Basile at home in first playoff game; faces Magnolia

The Basile Bearcats are on a streak; a three game win streak that is.
Ever since their week one loss to Sacred Heart, the Bearcats have gotten back up on the momentum horse and are hoping to ride it all the way to the state championship game.
Basile’s first obstacle, the Magnolia School for Excellence. The Bearcats will host the young Mariner football squad this Friday night. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
With the momentum of a three game win streak and a huge win over a top ranked Oberlin squad this past week, Basile head coach Kevin Bertrand talked about his team’s emotions coming into the playoffs.
“I am not worried at all about our players having any type of emotional let down after our win over Oberlin,” stated Bertrand. “We have had some really good practice days. I think they understand that this is the playoffs. They know that, even though this should be a very winnable game, I am going to be harder on them this week than I was last week.”
“I want us to be perfect this week and do everything correct,” Bertrand continued. “There are no do-overs at this time of the year. I am not too worried about the let down game.”
After their devastating loss to Sacred Heart in week one, Basile has re-adjusted their thought process and it has paid off. The Bearcats came back the following game and, even though they fell to Grand Lake in the last seconds of the game, showed to the LHSAA football world they were back to playing Basile football.
The Bearcats went out and took down Port Barre the following week. A two week absence from the field of play due to COVID-19 protocols did not slow Basile down the least.
When the Bearcats returned to the grid iron, they handled Gueydan very easily. The coup de grâce for Basile was their decisive 42-25 win over a one loss Oberlin team.
“We have definitely turned things around since week one,” said Bertrand. “That is a testament to the players and the coaching staff. Our guys have an absolute passion for the game and for making sure that we play at the highest quality. We felt we did not do that in week one, but we feel that we are doing that now. It is just a matter of continuing to stay focused.”
The Magnolia School comes into the game with an overall record of 1-5. The Mariners only win of the season came in a 12-8 week one game against Ringgold.
Magnolia averages right at 13 points a game on offense and gives up 40.2 points per game on defense. The Mariners compete in District 1-1A and have not been playing football for very long.
“They (Magnolia) are very big and have some good athletes,” commented Bertrand. “You can tell they are very young when it comes to playing organized football. They like to run the ball with their big running back”
“Their quarterback is actually their best athlete that makes good decisions when they do pass it,” Bertrand continued. “He can also run the ball with effectiveness. Defensively they blitz a ton. We are going to have to make sure we pick that up, even in our run game. The biggest key for us this week is to make sure we focus on what we can control and not worry about what they are doing.”