Erath Bobcats finish regular season 10-0

  The No. 5 Erath Bobcats secured their first 10-0 season in school history, won the District 5-3A championship, and secured the No. 5-seed in the Division III non-select playoffs with a 40-12 victory over the No. 26 Abbeville Wildcats Friday night at Wildcat Stadium.
    Bobcats’ head coach Eric LeBlanc, an Erath High graduate, reflected on the impact a perfect season has on the players, the school, and the entire community.
  “Oh man, it’s special,” LeBlanc said.  “It’s something that’s never been done before.  My mom almost cried last week.  She was crying over there, trying to make me cry.  The fans came to Abbeville and filled up the stands.  It was standing room only.  I’m glad I was born and raised here.  It’s special.”
 LeBlanc also pointed out that the mission isn’t complete.  Next week, Erath will host No. 28 Bogalusa in the bi-district round of the playoffs.
 “The three words I left them with are job’s not done,” LeBlanc continued.  “We plan on playing another five weeks this year.  We have some work to do.”
  Senior quarterback Jack Landry agreed with his coach - the job’s not done.  For him and his teammates, the motivation is the same.
  “We’re going to do something that’s never been done in this town before,” Landry exclaimed.  “It’s burn the boat.  We’re giving it all up; there’s no retreat.  We’re going to get it now.”
  The Wildcats (3-7) are also playoff-bound.  They will travel to Winnsboro to take on no. 7 Franklin Parish in the bi-district round of the Division II Non-Select playoffs.  
With the opportunity to play spoiler and playoff positioning on the line, Abbeville didn’t go down without a fight.  Their opening drive took over half the first quarter and ended when quarterback Dazavien Maze found Cameron Samuels for a five-yard touchdown pass and a 6-0 lead with 5:47 left.
   Erath answered in only 27 seconds.  LeBlanc went to the bag of tricks as senior receiver Talen Landry threw to quarterback Jack Landry for a 58-yard touchdown to tie the score at six.  On their next possession, the Bobcats struck fast again as Jack hit Talen in stride for a 70-yard score and a 12-6 lead with 2:26 remaining in the first quarter.
 With the lead, the Bobcats turned to the running game.  Aiden Bourque, Jahlil Charles, and Landon Lemaire, the three-headed monster, combined to rush for 278 yards and four touchdowns over the final three quarters.
LeBlanc said his offense line deserves an award.
“I’m telling you right now those guys are going to be the players of the week,” LeBlanc said.  “I told them that I saw some things they did defensively that we could exploit. And man, I don’t even have to go watch film.  Those five guys are locked in.”
 Bourque’s five-yard touchdown run was the only score of the second quarter, and it gave Erath a 19-6 halftime lead.  Charles scored his first touchdown with 7:27 remaining in the third quarter to put the Bobcats up 26-6.
Abbeville tried to rally when Maze connected with Jacolby Campbell for a 46-yard touchdown to make it 26-12 with 4:51 left in the quarter, but they wouldn’t get any closer.
Charles scored his second rushing touchdown when he broke loose from 20 yards out to make it 33-12 before LeMaire added the final score with a 29-yard touchdown run.
Jack Landry finished with 102 yards passing and a touchdown on only four completions.  He also added 54 yards and a touchdown receiving.  Talen Landry caught three passes for 86 yards and a score.  He also completed one pass for 54 yards and a touchdown and ran four times for 20 yards.  Carter Champagne also had a catch for 16 yards.
  Bourque finished with 122 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.  Charles had 97 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries while LeMaire finished with 59 yards and a score on six carries.
Maze finished 19-of-29 for 232 yards and two touchdowns for the Wildcats.  Samuels caught 10 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown.  Campbell caught six passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.  Braylon Himel also caught two passes for five yards.  Justin Montgomery led the Abbeville rushing attack with 131 yards on 16 carries.