Third quarter stand springs Basile to title
By: RHETT MANUEL
Sports Editor
DRY CREEK — The Basile Bearcats have been very familiar with playing close first half games most, if not all, of this 2022 season.
Normally, their recipe would be to overwhelm and wear out their opponents with a rushing barrage on to yet another blowout win.
That didn’t happen Friday night when Basile traveled to East Beauregard with the District 5-1A championship on the line.
Basile, who entered the game already having clinched a share of the district title, springboarded off of a key defensive stand in the third quarter and parlayed it into a 21-14 win over the Trojans Friday night to clinch the outright district championship.
With the win, Basile locked up its third-consecutive district championship under head coach Kevin Bertrand.
Friday’s win embodied every characteristic Bertrand loves: physicality, grit, determination and a little emotion when needed.
Basile found its emotional spark in senior Horace “Pop” Edwards, who was the spearhead of Basile’s game-changing stand.
With East Beauregard receiving the second half’s opening kickoff after taking Basile into the locker room tied at 14, it had the opportunity to take the lead and possibly momentum for the second half.
That’s where Edwards came in. He knifed through East Beauregard’s offensive line on multiple occasions, causing chaos and making multiple tackles in the series.
Basile made a big stop on a fourth-and-seven play, leaving the Trojans a yard short.
Basile took the ensuing possession and capped it with an Ashton Deaville two-yard touchdown run, bringing the game and district championship back home to Basile.
“I thought at halftime (defensive coordinator Bryan McCoy) made an outstanding call,” Basile head coach Kevin Bertrand said. “He adjusted what we were doing and it worked to perfection. Their adjustments are what won the game for us.
“It was a huge stop. We knew we had to stop them one time. If we could do that, we could get ahead of them and force them into doing something they were uncomfortable with.”
Adding Edwards’ presence when he’d been primarily an offensive weapon most of the year brought a different element to a Basile defense that has made its hay through a stout defensive line most of the season.
“He just does what we ask, and he did it perfectly in the second half,” Bertrand said. “Once he figured out they couldn’t block him, he was making backside plays for us.
“He sort of took over the defensive line for us and roamed a little bit. Without him doing what he did, there’s no way we win the game tonight.”
Basile’s big stand was set up by a back-and-forth first half.
The Bearcats did what they do best on the game’s opening possession, riding its ball-control offense for 10 plays before Deaville capped the drive with a one-yard run that gave the Bearcats a 6-0 lead with 9:09 left in the opening quarter.
East Beauregard responded with one of its own, capping its own long scoring drive with a one-yard run. However, they converted the two-point conversion to give the Trojans an 8-6 lead with 1:40 left in the first quarter.
A Bryan Hardy 18-yard touchdown run helped Basile regain the lead before East Beau responded with a 10-yard run of its own to tie the teams at half.
After Friday’s win, Basile has put itself in a strong position to likely have earned a first-round bye in the upcoming Division IV non-select playoff bracket.
Bertrand sees it as both a gift and potential curse for his team.
“It’ll give us a chance to heal some bruises,” Bertrand. “But I like the way we’re playing, so its kind of a double-edged sword. We want to keep playing because we’re playing well, but at the same time we could probably use a little break to heal up.