OAKDALE -- For the second week in a row to begin the season, the Pine Prairie football team were shut out against a team from Allen Parish. This time around, the Panthers fell on the road in Oakdale by the same 34-0 score as last week against Oberlin.
Pine Prairie fell behind early after Oakdale scored on its opening drive. The drive was extended with a 20-yard pass from quarterback Nick Davis to tight end Cornell Brown and was capped off with a 12-yard touchdown run by Jaheim Kirklin. The extra point was good, and the Warriors led 7-0 at the 7:57 mark of the first quarter.
The Panthers’ ensuing drive began and ended on their own 27-yard line. On the first Warrior play from scrimmage following the punt, Kinder transfer Keyon Pugh went the distance for a 54-yard score. The extra point was again good to give the Warriors a 14-0 lead at the 6:01 mark of the first quarter.
The Panthers picked up their first first down of the night on the following drive which came on a 9-yard run by Elijah George. George, later on in the series, fumbled the football at midfield giving possession back to the Warriors. Pine Prairie’s defense stiffened and held Oakdale to a 4th-and-5 situation. However, on fourth down, Pugh took the football 29 yards for another touchdown. With 19.6 seconds remaining on the clock in the first quarter, the point after attempt was good to give Oakdale a 21-0 lead.
The second quarter began with Pine Prairie going three-and-out and punting. The Warriors got the football back on their 30-yard line and proceeded to march downfield to the Panther 22-yard where the drive seemed to stall with Oakdale facing a 4th-and-8 situation. Pugh then took the football into the end zone on the next play from scrimmage. The extra point was missed, but Oakdale went ahead 27-0 with 6:25 remaining in the first half.
After Pine Prairie turned the ball over on downs, the Panthers recovered a Warrior fumble. However, both teams traded punts to close out the first half.
On the Panthers’ first possession of the second half, Oakdale’s Brown recovered a fumble to give the Warriors possession on the Pine Prairie 16-yard line. Then, on 1st-and-goal from the 5-yard line, Marques Melbert trotted into the end zone for a score. The point after try was good, and Oakdale led 34-0 with 8:06 on the third quarter clock.
About midway through the fourth quarter, on 3rd-and-2, George took the football 36 yards for a score, but it was called back because of holding on the Panthers. George went on to pick up 23 yards on three plays, but Oakdale’s Brennon Taylor recovered a fumble.
Pine Prairie will take its 0-2 record on the road against Beau Chene next Friday night. The Gators come into the game with an overall record of 0-2.
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TONY MARKS Editor