RAYNE – The Eunice High Bobcats got off to a good start here Friday against the Rayne High Wolves when Avery Lee returned the opening kickoff of the Wolves 60 yards to the Rayne 30-yard line.
But the Bobcat offense were limited to seven yards on three rushing plays and the Wolves gained the momentum when Eunice quarterback Jaden Brasseaux’s pass into the end zone on fourth down was intercepted by Trent Winbush.
The Wolves would take over at their own 20 yard line and put together an 80-yard touchdown drive to take a 6-0 lead on a 9-yard run from Winbush. The Wolves missed the PAT kick. All 12 plays on the scoring drive were runs.
Jordan Ledet returned the Rayne kickoff 15 yards and Brasseaux teamed with Austin Phillips on a 12-yard completion, but two plays later the Wolves’ Zach Fontenot intercepted a Brasseaux pass and Rayne added to their lead when Darien Harmon broke free to score on a 79-yard run. A poor snap was turned into a two-point conversion as Fontenot passed to Manuel for the two points and a 14-0 lead.
The Cats tried to get their offense going with Brasseaux completing passes to Dameon Frank for 17 yards and to Phillips for 15 yards. That set up the Cats for their first score when Brasseaux sneaked across the goal line with 7:33 left in the first half.
The Cats held the Wolves, forcing a punt and putting together a long drive from their own 22 to Rayne’s 16-yard line. Brasseaux had completions of 8, 9, and 10 yards to Josh Youngblood on the drive, which stalled at the 16-yard line. Phillips kicked a 34-yard field goal to cut the Eunice deficit to 14-10 heading into halftime.
The Wolves received the second half kickoff and took control of the game with their strong rushing attack, moving from their own 45 to the Eunice 13. Harmon scored on a run and Manuel kicked the PAT to put the Wolves on top by a 21-10 margin.
The Bobcats struggled on their possession, gaining just five yards before punting. With 3:48 left in the third quarter, Winbush broke losse on an 86-yard touchdown run and Manuel kicked the PAT to give the Wolves a 28-10 lead.
The Cats tried to comeback, but Rayne’s John Daigle forced a fumble from Youngblood on a pass play and raced 44 yards for a touchdown to give the Wolves a 35-10 lead. The Wolves added another touchdown early in the fourth quarter to build a 42-10 lead before both coaches brought in younger players to finish the game.