Bastrop ends Bobcats’ season

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BASTROP – It was a two-point conversion that proved to be the difference as No. 8 Bastrop edged No. 9 Eunice 8-7 in the second round of the Class 4-A playoffs.
Eunice finished the season with a 9-2 overall record, while Bastrop (9-2) advances the quarterfinals to face No. 1 Lakeshore.
Lakeshore downed No. 17 Leesville, 41-14.
Bastrop took the opening kickoff and converted two fourth downs to move into Bobcat territory.
Eunice defensive tackle Myles Woods forced a Ram fumble and Jahiem Mitchell recovered the loose ball at the Bobcat 15.
It took the Eunice offense seven plays to move down the field, aided by a late hit flag against Bastrop.
Four plays later, Jeoul Hill raced 23 yards for the touchdown.
Braden Rider’s PAT gave Eunice a 7-0 lead with 5:24 left in the first quarter.
The Rams followed with a strong possession, aided by a pass interference against the Bobcats that kept the drive alive.
On fourth-and-goal at the EHS 5, Mitchell made a big tackle to give the ball back to the Bobcats.
The Eunice offense had a time consuming drive to open the second period, as Deon Ardoin, Devin Richardson and Hill all had strong runs.
But the Bobcats could not convert on fourth down as an incomplete pass stopped the drive at the Bastrop 26.
The Rams moved the ball to the midfield before the Bobcat defense stiffened.
After a bad snap on fourth down, the Ram punter was stopped a yard short of the first down.
Eunice moved into Ram territory but the Bastrop defense recovered a Bobcat fumble to stop the drive with 1:53 left in the first half.
The Bobcats took the second half kickoff and used several impressive runs by Richardson and Deon Ardoin to moved deep into Bastrop territory.
But an interception on fourth down at the Rams’ 13 stopped the Bobcat scoring opportunity.
The Eunice defense again responded and forced Bastrop to punt and the kick bounced into the end zone with 6:39 left in the period.
The two teams continued its field position battle as Eunice punted to ball back to midfield.
After several strong stops including back-to-back tackles for loss by Dedrick Vigers, the Rams again punted and pinned the Bobcats back to the EHS 6 late in the third period.
After a good run by Hill, consecutive false start penalties and an incomplete pass hampered the Bobcat offense.
Zach Suire punted from deep in Eunice territory and a strong return allowed Bastrop to begin its drive at the EHS 19.
The two-play drive was sealed by a 19-yard touchdown run by Kiantre Robinson.
Rashard Lynch’s two-point conversion run gave the Rams an 8-7 lead with 6:03 left in the game.
The Bobcats come-back attempt was aided with an impressive pass from Simeon Ardoin to Trelyn Cooper to keep the drive alive.
Later an intentional grounding call followed by an incomplete pass halted the EHS drive with 3:47 left in the game.
The Bobcat defense again responded to force another Bastrop punt as Eunice had one final chance to pull out the victory.
The Bobcats were 76 yards away with time slipping away and Eunice converted on fourth down to keep the drive alive.
But Varick Morgan snared an interception with 52 seconds left to end Eunice’s season.
Last season, the Rams grabbed wins over McDonough 35 (44-16) and Westgate (40-14) before falling to top-seed Edna Karr, 48-19 in the Class 4-A quarterfinals.
Lakeshore finished as the Class 4-A state runners-up last season, falling to Edna Karr, 48-26.