Make or break

When the Ville Platte High Bulldogs host the Mamou Demons tomorrow night in the Dog Pound, a lot will be on the line for the two teams.
For starters, both Ville Platte and Mamou come into the game with an overall record of 2-3. A win or a loss by either team could make or break their season with a host of talented district opponents on the upcoming schedules for each squad.
As of Sunday, Ville Platte was ranked No. 29 and Mamou held a ranking of No. 42 in the unofficial Louisiana Sportsline football power ratings. That meant that if the season ended today, the Bulldogs would be in the playoffs, but the Demons would not.
Secondly, this game represents the first district game for each of the two teams. Getting off to a good start in district play is so important if a team seeks a chance at the league title.
“Getting that first district win is always big, especially when you are playing a team just a few miles down the road,” stated Ville Platte head coach Jorie Randle. “It is going to be an exciting atmosphere. I know our players will be anxious to get back on their home field in front of their fans.”
Mamou head coach Dwight Collins agrees that winning district games are very important in the grand scheme of collecting power points.
“Once you reach district, all the teams in your district are beating up on each other,” said Collins. “That means that you are not collecting as many power points as you were when they were playing other opponents outside the district. We need to make sure that we get off to a fast start and try and take their crowd out of the game.”
Last week, Ville Platte fell to the St. Ed’s Blue Jays 35-33 in a hard fought contest. In that game, the Bulldogs made a valiant comeback attempt, scoring twice in the last six minutes of the game, only to fail at the two-point run to tie the game up.
“We did not capitalize on some plays and situations that could have turned the game around in our favor,” commented Randle. “We had some chances and did not take advantage of those chances. As coaches, we have to do a better job of getting them ready for situational football. But, our run game looks like it is starting to get going again. It seems that the light bulb is just starting to turn on for some of our players.”
That light bulb definitely turned on for the dynamic duo of Terrian Roy and Jahmal Byers. Roy, the senior signal caller for the Bulldogs rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns, while Byers hauled the rock for 108 yards and a score. Roy also threw for 111 yards and a touchdown.
“Both Terrian and Jahmal have shown that they are guys that can go out and take over a game,” said Randle. “The players know this and go out of their way to make sure that they have good games. This whole team has proven that they are selfless players, just doing whatever it takes to make the team work.
Collins knows that his teams will have a tough task containing the talented Ville Platte High team tomorrow night.
“They have some good athletes and some nice size players,” stated Collins. “They have play makers all over the field, both offensively and defensively. They have shown that they are capable of making the big play when they need too. We are going to have to make sure that we eliminate our mistakes and not give them a chance to make those plays.”
Speaking of big plays and athletic players, the Mamou Demons have their own talented corps of young men that can very well turn the game around on one play. Last week, in their 14-12 loss to the Sacred Heart Trojans, Mamou turned a 14-0 halftime deficit into a last play attempt at winning the game.
The biggest contributors to the turn around in the second half of the Sacred Heart game were running back Jalon Bradley and wide receiver Payton Vidrine. Bradley, who had only eight yards of rushing in the first half, finished the game with 72 yards on 18 carries. Meanwhile, Vidrine hauled in three catches for 48 yards after halftime to finish with 56 yards on four receptions.
However, Collins is still puzzled as to his team’s Jekyll/Hide personality that seems to permeate itself into every game.
“I don’t know how we come out and play basically two different games in each of the halves,” said Collins. “We are still having to come in at half time and review everything that we did during the week at practice. Then we come back out in the second half and execute those things perfectly. We just have to find a way to learn how to get off to a fast start.”
Randle is very concerned about the Demon’s ability to turn it up on both sides of the ball at anytime.
“Mamou is a much improved team,” said Randle. “You can see the fruits of their labor starting to pay off each week. They are definitely a well-rounded team and have some tremendous athletes out on the field. It will not be an easy task for us this week.”
The biggest keys for each teams will be how quickly do they each start the game off and can each team hold the other off if that big lead comes to fruition.
Ville Platte must establish its running game early on in the contest. When the Bulldogs have been able to produce a solid rushing attack this season, good things seem to happen. Running the ball effectively will also aid in the Ville Platte passing attack.
Mamou has to find a way to not kill drives with penalties or turnovers. The Demons average 11 penalties per game. Cutting down that average has to be a priority.