Bobcats face McMain in first round

With the District 5-3A title in hand, the Eunice High Bobcats look to tackle the Class 3A bracket of the Non-Select Football State Playoffs.
Head coach Paul Trosclair’s Bobcats finished a strong regular season by going 5-0 in district play. The Bobcats won four of their first five contests, losing only to 4A Crowley.
Now come the state playoffs, with the Bobcats holding the number two seed. The Cats will open play Friday night at Bobcat Stadium against Eleanor McMain High School out of New Orleans.  The Mustangs finished with a 3-8 overall record, claiming a 3-4 mark in district play to earn the 31st seed in the 3A bracket.
Coach Trosclair is not taking McMain lightly. “They’re talented, with ten starters back from last year on offense and six on defense. They played in a tough district and met three good in non-district play in 4A Warren Easton, 5A Helen Cox, and 2A Newman.”
In district play, the Mustangs lost to 3A top seed Lutcher  (68-20) and 15th seeded St. James (44-14). McMain also suffered a loss to De LaSalle (48-0) before defeating Lusher Charter (32-14), Kipp Renaissance (57-8), J.S. Clark (42-26), and Sci Academy (36-7).
Lutcher and De LaSalle finished the regular season with 9-1 records, while St. James finished with a 7-3 mark.
McMain’s quarterback is senior Darnell Williams (5’11, 175). “He will scramble and try to keep looking to make a play downfield”, said Trosclair. “His receivers are very athletic.”
“They like to use the screen pass to a running back or they will use split screens to the wide receivers,” explain Trosclair. “We will have to be mentally sharp against their attack.”
Among the Mustangs’ receiving corps are senior Kevin Edgerson (6’1”, 170, junior Jamiaryn Wallace (6’3”, 195), and junior Colby Richardson (6’1”, 175).
The top running back for the Mustangs has been junior Nicholas Mccaskill (5’11”, 175). Senior Stephen Lee (5’10”, 250) plays fullback when needed. 
Lee does double duty as a defensive tackle. Joining Lee along the defensive front are junior ends Kahill Wilkes (6’2”, 260) and Michael Bankston. Senior Najee Gordon (6’3”, 190) backs up the defensive line as an outside linebacker along with junior Tyren Porter (6’1”, 195). Senior Oscar Ollney (5’11”, 210) plays middle linebacker.
The offensive line of the Mustangs is anchored by senior center William Jefferson (6’2”, 245), senior guard Jacobi Rodes (6’, 270), junior guard Dallas Black (6’, 240), and junior tackle Islam Bowman (6’1”, 255).
The Bobcats are led at quartrback by senior Alex Richard. Richard has completed 90 of 149 passes for 1,338 yards and 11 touchdowns. Senior Terryl Poullard leads the deep receiving corps with 41 receptions for 448 yards. Senior Travis Godfrey has 23 receptions for 427 yards with six touchdowns. Dsshawn Vigers has added 11 catches for 278 yards and two scores.
Senior Nick Powell leads the Bobcat rushing attack with 145 carries for 911 yards. He set a new Bobcat career record with 20 rushing touchdowns in a season.
On defense, the Bobcats are led by seniors Ajyh Johnson and Tyler Allison at linebacker. Johnson has 97 tackles, with three caused fumbles and two recovered fumbles. Allison has 85 tackless, with four quarterback sacks.
Brandon Nubuzyze is third on the team in tackles with 61. He has five tackles for loss. Robert Dacas and Larry Rideau are the top tacklers along the line with 49 and 44, respectively. Dacas has four sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. Rideau has two sacks and 9.5 tackles for loss. 
In the secondary, Vigers has four interceptions, with one returned for a score. Godfrey has one interception, with six pass breakups.