Basile back on track after Port Barre victory; travel to East Beauregard to resume district

It had been a very long time since the Basile Bearcats had come into a game winless on the season.
However, that is what the perennial powerhouse football program faced when they collided with the Port Barre Red Devils this past Thursday night.
Fortunately for Bearcat fans, they did not have to wonder about their team for long, as they squelched all doubters with a 21-12 win over Class 2A Port Barre.
Basile (1-2, 0-1) will now step back into district play when they travel to the depths of Beauregard parish to take on the East Beauregard Trojans. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
“The biggest difference for us from the start of the season until now has been the consistency on both sides of the ball,” stated Basile head coach Kevin Bertrand. “I thought in the first game of the year against Sacred Heart we were just trying to do too much. Since then, we have simplified things for the players, which has allowed them to hone in on one or two things and get good at those one or two things.”
The simplification that Bertrand is referring to on offense is the change from a Wing-T approach to a Split Back Veer look. That change paid off for Basile in their game against Port Barre, as they totalled 189 yards of offense, including 145 yards on the ground.
According to Bertrand, one of the biggest reasons why Basile was able to come away with a win over the Red Devils, even though they were behind 12-0 at the half, was the fact that his team simply wore down Port Barre in the last two quarters.
“We just kept grinding away and stayed with the game plan,” said Bertrand. “We did not do anything fancy on offense. I did not think we played well on that side of the ball, but we just kept pounding away at them. You could tell by the end of the game we were getting stronger and they were not.’
East Beauregard comes into the game with an overall record of 2-1 and a district record of 2-0. The Trojans, as usual, will present a tough, physical challenge for the Bearcats tomorrow night.
“They still run the same thing they have been running for a very long time on offense,” commented Bertrand. “They will be foot-to-foot, double wing and they want to pound the ball at you all night long. They very rarely throw the ball. For them, it is a matter of trying to weary you down. We are going to have to buckle down and be very physical. It is going to be a knock down drag out fight for sure.”