Mamou secures first win of the year; take down Merryville

MAMOU -- The Mamou Demons won their first season opener in 10 years Friday night when they faced off against the Merryville Panthers. The Demons overpowered the Panthers in a solid 32-20 win to start their season off on the right foot.
Mamou opens their season with a 1-0 record and will travel to
Basile next week to take on the Bearcats.
Mamou won the opening coin toss and chose to defer to Merryville to start the game. ON the kickoff, Mamou decided to set the tone for the entire game, as Demon special teams player Kelby Chatelain recovered a fumble giving Mamou possession on the Panther 41-yard line. Unfortunately for the Demons, this incredible play was to no avail, as it was a quick four-and-out to start off Mamou’s first drive of the season.
Merryville, on the other hand, did not take their initial drive for granted. Recovering a punt on their 20-yard line, the Panthers quickly got their season started, with a short pass from quaterback Blaise Duncan to Running back Julian Hamilton who sprinted a whopping 80 yards for a touchdown.
The extra point attempt was blocked by demon linebacker Allen Boseman, making the score 6-0 in favor of the Panthers with 10:12 to go in the first quarter.
The two teams traded each a possession. Mamou started their next drive on their 37-yard line. The Demons were able to march it all the way to the Panther six-yard line, where Mamou running back Devin Ardoin put an exclamation point on the drive, pounding through for Mamou’s first touchdown. The point after off the foot of Jasen Bourque was no good, leaving things all tied up at 6-6 with 5:34 left in the first quarter.
Merryville again were not able to do anything with their next drive, allowing Mamou to take things over at their 40-yard line. The Demons were able to bring things all the way down to the 10-yard line off the back of key runs by Devin Ardoin and Demon quarterback Daylon Ardoin.
Once again, Devin Ardoin punched in solid 10 yard run for the touchdown, but not before the clock brought things into the second quarter. This time Mamou attempted a 2-point conversion, but it failed, leaving t Mamou up 12-6 with 11:00 left before the half.
The remainder of the quarter was back and forth, but neither team could muster up a big enough effort to score. As the two teams headed into the locker rooms, both knew they would need to make drastic changes.
Starting off the third quarter, it was loooking as if nothing changed, but after trading possessions twice, Mamou finally came out with a huge play.
Starting things off at the Merryville 29 yard line, Daylon Ardoin dropped back as if to pass. Seeing no one open, he decicded to keep the ball himself, blasting off past the defenders. He sped the full 29 yards for the big touchdown that breathed