WELSH -- Ville Platte was unable to overcome the No. 5 team in Class 2A as the Welsh Greyhounds rolled past the Bulldogs 55-0 Friday night.
Ville Platte fell to 3-7 on the season with the loss and must await the outcome of a few other games around the state to see if they qualify for the LHSAA playoffs. Brackets are scheduled to be released today.
‘The season didn’t go the way we wanted,” said Ville Platte head coach Jorie Randle, “All we could ask of our players to give it their all and that’s definitely what they did.”
Acquiring the ball first on the opening kickoff, the Greyhounds looked to assert their dominance early with a dominating initial drive.
Starting from midfield, Welsh marched the ball all the way up to the 13-yard line where Greyhound quarterback Austyn Benoit lobbed a quick pitch to wide receiver Kaiden Richard who took it in to the end zone for the first score of the night. Max Hebert tacked on the extra point, giving Welsh an early 7-0 lead with 7:57 left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs were unable to create much success on their following drive and were forced to turn the ball over on downs at the Greyhound 40-yard line.
In just five plays, Welsh brought the ball all the way to 18-yard line. Benoit would find another receiver, Dylan Degeyter, in the endzone for the second Greyhound touchdown of the first quarter. The extra point off the foot of Hebert was good, putting the Greyhounds up 14-0 with 31 seconds left in the quarter.
The dominant Welsh defense forced Ville Platte to another turnover on downs, giving the Greyhound offense the ball at the Ville Platte 41-yard line. Once again Welsh pounded the ball all the way down the field, this time to the three-yard line.
There Benoit rocketed a short pass to Da’Ren Zeno who raced to pay dirt, picking up the third Welsh touchdown of the game. After the successful extra point from Hebert, the Greyhounds improved to 21-0 with 7:04 left in the second quarter.
After another turnover on downs for the Bulldogs offense, Welsh received the ball at their 39-yard line. In just three plays the Greyhounds scored yet again, this time on a short one-yard rush from Jaheim Simon. The extra point from Hebert was good and Welsh added to their already large lead, 28-0 with 2:30 left in the second quarter. That lead held as both teams headed into the locker rooms at halftime.
Ville Platte started off looking strong in the second half. Facing a third and ten at their own 39-yard line, quarterback Brandon Veazie rolled out to his left and looked to pass. The Welsh defense quickly brought the heat, but allowed Vizier to escape to his right, as he bolted all the way into the end zone.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, an illegal block in the back call negated the entire run and subsequently, the touchdown.
After this play, the Greyhounds continued their dominance. On their next drive, Jerome Hebert barrelled into the end zone from 17 yards out putting Welsh up 34-0 with 7:18 left in the third quarter.
Seven minutes later, Alec Iguess punched it in from three yards out for another Greyhound touchdown. The extra point from Hebert was good, adding another seven points to Welsh’s already massive lead, and putting the Greyhounds up 41-0 at the end of the third quarter.
Welsh didn’t pump the brakes in the fourth quarter. On their first drive of the period, Jerome Hebert picked up his second touchdown with a six-yard run. The extra point from Hebert was good, putting Welsh up 48-0 with 11:14 left in the fourth quarter.
The Greyhounds capped off their next drive with a 33-yard rush from Landin Broussard. The extra point from Hebert was good, improving Welsh’s lead to 55-0 with 5:27 left in the game.
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SYLIS MANUEL Staff Writer