Tom Dodge
Every Bobcat fan will have their own most memorable football win in Eunice High football history.
It doesn’t take long for former EHS head coaches Johnny Bourque and Paul Trosclair to list their top home wins.
Eunice High played its home football games at the old field on South 9th street by the present Eunice Junior High from 1949 until 1989 when the stadium was constructed behind the high school on Bobcat Drive.
Eunice High’s first win at the old stadium was a 19-13 victory over Oakdale with head coach Faize Mafouz.
There were several other historic games through the first 40 years at the old stadium including Joe Nagata’s team who earned a 20-7 upset over Lake Charles High in 1966.
The Bobcats’ earned an 14-13 upset over undefeated Rayne team in 1974.
Bourque was the Bobcats’ head football coach from 1979 to 1995 and finished as the second EHS coach win 100 games behind Mahfouz.
“We had comfort level at the old stadium,” Bourque said. “People crowded around the fence and everybody was right on top of everybody – it was a great home field advantage.
“The Eunice community has always supported its football teams over the years,” Bourque said. “That makes a big difference when you know they are behind you.”
Bourque said the 1982 championship season was most memorable to him as the Bobcats as the were 6-4 heading into the playoffs and then went on to win the title.
“We played really good competition that season,” he said. “Two teams that we lost to were undefeated and another was 9-1.
“But when we got to the playoffs we just moved to a different level.”
The Bobcats had just one home playoff game that season – a 7-0 win over Westlake.
“We grabbed road wins over Mansfield (20-6) and Zachary (14-10) to get to the championship game,” Bourque said.
With Chris Carrier and Joe Turk leading the Bobcats, Eunice then defeated rival Jennings 16-13 to grab the Class 3-A title.
After the championship team, Bourque said the 1985 team was his other best squad.
“The 1985 team was really good,” the coach said. “They were aggressive and very good on defense – they were known as Rambo.”
After earning a first-round bye, Eunice grabbed a 21-7 home playoff win over Woodlawn of Baton Rouge.
The Bobcats then rolled to a 31-0 quarterfinal win over undefeated Amite before falling 6-3 to Wossman in the semifinals.
The Bobcat tradition of winning continued at the newly constructed Bobcat Field when Eunice earned a win over rival Jennings in the first game at the new stadium in 1989.
Eunice limited Jennings to just 40 yards of total offense, with half of that coming on the Bulldogs’ lone touchdown of the game.
The Bobcats, who had not scored more than one touchdown against Jennings in the teams’ last three meetings, exploded for three touchdowns in the first half.
EHS controlled the line of scrimmage to finish with 202 yards rushing against the Bulldogs.
Bourque became the EHS principal in 1995 and the Paul Trosclair era began.
“Paul had been with us before and I knew he would carry on the tradition,” Bourque said. “He went on to do great things.”
Trosclair’s first win at EHS, a 35-9 road victory over the Ville Platte Bulldogs as the Bobcats rolled up 378 yards of total offense.
His first home win with the Bobcats was a 28-6 victory over his old team – the Oakdale Warriors.
Eunice’s first home playoff win at the new field was in 1997 as the undefeated Bobcats rolled to a 34-0 victory over St. Martinville.
Eunice rolled up 402 yards of total offense, as Tim Freeman gained 123 yards on 14 carries and scored four times to help the Bobcats run to victory.
Eunice earned a 12-8 home win over Northside, followed by a 31-22 road victory over Bastrop in the quarterfinals.
“It rained the whole game and we had trouble stopping their running backs,” the coach said. “It was a back-and-forth game but we pulled away in the fourth quarter to win the game.”
That set up a game that Coach Trosclair still remembers as one of the biggest home wins in Bobcat football history.
Donnie Bollich nailed a 28-yard field goal with eight seconds left to lift Eunice to a 25-24 semi-final win over Hammond and send the Bobcats to their second trip to the state championship game.
Hammond led 10-7 at halftime and the Tornadoes scored two quick touchdowns in the third quarter to jump out to a big lead.
“We were down 24-7 heading into the fourth quarter,” Trosclair said. “We had three drives and kicked a field goal.
“In my opinion, that was the best football game I have ever been a part of,” the coach said.
In their first-ever 14-win season, the Bobcats then fell 21-6 to John Curtis in the Class-4A title game.
“We had a very good team,” Trosclair said. “The 1997 team may have been the most talented team that I coached in my time at Eunice High.
“Harry Frank, Kyries Hebert, Bollich, Brennan Bertrand along with Tim Freeman and Casey Pedigo – they were part of a very talented team.”
The 1998 playoffs were another exciting run the Bobcats beginning with another come-from-behind thriller.
“We had played Alexandria earlier in the season and had beat them pretty handily,” the coach commented. “But in the playoffs they moved a wide receiver to running back and for three quarters we could not stop him (Dale Veal).
ASH had a 24-6 lead, but Eunice scored 22 points in the fourth quarter.
“They had a chance to run time off the clock but a critical incomplete pass gave us a chance,” Trosclair said. “We got hot all of the sudden and ended up winning 28-23.”
Bobcat quarterback Aundray Hudson completed 13-of-26 passes for 213 yards and three scores in the win.
“That was a big come back win to keep us alive in the playoffs.”
The Bobcats then grabbed a 29-12 victory over Woodlawn of Baton Rouge followed by a 20-14 win over Hammond.
A 21-0 win over Bastrop in the semifinals sent the Bobcats to the Class 4-A championship game.
With a 20-7 loss to John Curtis, the Bobcats finished 11-4 in 1998, the first back-to-back 10 win seasons in program history.
Trosclair said another playoff thriller he remembers in the 2005 win over Haughton.
“We were down 28 7 at half,” he said. “It was a great job of not giving up.”
A blocked punt and fumble recovery helped the Bobcats climb back in the game.
After a late punt, the Bobcats then grabbed their first lead of the game on a 37-yard touchdown run by Matt Bieber with 1:47 left in the game.
Eunice’s season ended the next week with a 31-0 loss to Breaux Bridge, who advanced all the way to the 4-A title game at Independence Stadium in Shreveport.
“The 2018 playoff run had some incredible games,” Trosclair said.
The No. 2 Bobcats opened with a 34-20 win over Brusly and then had to travel to No. 18 Wossman.
“On three separate occasions we had goal stands against Wossman to win the game (13-12),” Trosclair said.
The Bobcat defense limited Wossman to 89 yards of total offense as EHS advanced to the quarterfinals.
A 41-12 home win over Madison Prep in a dense fog pushed the Bobcats to the state semifinals.
“We shut out Kaplan (19-0) to get to the dome,” Trosclair said.
“That was another memorable win for us.”
EHS then earned a 59-47 win over Sterlington to win the 2018 Class 3-A title.
Avrey Lee was the MVP as he gained 87 yards on 11 carries and a score to go with two touchdown passes to Tyler Darbonne.
Trosclair’s final home playoff win was in 2019 as the Bobcats earned a 35-27 home win over Plaquemine before falling to 8-7 at Bastrop.
Trosclair announced his retirement in June.
“We had a some big wins along the way,” Trosclair said. “We had some great players in a good solid program.”