IOTA -- The Iota Bulldogs hosted the Ville Platte Bulldogs Friday night in a down to the wire nail-biter. Iota came out victorious with a 13-12 win.
With the loss, Ville Platte falls to 2-5 on the season and 0-2 in district play. Ville Platte will host Church Point this Friday for another district match-up.
Ville Platte started the game off on their 36-yard line. Despite having a solid drive with three first downs, Ville Platte was still unable to muster up a score. They went for it on a fourth down but were unsuccessful.
Iota took over on the Ville Platte 31-yard line and looked to get the ball rolling early. Thanks to running back Kollin Guillory, Iota was able to do just that. Guillory contributed 29 yards on the ground.
After a penalty, Iota sat at the Ville Platte 13-yard line. There, Landon Doucet marched in for an Iota touchdown. Luis Doroteo tacked on the extra point, putting Iota up 7-0 with 4:11 left in the first quarter.
Neither team could find an opening for the remainder of the quarter.
Ville Platte opened the second quarter with a quick three and out.
Iota got the ball back and started a fairly steady drive, but in the middle of the drive a blackout forced all the lights off, delaying the game for 20 minutes. The outage gave the two teams a pseudo-halftime and some much needed rest.
The teams traded possessions twice once the lights came back on, but neither squad could find the end zone. Both teams headed into the locker rooms looking to come out swinging in the second half.
Iota received the opening kickoff and sent Conner Daigle back to return. The kickoff looked like nothing special at first, but as Daigle got past the bulk of the defenders, it became apparent that he was taking off for some serious yardage. After shredding a few tackles, Daigle swooped right and hit pay dirt for Iota’s second touchdown. After the 80-yard play, Doroteo’s kick was no good, but Iota still held a 13-0 lead with 11:45 left in the 3rd period.
On Ville Platte’s ensuing drive, they looked like a completely new team. After an astonishing 22 play drive that started at their 38-yard line, Ville Platte was able to reach the Iota 31-yard line.
Running back Jahmal Byers did what he does best, and blasted past the line to the end zone, sending the Ville Platte sideline into a frenzy. The two point attempt was no good, Leaving the score at 13-6 with 12 seconds in the third quarter.
At the start of the final quarter, the two teams went back and forth. Ville Platte was able to get the ball with 4:30 remaining in the game. The Bulldogs knew it would probably be their last drive, so they had to make it count. Starting off at their 11-yard line did not make things easy for Ville Platte.
However, Byers was able to run the ball down the throat of the Iota defense over and over again, eventually seating Ville Platte at their own 38-yard line. Ville Platte stand-in quarterback Zachary Gallow threw a huge bomb to Byers, all the way at the Iota 30-yard line. Byers beat his defender after the catch, and rocketed forward for a Ville Platte score.
Everything came down to Ville Platte’s two point conversion. Byers got the handoff and ran around the left side. However, the play was read well by the Iota defense, and Byers was stuffed just a yard short, cutting the Iota lead down to one, 13-12, with 1:14 left to go in the game.
Ville Platte attempted an on-side kick, but it was unsuccessful, allowing Iota to close the game out on their final drive of the night.
Byers had 115 yards on 24 carries and one touchdown. He also caught one pass for 62 yards and a score.
“I would rather have lost by 50 than by one,” stated Ville Platte head coach Jorie Randle. “These are the game that sting. The players played tough and showed that they are warriors. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten the breaks. Defensively, I thought we held them in check. We just have to keep getting better. I really believe a solid ball club. The name of the game is to get into the playoffs.”
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SYLIS MANUEL Staff Writer