Penalties beat Bulldogs at home against Northwest

By: SYLIS MANUEL Staff Reporter VILLE PLATTE – The Ville Platte Bulldogs lost a gut-wrenching 6-0 game to the visiting Northwest Raiders Thursday night after two touchdowns scored by the Bulldogs were negated by penalties. With the loss Ville Platte (2-7, 2-4) hosts the Oberlin Tigers in their final game of the season this week. “It’s rough to lose like that,” Ville Platte head coach Roy Serie said. “Seeing the kids get deflated like that is never easy. “We knew it would be a close game, and we felt like we could’ve beat them. It’s just a hard pill to swallow.” The game got off to a hot start on the opening drive by Ville Platte. After starting on the Bulldog 38 yard-line, they were able to march to the Raider 36 yard-line. There, quarterback Bastian Veillon threw a quick slant to Omarion Frank who reached paydirt. However, a holding penalty called the touchdown back, and Ville Platte were unable to reach the end zone and were forced to punt. The remainder of the first quarter and all of the second quarter were fruitless, with the teams trading possessions but neither scoring. It seemed as though the Raiders came into the second half with high spirits, and it showed on their opening drive. Northwest running back Devon Anders carried them 55 yards upfield to the Ville Platte four yard-line, where Javian Reese punched in the remaining yards on the ground for the first score of the game. The snap was muffed on the two point try, leaving the score at 6-0 with 8:42 remaining in the third quarter. The two teams continued their offensive struggles throughout the quarter, but the Ville Platte sideline remained confident they could dig themselves out of the hole on their first drive of the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs leaned heavily on Veillon and Jakahalan Slaughter, who were able to bring them to the Raider 46 yard-line. Veillon threw a screen pass on the next play to Slaughter, who used his athleticism to make several men miss and reach the end zone. Another Ville Platte holding penalty would yet again negate the effort. The call seemed to completely deflate the once upbeat Bulldog sideline, who couldn’t reach the end zone with six minutes remaining in a winnable game. Ville Platte’s defense held firm on the next Northwest drive, forcing a three-and-out and receiving the punt on the Raider 43 yard-line. Despite the Bulldog offenses’ best efforts, the Raiders sent heat Veillon’s way every play. The pressure paid off as the senior quarterback launched a ball downfield that was picked off by Northwest’s Dillon Guilbeaux with barely over a minute remaining in the game, the Raider’s were able to run out the rest of the clock and squeak out the win.