Lake Arthur wears out Mamou in district play

            The Tigers of Lake Arthur came trick-or-treating in Mamou Thursday night for a Halloween eve contest in District 4 2-A. Knowing well that Tigers love pepper and hate cinnamon, the Green Demons had plenty of cinnamon candy for their visitors. However, Lake Arthur proved to be too much for the tricks and used its own mischief to get all the treats as they won by a score of 52-28.

            Mamou got the scoring started on its opening possession after returning the kickoff to the 39-yard line. Kendall Jack and Daniel Matthews carried the football for consecutive first downs gaining 15 and 10 yards respectively. On third down quarterback Dylan Duplechain escaped trouble and completed a pass to Nathaniel Holland setting up first down on the 22-yard line. An unsportsmanlike penalty against the Tigers moved the ball half the distance to the goal. Duplechain completed a swing pass to Holland setting up first-and-goal, and Jack took care of the rest as he rushed in for a 1-yard score. Following an off sides penalty, the Green Demons gambled and went for a 2-point conversion attempt that resulted in a fumble recovered by Lake Arthur. Mamou led 6-0 with 8:32 remaining in the first quarter.

            The lead would not last long for the Green Demons as the Tigers tied up the game on the next series. Damian Robinson on the first play from scrimmage handed the ball off to Trey Hargrave for a gain of 8-yards. Michael Ware then rushed for a first down at the Mamou 49-yard line. Hargrave again found running room for a gain of 15-yards down the right side. Ware on first down rushed for 7-yards, and Robinson ran a quarterback keeper picking a first down at the 20-yard line. The rushing attack of Lake Arthur continued veering all the way into the end zone. The Tigers’ 2-point conversion attempt was thwarted by Mamou senior Hunter Fusilier bringing the score to 6-6.

            The second quarter began with Lake Arthur having possession and with the ball resting on Green Demon 16-yard line. Ware rushed down to the 2-yard line and on first-and-goal carried the football into the end zone for a score. Hargrave then walked into the end zone for a successful 2-point conversion giving Lake Arthur a 14-6 advantage.

            Mamou answered the touchdown on its next possession. After Jack rushed for a gain of 14-yards, Holland got a block from Kendric Williams and picked up 32-yards. Mamou had it first-and-10 on the Lake Arthur 20-yard line. The Daniel Matthews touchdown was called back because of a holding penalty, but the Green Demons were not deterred. Mamou on second-and-19 carried the football down the right side into the end zone cutting into the Lake Arthur lead with 8:58 remaining before halftime. The score was now 14-12. Lake Arthur scored again before halftime giving the Tigers a 22-12 advantage.  

            The second half started with Lake Arthur returning the kick to its own 40-yard line. Ware found some running room down the left side to the 49-yard line, and Robinson ran another keeper for a first down at the Mamou 46-yard line. Much like in the first half, the rushing attack of Lake Arthur continued veering its way to find pay dirt and increased the score to 28-12. The 2-point conversion attempt this time was thwarted by Joab Perron.

            Mamou again answered the touchdown on its next possession. Starting at his own 35-yard line, Duplechain ran for a gain of 30 plus yards down to the Lake Arthur 30-yard line. Duplechian followed it up with another carry down to the 15-yard line. Daniel Matthews got in on the action setting up second-and-1 on the 6-yard line before Jack picked up enough for a first down and goal. Jack then ran down the right side for a score with 6:37 remaining in the third quarter. Holland got in the end zone on the 2-point conversion attempt bringing the score to 28-20.

            After Damian Robinson of Lake Arthur scored on a quarterback keeper, Mamou again answered the call with a score of its own. The Green Demons took over on the 31-yard line. Lake Arthur was flagged for pass interference on a pass intended for Nathanial Holland. The infraction brought the football down to the 46-yard line. Duplechain completed a stunt pass to Jacob Israel at the Lake Arthur 43-yard line. On second-and-10, Duplechain kept the ball himself down the right side all the way to the 14-yard line. A couple of plays later, Duplechain faced fourth-and-2. He then zig-zagged his way around eluding the Lake Arthur defense and ran into the end zone with mere seconds remaining in the third quarter. Daniel Matthews successfully ran in the 2-point conversion attempt, and Mamou again was within 8 points of Lake Arthur. The score was now 36-28.

            Lake Arthur began to wear out Mamou in the fourth quarter mainly on the feet of Michael Ware, who scored from 5-yards out and from 7-yards out each time.

            Coach Brian Brumfield after the game thought his “kids played hard tonight.” He went on to say, “We were in the ball game for the majority of the game. We just needed to find some way to stop them on defense, and we didn’t. We played well enough on offense to score some points to win. But we didn’t make the big plays, and we gave them some big third down conversions that we shouldn’t have.”

            Mamou looks to rebound next week as the Green Demons host the defending state champion Kinder Yellow Jackets in the final regular season game.