Finding consistent play was key for Bertrand and the Bearcats this season

BASILE -- For the past six years, the Basile Bearcats have enjoyed the most success of all the gridiron teams in Evangeline Parish, with the program making the Class 1A quarter-finals in five of those seasons.
But, it just seems that making the third round of the post-season in 2019 was probably the most fulfilling for this year’s Evangeline Parish Coach of the Year, Kevin Bertrand.
First and foremost, Bertrand and his staff had to replace a number of two-way talented senior football players due to graduation. Secondly, Basile faced a few key injuries at the start of their gridiron campaign that slowed them down enough to begin the season at 2-3.
However, with a ton of great coaching and the experience to handle adversity, the Bearcat coaching staff were able to overcome that slow start and guide the team to a 4-1 finish and a No. 10 ranking heading into the playoffs.
Once the playoffs hit, Basile continued their hot streak, taking down Lincoln Prep in round one and then doing what few teams have been able to do over the past 30+ years, beat the mighty Haynesville Golden Tornado on the road.
“That win over Haynesville is one of the biggest wins in my coaching career,” stated Bertrand. “They are one of those teams, no matter what classification you are, you have heard of them. When you drive up at their stadium and see all of those state championships on the wall, it can be pretty intimidating. Usually when they lose it is to a team in a higher classification or one of those exceptional programs. So, for us to go there and do what we did was a tribute to our players and our coaching staff.”
Unfortunately, the Bearcats were unable to sustain that playoff run, as they fell to district rival Oberlin in the following round.
According to Bertrand the biggest key to the turn around from the start of the season to the final outcome was simply finding consistency in the play of his team and adjusting to what his club did well.
“We knew we had to replace a big, talented senior class from last year, so just being able to find pieces to replace them and getting those pieces to play consistently was the biggest challenge for us as a coaching staff at the start of the season,” said Bertrand. “We were also hoping that injuries would not affect us too much so that we would not have to keep shuffling people in and out of positions. In the first half of the season, we did go through our share of injuries and that was a big part of why we started as slow as we did.”
Bertrand and his coaching staff also figured out that the offensive scheme that was in place to begin the year did not fit the personality of their team. So, just like any great staff, the coaches decided to move away from the pro-set and go back to the old tried and true Wing-T.
From that point on the offense flourished, averaging 31 points per game over their final seven games of the regular season.
“Coming into the season, we thought that the pro-style offense was the best fit for the personnel we had,” commented Bertrand. “But, after getting shut out in the Sacred Heart game, we decided to move back to the Wing-T. Once we made that switch, you could tell that the players felt more comfortable and were able to accept their roles more easily.”
Now that this year has been completed and the six valuable seniors are no longer apart of the team, Bertrand and his staff must begin making plans for the 2020 football season. According to Bertrand the most important thing for he and his staff is to try and find players to replace key areas of need.
“With this senior class graduating, we’ve lost a lot in terms of skill position weapons and players up front on the line of scrimmage,” said Bertrand. “One thing that we have going for us is that the younger players were able to get some time throughout the year when we had all of the injuries. It will be a matter of just putting it all together and getting better.”