Familiar opponent

Each year, before the LHSAA announces the playoff brackets, teams throughout the state wait with anticipation, to see who they will play, not only in the first round but in the rounds to follow.
Most of the time, those teams are hoping to get to face other teams they have never suited up against. Being able to take on someone new is exciting and in some ways scary.
For the Basile Bearcats (9-2), however, when the final bracket for Class 1A was released, a familiar opponent awaited in the second round; the Montgomery Tigers.
Last year, Basile and Montgomery clashed in this same situation, with a trip to the state quarterfinals on the line. In 2017, the Bearcats downed the Tigers 14-8. This season, Basile hopes that familiarity breeds a repeat.
Game time is set for 7 p.m. tomorrow night in Basile.
“Last year they (Montgomery) gave us a run for our money,” stated Basile head coach Kevin Bertrand. “The whole game we knew we were in a battle. This year, they have everybody back. They are basically a carbon copy of last season. We definitely know we are going to have to come out ready to play. We are not going to take this team lightly.”
This year’s version of the Tigers come in with an overall record of 8-3 and have been lighting up the scoreboard all season long. Montgomery averages 35.8 points per game and has scored 40 or more points per game six times this season, including last weeks 42-0 win over Plain Dealing in the first round of the playoffs.
The Tigers are led by quarterback Logan Graves, who has completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,953 yards and 22 touchdowns. Graves has only thrown seven interceptions for the year and has a quarterback rating of 120.
On the ground, sophomore running back Mikel Auge has collected 838 yards on 134 carries and has scored 15 times. Freshman wider receiver JT Turner has hauled in 40 passes for 863 yards and 14 touchdowns to lead the receiving corps.
To counter act the high flying Tiger offense, Basile will rely on a defense that has been good all season long. Basile has allowed a mere 10.6 points per game this season and has held six opponents to eight points or less, including a 42-8 drubbing of Tensas this past Friday in round one.
Leading Basile on the defensive side of the ball is last year’s District and Parish MVP Andre Reed. The senior linebacker has 98 tackles on the year, including four tackles for loss and two sacks.
Senior Jay Pitre follows Reed with 89 tackles. Issac Cortez is third with 53 tackles on the year.
“Even though they are a spread team, they still are very balanced on the offensive side of the ball,” said Bertrand. “They love to use a lot of movement and motion to get you in a mismatch. We are going to have to play assignment football and not let them fool us into getting out of position. This is going to be our toughest test on the defensive side of the ball this season.”
Despite their explosiveness on offense, Montgomery has not set the world on fire defensively. The Tigers give up 22.8 points per game and have held only one opponent scoreless this year. In fact, every other team that Montgomery has faced this season has scored at least two touchdowns or more.
Those stats should bode well for a Basile offensive unit that has found their identity the past five weeks. During that span, the Bearcats have averaged 45.4 points per game, up from their season average of 28.8 points per game.
Basile’s offensive game is one of controlling the line of scrimmage and the clock. The Bearcats run the ball effectively, averaging over 240 yards per game.
Leading the offensive charge is Reed, who has collected 1,014 yards on 80 carries and has 12 touchdowns to his name. Senior Logan David adds another 605 yards and six touchdowns to those numbers.
Senior quarterback Dawson Ashford has passed for 559 yards and four touchdowns.
“For us to be successful, we are going to have to hold on to the ball and keep it our of their hands,” commented Bertrand. “If we can run the ball effectively and not turn it over, I think we give ourselves a chance to pick up the win and move on.”