Basile takes down Gueydan; sets up district title game

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BASILE – The Basile Bearcats took a step closer to a district title showdown this coming week with their impressive 41-21 win over the Gueydan Bears Friday night, behind a six touchdown performance from Isaiah Ceasar.
Basile (6-3, 5-1) will host Oberlin (9-0, 6-0) in a showdown for the District 4-1A championship this Friday night. A win over Tigers will not only guarantee the district title but will also most likely give the Bearcats a bye in the first round of the Class 1A playoffs that begin on November 15.
“I thought our offense did a dang good job all night long,” stated Basile head coach Kevin Bertrand. “Not only did our offensive line play extremely well, but the receivers and the back did a tremendous job of run blocking. I was pleased to see us run the football effectively and finish drives with touchdowns. I was also excited the way our defense played tonight as well. We had a huge goal line stand early in the game and came up with some big turnovers that gave us a very short field to work with. Overall it was a great team effort.”
But, before that could have even happened, Basile had to take care of a tough Gueydan team that came into the game looking for a huge upset. Utilizing a smashing ground game and a bend but don’t break defense that created five turnovers, the Bearcats made sure the Bears did not accomplish their goal.
Basile gained control of the game on its very first drive of the night. Beginning at the Gueydan 44-yard line following the opening kickoff return, the Bearcats ran the ball four out of its first five plays, and reached the Bear 19-yard line.
On the sixth play of the possession, Ceasar took a handoff over right tackle and blasted his way into the end zone. The extra point off of the foot of Jose Palacios was good, giving Basile a 7-0 lead with 9:43 to go in the opening quarter.
A great return on the ensuing kickoff put Gueydan in excellent field position at the Bearcat 27-yard line. The Bears mounted a drive that took them to the Basile four-yard line, but, on fourth and goal, the Bearcat defense stood tall, shutting the possession down and denying Gueydan the tying touchdown.
Basile did not hold on to the football for very long after the goal line stand. On the third play of the next drive, the Bearcats fumbled the ball back to Gueydan at their 29-yard line.
Two plays later, Bear quarterback Zachary Guidry found tight end Ryan Lemaire on the hash mark for a 27-yard touchdown pass. The extra point snap was fumbled making it a 7-6 game in favor of the Bearcats with 4:01 to go in the first period.
Basile came up empty on its next drive and had to punt it back to Gueydan. Starting at their 19-yard line following the punt, the Bears could only reach their 37-yard before they were also forced to punt the ball away.
On the snap, the ball sailed over the Gueydan punter’s head giving the Bearcats the ball at the Bear two-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Ceasar plunged across the goal line for his second score of the night. The extra point was tacked on by Palacios, extending the Bearcat lead to 14-6 with 9:24 remaining in the first half.
Basile got the ball back almost immediately when Cole Manuel picked an errant Gueydan pass off on the very first play of the ensuing drive. Manuel raced to the Bear one-yard line before being knocked out of bounds, setting the Bearcats up with a first and goal situation.
Two plays later, Ceasar dove into the end zone for the third time. Palacios’ extra point attempt was true and Basile now owned a 21-6 lead with 8:30 to go in the second quarter.
Amazingly, Basile got the ball back on the kickoff when the Bears were unable to fall on a squib kick that landed at Gueydan’s 38-yard line. Unfortunately, the Bearcats could not do much with the possession, turning the ball over on downs at the Bear 32-yard line.
The Basile defense made sure that the offense put the ball back in their hands, forcing and then recovering a Gueydan fumble on the following Bear possession. Taking over at the Gueydan 38-yard line, the Bearcats needed only five plays to put up their fourth touchdown of the game.
On third and goal from the seven, Ceasar powered his way in to the end zone, picking up his fourth score on the night. The extra point was blocked, however, Basile now led 27-6 with 4:14 left in the first half.
Feeling the game slipping away, Gueydan mounted a drive on its next possession. Beginning at their 35-yard line, the Bears found themselves at their 46-yard line facing a fourth and ten situation. On the very next play, Guidry hit Dominic Touchet for a 31-yard pitch and catch to extend the drive.
Two plays later, Cameron Istre pushed the pile forward for the one yard touchdown. Lane Breaux ran it in for the two-point conversion, cutting the Basile lead to 27-14 with 1:06 left in the second quarter. That score held as the teams headed into the locker room for halftime.
Gueydan came out in the third quarter with a ton of momentum. Starting their opening possession of the second half at their 45-yard line, the Bears mounted a hard fought drive that took the ball down to the Basile one-yard line in 10 plays.
On first and goal, Istre dove into the end zone to cut the Bearcat lead down even farther. Cohen Guidry added the extra point allowing the Bears to cut the Basile lead to six, 27-21, with 6:14 to go in the third quarter.
Basile allowed Gueydan to hold on to that momentum when they fumbled the ball back to the Bears on the second play of their first third quarter drive. Using a grinding run game, Gueydan moved the ball 34 yards in 10 plays down to the Bearcat 36-yard line. But, just as they had done in the first half, the Basile defense came up huge, stalling the Bears and forcing a turnover on downs.
Using the solid play of the defense, the Bearcat offense got going on the following possession. Over the next five plays, Basile was able to get the ball down to the Bear four-yard line.
On play number six of the drive, Ceasar found pay dirt once again, this time from four yards out to stretch the Bearcat lead. The Palacios extra point was good and with 10:05 left in the game, Basile led 34-21.
The final score of the game came off of another Bearcat interception. On the second play of the next Gueydan drive, Basile’s Izzy Drehemsis stole the ball out of the air and brought it up to the Bear 10-yard line.
One play later, Ceasar sprinted his way past several Gueydan defenders and notched his sixth rushing touchdown of the game. Palacios tacked on the extra point giving Basile the 41-21 lead with 9:08 to go in the fourth quarter.
The Bears mounted one last drive, but Ceasar killed that drive by collecting the third interception of the night for the Bearcat defense.
Ceasar led all Basile rushers, collecting 107 yards on 14 carries. Drehemsis added 83 yards on eight rushing attempts.