John Burson
CROWLEY – The Eunice High Bobcats improved their record to 4-0 with a 36-32 victory over the Crowley High Gents in District 5-3A action here Thursday night.
The Cats and the Gents battled in the first quarter of action, with the Gents taking the kickoff and advancing to the Eunice 38-yard line before the Cats defensive unit stopped the Gents on a fourth-down attempt.
The Bobcat offensive unit responded to the Gents on their first offensive play as Deon Ardoin executed a 12-yard run for a first down.
Ardoin carried two more times for 16 yards, advancing to the Crowley 30-yard line. Three plays later the Bobcat offense executed a scoring play on a 29-yard pass from Simeon Ardoin to Carlin Vigers for a touchdown.
Austin Phillips made good on the PAT kick to give the Bobcats a 7-0 lead with 3:50 remaining in the first quarter.
The Gents responded to the Bobcat touchdown with a drive of their own behind the play of running back Obadiah Butler, who accounted for 21 rushing yards on the drive.
The Gents finished the scoring drive with a touchdown pass from quarterback Marquis Garrett to Rapheus Joseph covering 38 yards.
The PAT attempt failed but the Bobcats held the lead at 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.
The Gents would open the second quarter with a 10-play drive that ended in a touchdown to give the Gents a 12-7 advantage with 6:24 left in the second quarter. The PAT try failed, however.
The Bobcats answered back with a scoring drive of their own. Simeon Ardoin opened the drive with a 15-yard run and Deon Ardoin added 11 yards on two carries.
Simeon Ardoin broke free for 21 yards and Jeoul Hill added a 30-yard run which ended at the Crowley 8-yard line.
The final play of the drive came with an 8-yard touchdown run by Avery Lee.
The PAT kick was blocked, but the Bobcats had regained the lead at 13-12.
The Bobcats forced a fumble early in the Gents possession and the Cats cashed in on the opportunity, driving down the field on runs by Deon Ardoin and Simeon Ardoin. Simeon Ardoin later hit Carlin Vigers with a 24-yard pass that ended at the Crowley 12-yard line. Ardoin teamed with Tyler Darbonne for a 12-yard touchdown pass and Phillips added the PAT kick to give the Bobcats a 20-12 lead. Vigers made a key play as time expired in the second quarter when he intercepted a Garrett pass with 24 seconds left in the first half.
The third quarter started with a kickoff to the Bobcats, who rushed for 30 yards before being stopped at the Crowley 45-yard line. The Gents weren’t able to do much with the possession and decided to punt. The Bobcats would fumble, though, and the Gents would gain momentum in the third quarter with Butler breaking away for 15 yards and seven yards to move inside the Eunice 20-yard line. Joseph would score a touchdown on a 7-yard pass from Garrett to pull the Gents to within two points, but the PAT run was stopped short to give the Bobcats a 20-18 lead.
The Cats took advantage of a 34-yard run by Simeon Ardoin to set up a field goal attempt by Phillips who nailed the kick to give the Cats a 23-18 lead in the fourth quarter.The Gents drove into Eunice territory behind Butler’s running and scored to take a 26-23 lead. The Bocats responded with a drive that ended with a Simeon Ardoin touchdown pass of 14-yard pass to Vigers with 3:42 left in the fourth quarter. Phillips kicked the PAT to give the Cats a 30-26 lead. The Gents didn’t give up, though, with Butler returning the kickoff for a 60-yard touchdown. But, again, the PAT failed for the Gents. The Gents kicked off to the Cats and the Cats kept the clock running with runs by Hill and Simeon Ardoin. Deon Ardoin ran twice for 20 yards before Simeon Ardoin crossed up the Gents with a touchdown pass to Hill to give the Cats a 36-32 lead with 1:07 left in the game. The Cats managed to hold off the Gents over the final 36 seconds to earn the victory.