Last team standing

BASILE -- A 74-yard touchdown run by Andre Reed with a little less than seven minutes to play in the game gave the Basile Bearcats a 13-6 win over the Sacred Heart Trojans in one of the most physical games that either team will participate in this year.
The game came down to a contest of wills, with both teams exchanging body blows the entire time. Both Basile and Sacred Heart had other opportunities in the game to put up more points, but either costly penalties or great efforts on the part of both defenses killed the chance for more scoring.
With the win, the Bearcats move to 2-1 on the season and will host St. Ed’s Friday night in the first district game of the year. The Trojans drop to 2-1 after the loss and will host Menard this coming Friday in another non-district contest.
“This game went back and forth the entire night and it came down to who was going to give up the big play,” stated a relieved Basile head coach Kevin Bertrand. “I’m glad it was us that came up with that play, because it was a battle the whole way through.”
Despite the tough loss, Sacred Heart head coach Josh Harper expounded on the pride that he felt in his team’s play.
“I am super proud of the effort that our guys gave here tonight,” said Harper. “We knew that this was going to be a war tonight and it turned out to be just that. Hats off to Basile, they executed when they needed to and came up with the big play at the right time.”
Right from the opening series, it felt as if the Bearcats were going to dominate the entire game. Choosing to receive the ball after winning the coin toss, Basile drove 70 yards on six plays on their first possession to put up the first points of the night.
The big play of the drive came on third down and 20 from the Sacred Heart 29-yard line, after a holding penalty and a false start penalty put them in that predicament. Facing a punting situation if they failed to pick up the first down, quarterback Dawson Ashford let a deep pass loose down the left sideline that bounced off of a Trojan defender and into the arms of wide receiver Jaylen Thomas’ waiting arms in the end zone.
Abdul Mlingo came on to attempt the extra point, but the kick was blocked by Sacred Heart’s Wesley Launey, one of three kicks that Launey would block on the night. Still, with 8:21 to go in the first quarter, the Bearcats led 6-0.
The Trojans got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff, but could not move the ball one yard on the drive, forcing them to punt the ball back to Basile. The ball was downed at the Bearcat 45-yard line, giving them excellent field position to begin the next offensive series.
Basile took advantage of that field position and drove the ball down to the Sacred Heart 27-yard line. However, the drive stalled, causing the Bearcats to attempt a 44 yard field goal. Launey was Johnny-on-the-spot once again, as he split two blockers and blocked the attempt.
The Trojans regained possession of the ball at their 34-yard line and moved the ball to the 42-yard line where they were forced to punt once again. A 44 yard punt off of the foot of Launey pinned the Bearcats back at their 14-yard line.
Basile only managed to pick up four yards on their next drive, creating another punting situation. This time when Mlingo went back to kick the ball away, Launey sliced through once again and blocked the punt, giving the pigskin back to Sacred Heart at the Bearcat 13-yard line with 12 seconds to go in the first quarter.
The Trojans took their next possession into the second quarter and down to the Basile three-yard line. But, on first and goal, a false start call pushed Sacred Heart back, basically costing them a touchdown as the Bearcat defense held tough.
On fourth and goal from the Basile six-yard line, Harper decided to attempt the field goal. Launey’s kick was true from 23 yards out and with 9:20 left in the second quarter, the Bearcat lead had been cut to 6-3.
The Bearcats took over possession of the ball after the kick off at their 44-yard line, but went backwards because of two false start penalties and an unsportsmanlike conduct call, forcing them to punt the ball back to the Trojans.
Sacred Heart regained possession of the ball in great field position after the punt, taking over at the Basile 44-yard line. And just like the last time the Trojans had the ball, they took it down inside the Bearcat 10-yard line.
The Basile defense stood tall once more, stopping Sacred Heart from crossing the goal line, compelling the Trojans to attempt another field goal. Launey stepped up one more time, booting the ball through the uprights for another 23-yard field goal, tying the game at 6-6 with 4:11 to go before halftime.
That score held true for the rest of the half and the two teams headed into the locker room trying to figure out how to break through on the scoreboard.
One of the biggest story lines heading into the second half was the disappearance of Launey on the Sacred Heart sideline. The talented quarterback did not come back into the game for the Trojans in the rest of the game on offense, making Sacred Heart a one-dimensional team.
With that, the two teams continued to find no offense the entire third quarter and repeatedly killed any chances of a drive with costly penalties.
It wasn’t until the end of the quarter that either team was able to mount much of a drive, as the Trojans took over possession of the ball at the Basile 40-yard line with 1:43 left to go before the end of the period.
Sacred Heart promptly drove the ball back down inside the Basile 10-yard line behind the stellar running of Nick Perry, but once more the drive stalled because of two false start penalties. The Trojans begrudgingly had to try another field goal with 7:51 left in the game. This time, Launey’s kick sailed wide left, allowing the Bearcats to dodge a bullet.
Basile took over at their 20-yard line and ran the ball twice for a total of six yards. Facing a third and four from their 26-yard line, the Bearcats ran a play that had gained some positive yardage all night long.
Not only did that run play pick up the first down, but running back Andre Reed was able to take the ball over the right tackle and race 74 yards untouched for the deciding score of the game. Mlingo added the extra point and with 6:58 left in the game, the Bearcats held a 13-6 lead, one they would not relinquish the rest of the game.
“I don’t know if it was the heat and humidity, but we had some dumb penalties on our part in the first half,” commented Bertrand. “We addressed that at halftime and seemed to reduce those in the second half. But, I thought our defense came up big tonight when it counted and held them out of the end zone.”
Harper also took on the topic of penalties after the game.
“I told the players afterwards that we just had too many self-inflicted wounds,” said Harper. “Too many penalties and too many costly penalties at the wrong times. We are going to have to clean that up going forward.”
Reed finished the night rushing for 133 yards on 10 carries. Ashford was seven of 12 for 74 yards throwing the ball, while Thomas hauled in five catches for 57 yards.
Sacred Heart was led by Perry, who collected 78 yards on 12 carries. The Trojans did not complete a pass in two attempts on the night.