North Vermilion, Erath fall in jamboree

RAYNE – The North Vermilion Patriots and the Erath Bobcats participated in the Acadia/Vermilion parish jamboree Thursday night and both fell short on the scoreboard.
  The Patriots took the field against the Eunice Bobcats.  On their second offensive possession, they claimed a 3-0 lead.  
Preston Bagwell led the Patriots down the field with 46 yards on three carries, including a 34-yard burst.  The drive stalled at the five-yard line, and kicker Logan Blanchard connected from 25 yards away to put NV on top with just over two minutes remaining before halftime.
Eunice tried to hurry up to sneak in a score before the break, but Eunice fumbled, and Brody Lambeck jumped on it for the Patriots.
The turnover put NV back in business on the Eunice 16-yard line with 1:10 remaining until in the half.  After two runs and an incomplete pass, the Patriots settled for another Blanchard 24-yard field goal and a 6-0 halftime advantage.
Eunice got the ball to start the second half and put together a 14-play, 70-yard drive that ended in a touchdown and a 7-6 Bobcats lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Bobcats pooched the kick down the right side and recovered the football, setting up first and 10 from the Patriots’ 31-yard line.
The Patriot defense held on fourth down, and the offense took over at their own 20.  NV went three-and-out.  The resulting punt traveled on 13 yards, giving Eunice first and 10 from the NV 33-yard line.  It took the Bobcats only five plays to make the score 14-6 with only 1:20 remaining.
“We had the game in our hands at halftime,” NV head coach Roderick Moy said.  “We pushed them around, moved the ball up and down the field, but they wanted it more than we did.  They got physical with us.  We made a big mistake on special teams.  That’s just not wanting it enough.  Luckily, it’s just the jamboree, and it didn’t cost us anything.  We’ll have to do better if we want to beat Church Point next week.”
North Vermilion will open its season next Thursday at the Church Point Bears.

Eunice......27
Erath........14

The Erath Bobcats jumped ahead early 14-0 but couldn’t hang on against the Rayne Wolves, falling 27-14.
After going three and out on its first possession, Erath pinned Rayne inside its 5-yard line after an excellent punt.  A bad snap on their first play from scrimmage resulted in a fumble in the endzone.  Aiden Bourque jumped on the loose ball for the touchdown.  The extra point made it 7-0 Bobcats.
After picking up one first down on its next possession, Rayne was once again forced to punt.  Talen Landry fielded the kick on his own 30-yard line and raced 70 yards for the touchdown.  The extra point made it 14-0 Erath with 7:13 left in the half.
The Wolves got on the board on their next possession when quarterback Lon Moody connected with a streaking Kylin Wheeler for a 41-yard touchdown pass and a 14-7 score with 5:36 remaining until the break.
Rayne scored again only 20 seconds before halftime when Moody took it in from three yards to make the halftime score 14-14.
The Wolves opened the second half with a 15-play drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown run and a 27-14 lead that left 7:09 on the game clock.
“Defensively, we held our own for a long time,” Erath head coach Eric LeBlanc said.  “We scored a defensive touchdown, then a special teams touchdown.  They were on the field too long in the first half, and we got worn down.”
Quarterback Jack LeBlanc went 4-for-9 for 37 yards. EHS back  Mason Hebert led the rushing attack with 26 yards on four carries.  He also had two catches for nine yards.
Erath travels to Loreauville on Thursday to kick off its 2024 regular season.