Panthers prevail in overtime

            This time of year as the calendar turns to October evokes different things for different people. Some think of the Major League Baseball postseason, others think of heading into the woods for the opening weekend of squirrel season, and still others think of harvesting cotton. But for the Pine Prairie Panthers and the Sacred Heart Trojans, the beginning of October means Thursday night football.

            The game at Soileau-Landry Field from the start was a game of cat and mouse. Both sides were plagued with miscues, penalties, and missed opportunities all night. In the end; though, it was Pine Prairie that capitalized as Javon Ardoin caught the pass from Douglas Fontenot in the end zone for the go-ahead and game winning score as the Panthers prevailed in overtime 12-6.

            Panther head coach Yves Prince called the game “one of the biggest wins in Pine Prairie history” and “a great win for our kids to go 3 and 2 for the first time.” Prince went on to say, “I’m proud of these young men. They became men tonight. They played hard. We fell behind, we didn’t quit, and we came back to beat a good team. It was a job well done by the players and coaching staff.”

            The game began with the Trojans going 3-and-out on the opening stanza, and the subsequent punt went straight up. The Panther drive began inside Trojan territory on the 42-yard line.  Douglas Fontenot ran a quarterback keeper for a gain of 9-yards. Javon Ardoin then moved the chains for a 1^st down to the Trojan 22-yard line. The Trojan defense then stepped up led by Wacen Fontenot and Phillip Vidrine. The Panthers turned the ball over on downs.

            The next couple of possessions saw many of the same missed opportunities. The Trojans would go 3-and-out, and the punt rolled just shy of midfield. The Panthers again began their drive inside Trojan territory and again turned over on downs.

            The Trojans turned on the jets as the tandem of Dylan Scully and Garrick Fontenot took care of business closing out the first 15 minutes of play. Scully opened the 2^nd Quarter with a huge gain around the right side down to the Panther 15-yard line. Fontenot picked up 8-yards, and Scully ran the rest of the way for a touchdown.

            The Panthers got the ball back on their own 33-yard line down by 6 points. Allen Myles converted on 3^rd down before the Trojan defense stepped up again. Wacen Fontenot brought down Douglas Fontenot behind the line of scrimmage, and Jacob Lafleur stopped the opposition’s reverse. The Panthers missed more opportunities and were forced to punt.

            The miscues and penalties crept up on the Trojans as the first half came to a close. The Scully and Fontenot tandem drove the Trojans down to the shadows of the goal line. A holding penalty backed them up 10-yards. Scully ran down the left side for a first down. Two snaps later the Trojans were penalized 5-yards for a false start. Javon Ardoin intercepted the pass, but the Trojans got the ball back as Sam Tuminaro recovered a fumble. Scully ran again as a penalty flag flew for another Trojan holding penalty. Keenan Roy then sacked the quarterback backing up the Trojans to the midfield stripe. Sacred Heart was forced to punt.

            Wacen Fontenot, Brandon Hudspeth, and Caleb Soileau combined to stop Pine Prairie on its opening possession of the 2^nd half. The Trojans took over on their own 45-yard line. Joshua LaHaye on a quarterback keeper joined in on the Scully and Fontenot rushing party as the 3 rushed for about 20-yards.  Scully scurried into the end zone like a squirrel with a nut in its mouth. The scoring play; however, was negated on a personal foul blow to the head penalty backing up the Trojans 15 yards. Dustin McDaniel sacked Joshua LaHaye to set up 4^th down. The Trojans botched the fake punt attempt, and the ball eventually landed in the hands of Javon Ardoin at midfield.

            The Panthers tied the game two possessions later on a 47-yard carry by Douglas Fontenot. The final 10 minutes of the game had more of the same miscues and missed opportunities, and regulation ended with a tied score of 6-6.

            Overtime began with Sacred Heart having the football 1^st-and-goal on the 10-yard line. Scully and Fontenot carried inches shy of the west end zone before the Trojans turned over on downs. Pine Prairie likewise had the football 1^st-and-goal on the 10-yard line, and Javon Ardoin capped it all off.

            And the award for most succinct quote by a head coach so far goes to Gary Adkins of Sacred Heart. He said just four words after the game… “Too many penalties. Period.”