Tom Dodge
PRAIRIE RONDE – What a way to start the season for the reigning Class 3-A state champions.
Trailing 34-31 heading into the fourth quarter Thursday, the Bobcats exploded for 42 points and cruised to a school record 73-34 win over former district rival Northwest.
“We always preach the game lasts four quarters,” EHS head coach Paul Trosclair said after a game filled with injury timeouts because of cramps from the heat.
“We were in the game,” Trosclair said. “But we didn’t panic. They were tired, we were tired too. It was just a matter of who was going to hang on and we just sort of broke free late.”
Things started well for the now Class 4-A Bobcats as Bryson Poullard scored on a 13-yard run to cap a six play, 60-yard drive to begin the game.
Gavin Higginbotham’s kick gave the Bobcats a 7-0 advantage with 7:38 left in the first quarter.
After forcing a Raider punt, Eunice then drove 52 yards in just four plays as Simeon Ardoin connected with Traelyn Cooper for a 37-yard scoring strike.
The PAT failed, but the Bobcats led 13-0 with 3:54 remaining in the first period.
Northwest scored early in the second period when Montaze Sam found Keshaun Lazard open for a 33-yard touchdown.
The two-point conversion run failed, but the Raiders closed the gap to 13-6 with 10:05 left in the half.
After forcing a Bobcat punt, Northwest responded with a 90-yard, 11 play drive to take the lead when Sam connected with Lane Bias for a 15-yard score on fourth down. Sam ran in the two-point conversion to give the Raiders a 14-13 advantage with 2:51 remaining in the second quarter.
The two teams continued to battle as the Bobcats answered with a quick two-play drive as Jeoul Hill broke loose for a 48-yard touchdown. The PAT failed, but Eunice led 19-14 with 2:04 on the clock.
Northwest’s Depriest Hogans responded with an 83-yard kickoff return. The two-point conversion run was stopped by the Bobcats, but the Raiders led 20-19 with 1:50 left in the half.
Eunice moved quickly down the field, but a fourth down catch in the end zone by Cooper was ruled out of bounds and Northwest held on to a slim one-point lead into the intermission.
The Raiders added to its lead on the first drive of the second half when Sam hit Devin Davis for a 8-yard score. Curtis Dean ran in the two-point conversion to push Northwest up, 28-19 with 10:33 left in the period.
Eunice answered with a 8-play drive, aided by strong runs from Hill and Devin Richardson.
On fourth-and-goal, Simeon Ardoin connected with Jahiem Mitchell for an 8-yard touchdown.
The two-point conversion attempt failed, but the Bobcats closed the gap to 28-25 with 7:52 remaining in the quarter.
After forcing the Raider to punt, Eunice moved 53 yards in seven plays and scored on Simeon Ardoin’s 1-yard dive.
The PAT failed, but the Bobcats led 31-28 with 2:29 left.
The see-saw battle continued as Northwest took advantage of a muffed punt and Sam scored later on a 1-yard dive and the Raiders celebrated a 34-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
But after that, it was all Bobcats.
Aided by a personal foul penalty on the Raiders moved the ball deeper into Northwest territory, Devin Richardson’s six-yard touchdown run put Eunice up by three points.
Higginbotham’s extra point was deflected but it split the uprights as the Bobcats led 38-34 with 10:56 left in the game.
Bobcat Dylan Guillory recovered the fumbled kickoff and it took Eunice just three plays for Deon Ardoin to score on a 14-yard run. Higginbotham’s kick was good as the Bobcats led 45-34 with 9:57 on the clock.
Zach Suire recovered another fumbled kickoff at the Raider 24, and Deon Ardoin the scored on a 17-yard run and the PAT extended the Bobcats’ lead to 51-34.
Eunice wasn’t finished with its impressive introduction to the 2019 season as Suire then intercepted Sam’s pass to help the Bobcat offense set up shop at midfield.
After several runs to eat up time off the clock, Simeon Ardoin connected with his brother Deon Ardoin for a key 18-yard reception.
Deon Ardoin then broke loose for runs of 23-and 8-yards before Poullard scored on a 3-yard run. The PAT was good and the Bobcats pushed ahead 59-34.
On the first play of the Raiders’ next possession, Dylan Darbonne recovered a Northwest fumble.
It took just one play for Landon Higginbotham to race the final 38 yards for the score. The PAT was good and the Bobcats led 66-34, just one point short of the school record.
On the first play after the kickoff, the Raishek Scott and the Bobcat defense recovered a Northwest high snap that rolled 22 yards into the end zone. The PAT then extended the Eunice lead to 73-34 with 3:37 left in the contest.
Eunice’s final five touchdowns in the fourth quarter came because of changes of possession off of forced turnovers.
“Special teams and kickoff coverage were big for us,” Trosclair said. “We started putting pressure on the quarterback by putting in some blitzes because we couldn’t cover their receivers for long enough.
“From there, on offense they couldn’t stop us. Four quarters is a long time so we just kept churning at it. It’s a good feeling when you know when you play for the whole four quarters you can have a chance at the end.”