Tom Dodge
It’s homecoming week at Eunice High as the Bobcats open District 5-4A play against the Rayne Wolves.
The Bobcats are hoping to bounce back from a 35-14 loss to rival Jennings where Eunice High jumped out to a 14-point lead early in the game.
“I am a firm believer that you learn more from your losses,” Eunice head coach Andre Vige said. “We made a lot of mistakes, had too many penalties and we dropped too many passes,” the coach said.
“We didn’t play assignment football for a full four quarters on defense as we gave up some big plays in the passing game.”
Vige said he is confident with such a strong senior group they won’t let the same things happen again.
“They learned from this loss and they don’t want to do that again,” Vige said. “There were some very disappointed players after the game last week.
“When it hurts, it means a lot,” he said. “So I think we are going to rebound well – add that Rayne beat us last year –these kids don’t need any extra motivation.”
Rayne defeated the Bobcats 20-16 last year and forced a tie for the district title.
“They are well-coached and their kids play hard,” Vige said of the Wolves.
“They are big up front on offense and they give you a lot of different looks and they do a good job of confusing the defenses.”
One bright spot for the Bobcats against Jennings was the performance of running back Deon Ardoin who finished with 126 yards on 11 carries.
“We haven’t put together a full game on offense yet,” he said. “We need to see what we can really do as a unit.”
Vige said with the restrictions of COVID-19, this year’s homecoming week has been different.
“They are limited in what they can do in activities,” he said. “So it is less of a distractions than maybe in years past.
“There is no parade or the powder-puff game,” he said.
With the eight-game season, Vige said it is vital to grab win to open district, especially since Washington-Marion and LaGrange cancelled their seasons after Hurricane Laura.
“Our goal is to try to win every week,” Vige said. “This year we only have three district teams so two district games.
“To be a district champion you pretty much have to do a sweep,” the coach said. “So this game is very important because we want to be district champs.”