers marched to the Raider 16 yard-line, where Fontenot would earn his fifth touchdown after a short pass to Lemalle, who would run in after the catch for his fourth touchdown.
Despite an unsuccessful two point conversion, Pine Prairie held a 33-30 lead with 9:58 remaining quarter.
The two teams traded turnovers in their next drives, and Northwest would start a drive at midfield after an interception, with just over a minute remaining in the game.
The Panthers would give up a back breaking penalty to bring the Raiders all the way to the Pine Prairie 27 yard-line.
Despite the short clock, the name of the game was run for Northwest, with Roberson and Anders carrying them to the one yard-line with 16 seconds remaining.
Panthers stuffed them once, but Anders sealed the game with a one-yard run, leaving Pine Prairie with two seconds.
The Panthers was able to get a play off in the time frame, but the pass from Fontenot to McCullough flew incomplete, sending the Panthers packing with low heads and heavy hearts.
June 20, 2026
