Erath nips Abbeville in jamboree

District rivals proved that a jamboree does matter Friday night at the Vermilion Parish Football Jamboree.
The Erath Bobcats and the Abbeville Wildcats squared off in a defensive struggle that saw Erath pull out a 7-6 victory.
“We talked about progress,” said Erath first-year head coach David Comeaux. “We gave up six points in the first half. I was proud of how the guys responded. They did it on both sides of the ball.”
Comeaux talked about progress after the Bobcats struggled in their scrimmage last week against the speedy Cecilia Bulldogs. Erath strained to move the ball in the first half, at times, resulting in zero points.
Abbeville gained the lead early in the first half when quarterback Bryce Melancon connected on a screen pass with Malik Small for a 35-yard score. However, the PAT was unsuccessful for the Wildcats.
Erath responded with 12:45 remaining in the game with a 15 yard run by sophomore tailback Elijah Mitchell. Mitchell was the leading rusher for Erath, finishing with 65 yards on only 10 carries.
The Wildcats had a chance to take back the lead late in the game, but a combination of a dropped pass from a beautifully thrown ball by Melancon, and a botched snap put Abbeville in a tough hole. Erath sealed the deal by picking off Melancon with 44 seconds left on the clock. Melancon played well in a losing effort finishing the game 6-of-12 with 127 passing. The interception dashed all hopes of Abbeville somewhat avenging their horrendous 45-13 shellacking at the hands of Erath.
“Those guys beat the dog mess out of us last year,” said Abbeville head coach Chris Towery. “To be right there even though it doesn’t count is phenomenal.” The play that the bad snap occurred on, is something that we’ve practiced over and over. Next week when everything is for real, that can’t happen.”
A bright spot for the Wildcats was it’s defense led by Clements Dorsey, who recorded two sacks on the evening. Senior cornerback Bradley Davis intercepted a pass thrown by Ben LeBlanc in the first half.
Comeaux talked about his defense and how pleased he was with their performance.
“I’m proud of our defense,” he said with a smile. “Defense held their own, they played hard, flew to the ball, tackled well. I couldn’t ask for more right now.”
Both teams look to learn from their mistakes as the regular season opens up next week. Erath hosts Iowa High School on Friday, and Abbeville starts their season Thursday hosting the Vinton Lions.