It was a game that teams just as soon forget.
With no time left on the clock, the Grand Lake Hornets scored on a two-point run to escape with a 21-20 win over the Basile Bearcats this past Saturday afternoon.
Basile will travel to Port Barre tonight to take on the Red Devils in a game that appeared at the last minute. Originally, the Bearcats were scheduled to play Elton this week, but the Indians had to shut down their program due to the lack of participation.
So, Basile went looking for a fill-in game and found it with Port Barre. Game time for the non-district match-up is set for 7 p.m.
In the Grand Lake game, Basile came out swinging. On the Bearcats’ second possession of the game, quarterback Cole Manuel was able to scramble around and buy time before hitting wide out Logan Guillory for an 11 yard touchdown pass. After a failed extra point attempt, Basile held a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The Bearcats got right back to it on their next drive of the game. Mixing in the run and the pass, Basile marched 67 yards in nine plays and hit pay dirt once again on an eight yard run by Ethan Bazinet. The kick was true off of the foot of Jose Palacios giving the Bearcats a 14-0 lead with 7:57 to go in the second quarter.
Grand Lake got on the board three and a half minutes later when Branson Aguillard pounded the ball in from four yards out. With the extra point, the Basile lead was cut in half as the teams headed into the locker room.
The first score of the third quarter came in a rather unusual manner. Facing a fourth and 11 on their 29-yard line, Grand Lake was forced to punt.
A screaming line drive off of the foot of Aguillard went right to Guillory, who took it in like a line drive and raced 35 yards for the touchdown. The missed extra point made it a 20-7 lead for the Bearcats with 7:04 to go in the quarter.
Grand Lake worked their way back into the game, notching two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including one on the final play of regulation. That score along with the two-point play put the Hornets over the top.
Although the result was not what Basile hoped for, head coach Kevin Bertrand was pleased with the progress made by his team since their shut out loss to Sacred Heart.
“This game proved that we are a lot better team than what we showed against Sacred Heart,” stated Bertrand. “I was really proud of the big strides made since that game. There pride was damaged after the Sacred Heart game and they answered the bell against Grand Lake. We just need to continue to play with that type of intensity.”
As far as the Red Devils are concerned, Bertrand is concerned with the athleticism of Port Barre.
“Port Barre has always had some tremendous athletes on the field and this year is no different,” said Bertrand. “Their two running backs run the ball extremely hard. Defensively, we are going to have to make sure we do a good job of tackling this week. Their quarterback has a powerful arm and can also run the ball when necessary. It will take a ton of discipline from us to pick up the win.”
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Tracey Jagneaux
Sports Editor