Erath falls short of pulling off upset against St. Martinville

ERATH – Down two scores at halftime, the Erath Bobcats rallied in the second half and took a four-point lead over District 6-3A rival, and district leading, St. Martinville Senior High Friday night during homecoming at EHS.
A couple of big plays, including a 50-yard touchdown run from Trent Bristo and a field goal from Dylan Duhon, pushed the Bobcats to a 28-24 lead with just about two minutes left in the third quarter.
But in the end, SMSH was able to get a couple of big plays of their own to retake the lead and hold on to a 36-28 win, which left EHS coach Eric LeBlanc lamenting what could have been.
“What’s haunting is that we let them score right before halftime, which gave them a two-score lead,” LeBlanc said. “If we don’t let them score, maybe we can hold onto the lead and come out with a win.
“This was our game to stay in the battle for the district title. We played well. We just allowed too many mental mistakes and let them into the game.”
With the loss, Erath fell to 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the district and in a precarious spot.
“We have to win out and finish the season 3-4 to have a chance at the playoffs,” LeBlanc said.
And while Friday’s loss was disheartening, LeBlanc saw something from his team that gave him hope for the final two games of the season.
“We finally started playing like we were capable of playing,” the EHS coach said. “We knew they were talented and quick and were going to try to beat us deep, but we played hard and tough on defense and were able to stop some of their big plays.
“We didn’t stop enough of them, but we showed that we could play with them, which is only going to help us in the games to come.”
SMSH coach Vince Derouen, whose team improved to 5-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 in the district. Also said that his team made some mistakes that let Erath back into the game when they were down by two scores, but they also corrected their mistakes and could retake the lead and hold on for the win.
It was disappointing to see us hold a big lead and then give it up,” Derouen said. “But we quit making mistakes and we were able to correct things and make a couple of plays both on offense and defense.”
SMSH quarterback Tanner Harrison’s touchdown run in the fourth quarter after Erath took the lead in the third quarter, which was the spark for the Tigers.
“He just makes plays for us,” Derouen said. “That’s what he does. He makes plays when we need him to, and tonight we needed him to.”
Logan Lemaire had two touchdowns for Erath while quarterback Lynkon Romero threw a touchdown pass in the losing effort.