BUNKIE VS PINE PRAIRIE FOOTBALL

Pine Prairie kicked off its season on a warm and humid Friday night at home in what was called "The Battle of Highway 49" and "The Panther Bowl" and succomed to the visiting Panthers of Bunkie by a final score of 48-14. The Bunkie offensive force was propelled by senior running back Joseph Murray, who amassed 277 rushing yards on 12 carries for four touchdowns. Pine Prairie's closest answer was Dylan Doucet garnering 90 yards rushing on 8 rushes for a touchdown.

"We've seen some good things from our younger players," said assistant coack Jack O'Steen. "We're running a new offense. It's gonna take a little bit for it to get rolling."

The game started with Pine Prairie having nowhere to go as Bunkie was controlling the line of scrimmage. Bunkie took over after a punt at its own 44-yard line. On second and 10, Murray carried the football down to the Pine Prairie 25-yard line for a gain of 31 yards. Two plays later Jon'Ques Williams took it the rest of the way for a touchdown. Bunkie after a missed extra point attemopt led the contest 6-0 with 8:35 remaining in the first quarter thus setting the tone early.
Pine Prairie again went three-and-out and was forced to punt. Bunkie in a shot gun formation saw a deep pass completed to Jacob Boatner to the Pine Prairie 43-yard line. The subsequent plays from scrimmage saw some resistance from the home team as evidenced by Josh Fontenot and Gaten Chaddrick bringing up second and 11 on a slow developing play. The resistance proved futile as the Bunkie possession resulted in Murray's first touchdown of the night from five yards out making the score 13-0.

The next possession of Bunkie saw a greater Pine Prairie resistance as the tandem of Corryn Anderson and Jeremiah O'Steen provided a big stop on third down which led to the visitors turning the ball over on downs. The momentum appeared to switch sidelines as the home team saw a glimmer of hope on offense. Dylan Doucet carried for a gain of five resulting in third and short at the 42 yard line. Chaddrick then converted for a first down at the 45-yard line. The glimmer of hope soon faded as pass incompletions led to another Pine Prairie punt.

Bunkie began the next series with its worst starting position of the night but ended it with Murray busting loose around the right side and finding some running room for another touchdown. The KZLG radio team commented that was "running a lot more physical tonight that he did in the jamboree against Marksville."

The first half ended with Bunkie leading 20-0, and the second half began with Murray breaking loose early in the third quarter for a 65-yard touchdown run. With his team down 27-0, Dylan Doucet sprinted down the right side for a 95 yard touchdown. At the 6:13 mark of the third quarter the score was 27-6 after a failed 2 point conversion attempt.

After Bunkie fumbled and Pine Prairie returned the favor by coughing up a fumble of its own, Fred Weber ran it in for a touchdown to increase the lead to 34-6. Jeremy Lewis for Bunkie provided another touchdown on its ensuing possession. Dylan Doucet then took the ball down to Pine Prairie's 45-yard line on the kick. A couple of snaps later Ahmad Fontenot on the option picked up a 1st down at Bunkie's 38-yard line. The freshman Jordan Ardoin on a quarterback keeper broke loose for a big gain setting up 1st and goal at the 10 yard line. Coming out of the I formation, the play resulted for a Pine Prairie by touchdown Ardoin. Brandt Deville converted on the two point conversion as time expired.


O'Steen said of his freshman signal caller after the game, "He showed us some good things tonight."

The Pine Prairie Panthers takes their 0-1 record on the road next week to Arnaudville as they visit the Beau Chene Gators. As to the rest of the season, O'Steen commented, "We just got a lot of work to do. We're gonna keep working hard... We got a long season, so I'm sure Pine Prairie will continue those long strides to continue."