Can Erath bounce back?

Tied for second place in district, the Erath Bobcats and the Kaplan Pirates go head-to-head in Erath Friday night.

The Bobcats (2-5, 1-1 district) are looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Notre Dame in Crowley. The 42-7 loss snapped a two-game winning streak the Bobcats were on, having defeated St. John and Abbeville in the weeks prior. 

Add to the loss against Notre Dame the fact that the Bobcats were banged up pretty hard in Crowley. “We’ve got five guys out now,” head coach Doug Dotson said. “But, it’s something you have to deal with. We have people who can and have stepped up. They’ve been playing, and they can hopefully come through.”

Kaplan has been dealing with injuries as well, with quarterback Jade Herpin having surgery on his leg and Kaylon Rudd still out after the game against North Vermilion. Kaplan’s coach, Stephen Lotief, said it’s unclear whether Rudd would be back Friday night or not.

That means personnel changes for the Pirates, who have the depth to fill in spots easily.

“DeVante [Davis] is at quarterback a lot more,” Lotief explained. “We’ll still use him at wide receiver, but he’s going to see a lot more time under center.”

Ty Bares of Erath has been playing more quarterback recently, as well.

“Erath can be a scary football team,” Lotief said. “Hopefully, we’re going to be upright. They’ve got a good running game, and their defense can swarm well. They can do just about everything.”

Likewise, Dotson is taking caution around Kaplan.

“Kaplan is just as physical [as Notre Dame],” he explained. “That’s the big thing for us. They are a smash mouth football team. If you’re not ready for that, it’ll be a long night.

“We have to move forward and put last week behind us,” Dotson added. “Notre Dame is one of the most physical teams we’ve played all year. And at that level, the competition is so high, even in a loss you can get better, which is what we want.”

Kaplan is looking at a good week of practice leading up to the game. “It was a pretty good week,” Lotief said. “We’re trying to pick it up a level in everything we do and just keep on chugging.”

The Friday night game in Erath is set for 7 p.m., with the two parish and district rivals vying for a chance to stay in the upper tiers of the district rankings.

After this week, Kaplan heads home to play Abbeville, while Erath travels to West St. Mary for a November 1 meeting.