Bearcats steamroll their way to win over Tensas

The Basile Bearcats dominated the Tensas Panthers on all spectrums in a 56-8 win here Friday night.
With the win Basile will move on to the second round of the playoffs and face Montgomery Friday night.
“We knew we were a better team,” said Bearcats head coach Kevin Betrand. “We didn’t want to take them lightly despite that. The team stayed disciplined despite the score and we continued to control the ball all game,” Betrand added.
Earning the ball at the Tensas 49-yard line on opening kickoff, Basile looked to get things rolling early on. In six plays, the Bearcats marched all the way up to the four-yard line, where Andre Reed punched it in for a touchdown. After a successful kick by Abdul Mlingo, Basile earned an early 7-0 lead leaving 9:35 left in the first quarter.
After the early score, the Panthers looked to respond to the Bearcat’s strong start. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. Facing a first and 15 on the Basile 47-yard line, Tensas fumbled the ball after a failed snap, and the Bearcats quickly jumped on the ball, turning it over at midfield.
On the very first play of the Basile drive, Reed got the hand off and barrelled down the sideline into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game. The kick off the foot of Mlingo was good, improving the Bearcats to 14-0 with 9:01 left in the first quarter.
The Panthers didn’t find much success on their next drive either. After seven plays, Tensas faced a fourth and 13 from their own 11-yard line. There, they attempted a fake punt, but the play was quickly shut down as Reed ran in and sacked Panthers kicker Isaiah McMillian.
Starting their next drive at the Tensas 34-yard line, it took Basile only 2 plays to score. Facing a first and 10 from the Panther 13-yard line, Logan David shot through the defense and into pay dirt for the third Bearcat touchdown. The kick from Mlingo was good, putting Basile up 21-0 with 4:24 left in the first.
The Panther’s struggles continued on their next drive. On their first play of their drive, starting at their 12-yard line, Basile linebacker Jay Pitre picked off Tensas quarterback Treshaun Wiggins, bringing the ball back to the seven-yard line.
On the first play of the Bearcats next drive, Quarterback Dawson Ashford took it in himself, juking out all of the Tensas defenders and diving in for another Basile touchdown. Mlingo’s extra point attempt was good, raising the Bearcat lead to 28-0 with 3:55 left in the first quarter.
The Panthers were desperate for a score going into their next drive. But once again, the Basile defense was able to shut Tensas down, forcing a punt.
The Bearcats looked to continue their momentum on their next drive. Starting from the Panther 40-yard line, Basile pushed the ball to the five yard line in five plays, where Pitre capped off their drive, racing into the end zone for the touchdown. Mlingo kicked the extra point successfully, improving the Bearcats to 35-0 with 26 seconds left in the first.
Going into the second quarter, Tensas looked to come out swinging. Once again the suffocating Basile defense was too much for the Panthers, forcing Tensas to punt once more.
Like clockwork, the Bearcats didn’t take too long to bear fruit.
On their second play of the drive, Basile faced a first and ten from the Panther 30-yard line. From there, Isaiah Cesar broke multiple tackles, running down open field and into the end zone for the touchdown. The kick from Mlingo was good, putting Basile up 42-0 with 9:32 left in the second quarter.
On the next Tensas drive, the Bearcat defense continued to drain the Panthers offense, forcing them to yet another punt.
Getting the ball on the 24-yard line, on Basile’s first play from scrimmage, Reed once again found running room, busting into the end zone and earning himself a hat trick. The kick from Mlingo was good, improving the Bearcat lead to 49-0 with 4:50 left in the first quarter. This lead held as both teams headed into their locker rooms at half time.
Neither team could find much footing in the third quarter, but in the fourth quarter, things picked back up. After a 10 play drive, Tensas faced a first and goal at the Basile 10-yard line. From there, tight-end Christopher Lee fought his way into the end zone the Panther’s first score of the game. Lee also ran in the two-point conversion, leaving the score at 49-8 with 6:20 left in the game.
The score was short lived, although, as the Bearcats quickly answered back. On the ensuing kickoff, Isaiah Cesar received the ball at the 25-yard line and bolted down field, juking and spinning his way past every defender, finding his way into the end zone. The kick off the foot of Mlingo was good, closing out the game with Basile up 56-8 with 2:35 left in the game.
Andre Reed was a big factor in the Bearcat’s success, ending his night with 123 yards rushing, seven yards receiving, 2 sacks, and three touchdowns.