Abbbeville's VC Eagles escape Eunice with win

EUNICE- The Eagles won their seventh straight game, and spoiled the Eunice Bobcats homecoming in the process.
VC was able to squeak by Eunice 22-20 in a game that was up for grabs all the way until the end.
With 1:20 remaining in the fourth quarter and Eunice trailing 22-20, the Bobcat defense came up with a big play as the Eagles fumbled and Eunice High’s John Ardoin picked the ball up at the Eagles 45 and ran for an apparent touchdown.
But an official, who was on the backside of the play, ruled the runner was down before the fumble. That call negated the touchdown and enabled VC to run out the clock to claim a 22-20 victory.
Bobcat head coach Paul Trosclair didn’t see the play the same way that the official did.
“I thought it was a fumble and we had a touchdown. The official away from the play spotted the runner as down but our sideline felt the ball came loose before the runner went down.”
The two teams went back-and-forth through the game’s early stages.
With 43 seconds left in the first quarter, the Eagles broke the scoreless tie as Tyler Derouen scored on a one-yard run. Emile Trahan kicked the PAT for a 7-0 lead.
The touchdown came at the conclusion of an 88-yard, 10-play drive. Derouen had the longest play of the drive with a 32-yard run.
The Bobcats tied the game with a 14-play, 80-yard drive capped by Alex Richard’s two-yard run. Wesley Hebert kicked the PAT to tie the game at 7-7.
John Ardoin’s 28-yard run was the longest play of the drive.
The Eagles took possession with 38.5 seconds left in the half and managed to move to the Eunice 30 with 0.3 seconds left. Trahan then kicked a 47-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 10-7 halftime lead.
The Eagles added to their lead on their opening drive of the second half. The touchdown came on a Hunter Frith to Derouen pass that covered 44 yards. The PAT kick sailed wide right to keep the score at 16-7.
Eunice High responded with a 60-yard scoring drive on their initial possession of the second half.
Triston Frye opened the drive with a 28-yard run and Terryl Poullard capped it with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Richard. A try for two points failed and the score remained 16-13 with 6:16 left in the third quarter.
The Eagles came right back with a 56-yard, 8-play scoring drive capped by a 21-yard touchdown pass from Frith to Derouen.
The PAT was blocked by Eunice’s Travis Godfrey, giving the Eagles a 22-13 lead late in the third quarter.
The Cats were forced to punt on their next possession. But Godfrey intercepted a Frith pass on the first play of the fourth quarter to set the Cats up in Eagles’ territory.
Richard’s 15-yard scramble up the middle set up a touchdown four plays later as Richard scored from the two-yard line. Hebert kicked the PAT to cut the lead to 22-20 with 8:42 left in the game.
The Cats got the ball back as they forced a punt at the 4:08 mark. The Cats picked up a first down at their own 34 but Derouen intercepted an overthrown pass by Richard at his own 25 with 2:45 left.
The Eagles picked up two first downs before the controversial fumble took place.
Derouen led the Eagles in total yardage with 14 rushes for 106 yards and seven receptions for 112 yards with three touchdowns.
Quarterback Hunter Frith threw for 194 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
VC will travel to play Hanson Memorial next Friday in a District 7-1A contest.