Bobcats stun Tenth-ranked Wolves

By John Burson

Sports Writer

RAYNE – The Eunice  High Bobcats totaled over 300 yards on their way to a 23-11 victory over the tenth-ranked Rayne Wolves here Thursday night in District 4-4A action.

The Bobcats knocked the Wolves from the ranks of the unbeaten with the victory, improving their record to 5-2 overall and to 3-1 in district play.

Rayne fell to 6-1 overall and to 3-1 in district action.

Eunice’s Darious Richard led a rushing attack that accumulated 250 yards. Richard accounted for 225 of those yards on 34 carries. 

The next highest rusher for the Cats was Jake Sonnier with 28 yards on seven carries.

The Bobcats of Coach Paul Trosclair kept the Wolves at bay with a hustling defense that held Rayne to only two first downs in the opening half. 

But the Wolves took advantage of a muffed punt by the Cats’ Travis Godfrey at the 1:42 mark of the first quarter to set up the initial points of the game. 

The Wolves recovered the ball at the Eunice 28, but could manage just 17 yards in six plays before settling for an 18-yard field goal by Ty Delahoussaye at the 10:42 mark of the second quarter.

The Bobcats responded with a 77-yard, 11-play touchdown drive. 

Darious Richard rushed four times for 21 yards during the drive, while sophomore quarterback Alex Richard completed three passes for 37 yards, including a 26-yard effort to Andrew Lomas. 

Alex Richard capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown on a scramble around the right end. Wesley Hebert nailed the PAT kick to put the Cats up 7-3.

The Bobcats finished the first half with a 12-play drive from their own 16 to the Rayne 2-yard line. 

But the Cats failed to score on a fourth-down run in the final seconds of the half.

The Bobcats made up for it as they received the second-half kickoff. 

After a 23-yard return by Jerwaski Thomas, the Cats drove 72 yards in five plays for a touchdown.

The key play of the drive was a Darious Richard run of 48 yards as he turned the left corner and raced down the sidelines. Two plays later, Richard would score from the 4-yard line. Hebert’s kick put the Bobcats up by a 14-3 margin with 10:02 left in the third quarter.

Following the kickoff Rayne put together a long drive that reached the Eunice 15-yard line. 

Facing a fourth-and-two at that point, quarterback Tyler LeJeune attempted a bootleg around the left side. The Bobcats’ Ajyh Johnson tackled LeJeune for a one-yard loss and the Cats took possession. 

The Cats moved the ball to their own 42, but the Wolves forced a fumble and recovered at the Eunice 36. Two plays later, the Cats returned the favor with Thomas recovering a Wolves’ fumble at his own 2-yard line. 

On first down, the Cats fumbled with Rayne redovering at the two-yard line. Trent Duhon would score on first down, then run for the two-point conversion to cut the Eunice lead to 14-11 with 2:31 left in the third quarter.

Eunice’s Jerwaski Thomas quickly regained the momentum for the Bobcats as he return the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Hebert’s PAT kick gave the Cats a 21-11 lead.

“That kickoff return really turned the game around,” commented Coach Trosclair.

Excellent coverage on the Bobcat kickoff pinned the Wolves deep in their territory. Defensive plays by Kenneth Godeau, Jordan Bellard, and Quintin Macri forced the Wolves to punt from their own 17.

The punt snap sailed over the punter’s head and out of the end zone for a safety. With less than a minute left in the third quarter, the Bobcats held a 23-11 lead. 

After the kickoff, the Wolves snared an interception, but the Bobcat defense stopped Rayne again on a fourth down at the Eunice 43 thanks to tight pass coverage by Jake Sonnier and Travis Godfrey.

An interception by Jerwaski Thomas with 3:07 to play ended the final drive by the Wolves.

“Our defense was super tonight,” said Coach Trosclair. “We created turnovers and kept their running game under control.”

“We tried to throw more on offense and mix it up a little - we thought we do some things against them. We played Eunice High football tonight.”