Rivalry game no issue for Bearcats against OT

By: RHETT MANUEL Sports Editor BASILE – Call the Basile and Oberlin rivalry whatever you’d like, just make sure to include the word “physical” somewhere in the description of it. Neither team approaches football in an especially glitzy way. Oberlin, coached by longtime Eunice assistant Durell Peloquin, is as straightforward as can be in its wing-T offense. Basile, led by Kevin Bertrand, isn’t trying to surprise anyone with strong offensive line play and its two-head monster backfield operating out of a split-back veer. Both teams promise nothing fancy and look to push teams around. In a game of aggressors that emphasize physicality and line play, one of the teams has to give this Friday night in a matchup for first place and the driver’s seat towards a district title in 5-1A. “We’ve got to come out and play well,” Bertrand said. “They’ve scored a lot of points on offense and they run the ball well. We’ll have to play perfect on offense, defense and special teams and limit those mistakes.” Oberlin has been one of the most prolific offensive teams around this year. They’ve scored 50 points or more on multiple occasions this year. Good offenses always score. That’s a given. However, offenses who explode at this level out of a run-first setup are rare. “They’re just a good team,” Bertrand said. “They’re so well-coached. You know you’ll get their best any time you play them. We’ll be ready.” Basile and Oberlin are long-standing rivals. They’ve played this matchup on an annual basis for a long time now. However, do not tell Bertrand that this is a game that is more important than any other. The Basile Way has always been to focus on the present and take care of business. That hasn’t changed this week despite the opponent. “We always take it a week at a time,” Bertrand said. “We always focus and talk about being undefeated this week. It just so happens that this week is Oberlin. We’re going to put our best foot forward and get ready to play Friday. We never treat a game as bigger than any other week.” Even with the chance to control the district on the line, Bertrand doesn’t see it as any bigger. “It’s not any bigger,” Bertrand said. “This week is about this week only. We’re not looking ahead and we’re not thinking about anything other than this game and this week. Oberlin is our opponent this week and that’s all there is to it. It’s who we’re getting ready for.”