Vermilion Parish teams compete in scrimmages

LEROY - The North Vermilion Patriots faced another team for the first time under new head coach Roderick Moy on Thursday as the Opelousas Catholic Vikings made the trip south to LeRoy, and he liked what he saw.
 “I was very pleased with what I saw overall,” Moy said.  “Our offense scored two touchdowns, and our defense created three turnovers.  That’s what I was second most proud of.  Number one was that the later the game went, the more physical we got.” 
  On their first offensive possession, the Patriots couldn’t get anything going.  On their second possession, the offensive line took over, and the running game got going.  The drive culminated with a Grant Wise touchdown run.
Later in the scrimmage, Owen LeBlanc hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass for quarterback James Higginbotham for the Patriots’ second touchdown.  LeBlanc also threw for another 40-yard completion later in the scrimmage.  He also added an interception. 
 “Owen LeBlanc stuck out to me,” Moy said.  “He’s the sixth LeBlanc boy to come through this school.  He contributes wherever we put him.  He’s the ultimate team player.”
Defensively, North Vermilion held OC in check, save for one touchdown with a 30-yard pass.  Jax Smith also had an interception.
The Patriots face Eunice in Rayne in jamboree action next Thursday at 6 p.m.

 Kaplan looking to improve

KAPLAN – The Kaplan Pirates scrimmaged the Eunice Bobcats Thursday night at Ed Douglas Memorial Stadium.
 Overall, Kaplan head coach Stephen Lotief liked what he saw from his team.  They put together one long, prototypical Kaplan drive but also turned the ball over, had too many penalties, and gave up some big pass plays on defense.
“We did good, but we got to get better,” Lotief said.  “We must quit putting the ball on the ground and giving up the big play.”
 The Pirates put together a 13-play drive that culminated with a two-yard touchdown run by Wyatt Hebert. While they did move the ball throughout the scrimmage, turnovers and penalties prevented them from scoring more.
On defense, the Pirates played well against the run but had no answer for the Bobcats passing game.  Eunice completed several long passes that either set up or ended in a touchdown.
“We don’t see that,” Lotief said.  “It’s hard to simulate somebody that can run by you in practice.  We can make all the excuses in the world, but you will look stupid if you don’t collide with a guy and let him run.”
The Pirates will be in jamboree action next Friday when they take on the Church Point Bears at Wildcat Stadium in Abbeville.  Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Erath offense stalls

The Erath Bobcats offense had trouble with the small things - like the snap between the center and the quarterback against Ascension Episcopal  Blue Gators - a Class A team.
Erath head coach Eric LeBlanc was not too happy about the offense.
“It was not up to our standards,” said LeBlanc about his team’s offensive performance. We must work on the little things, like snaps on offense.”
LeBlanc did say he liked what he saw on defense. 
“I was pleased with our defense,” he said.
Erath is back in action on Thursday in the Vermilion/Acadia Jamboree. Erath will play Rayne at 7:30 p.m.