Wildcats, Patriots square off in district matchup

The season is far from over, and two local teams are set to battle, hoping to get themselves out of the District 6-3A cellar.
The North Vermilion Patriots travel to play the Abbeville Wildcats in a matchup between a 1-5 squad versus an 0-6 Abbeville team.
North Vermilion is coming off of a tough 41-14 loss to rival Kaplan. The Patriots struggled to move the ball, as they were missing their top two running backs due to injury.
The stout Kaplan defense held North Vermilion to 71 yards of offense. Quarterback Ty Desormeaux went 6-17 for 62 yards and one touchdown.
The success of the Patriots depends on their rushing attack led by Taylor Abshire. Abshire has rushed for 336 yards on 90 attempts so far this season.
Dade Dieterich leads the team in receiving with 18 receptions for 178 yards.
“We’ve struggled offensivly,” said head coach Richard Prejean. “It’s been difficult for us to get in a groove offensively, and it has put a lot of pressure on our defense.”
Abbeville is looking to rebound from a 49-29 loss to Erath at home. A change at quarterback could be just the spark the team needs to get some things going offensively.
Sophomore Demarcus Collins steps in for his second start at the position. In last week's game, Collins went 7-15 for 123 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. The young quarterback also led an Abbeville offense that scored 29 points, which is the most the team has scored all season.
“The plan was to play both quarterbacks, but when Demarcus got going, I felt no need to take him out of the game,” said head coach Chris Towery. “He was calm, cool and he didn’t get rattled. I was real proud of him.”
The team looks to keep a similar offensive style, with a little more designed quarterback runs according to Towery.
Matt Johnson leads the rushing attack for Abbeville. In the game against Erath, Johnson gashed the Bobcats for 169 yards and two scores. On the season, Johnson has rushed for 305 yards on 46 carries.
The leading receiver for the Wildcats is Celton Calais, who has caught 13 passes for 149 yards on the year.
Towery stressed the importance of the offensive and defensive lines playing well, as well as what his team needs to do to come out victorious.
“If we can do some things up front, I like our chances in the game,” he said. “At the end of the day, we have to show up and do what we need to do to be successful.”
With this only being the second week of district play, both teams are preparing themselves to make a run at the top of the district to unseat the top teams.