Rayne disarms Patriots with ground game

By Bruce Brown
Special to the Meridional

RAYNE — Someday soon, when the North Vermilion Patriots' execution catches up to their grit, coach Richard Prejean will be in business.
As it is, there are glimmers of hope amid frustration.
NVHS fell to 0-2 with Friday's 26-10 road loss to the Rayne Wolves, a talented team on the rise, but the visitors fought off the temptation to fold when they fell behind 20-0 and battled Rayne largely on even terms in the second half.
“The game was reflective of the week of practice we had,” said Prejean, a longtime NVHS assistant taking over the reins this season. “We kind of grew up a little bit tonight. We hung our heads there a little bit, but then we picked ourselves back up.
“Rayne is big and athletic. We were out-weighed 40 pounds per man in the line, and we're still not fundamentally sound sometimes, but we competed and I was pleased to see that.”
After the Wolves rolled to that 20-0 lead with 8:49 until halftime, the Patriots started to creep back into the contest.
Quarterback Ty Desormeaux evaded pressure and found running back Taylor Abshire over the middle for a 40-yard catch-and-run to close it to 20-7 5:04 from halftime.
Then to start the third period, NVHS pulled within 20-10 on Seth Patin's 29-yard field goal, set up by a 12-yard pass to Dade Dieterich, a 10-yard Jordan Windmon run and an 11-yard penalty on RHS.
Suddenly a romp had become a game.
“When you get a team down 20-0, you should be able to put them away,” said Wolves' coach Curt Ware, who improved to 50-49 at RHS with the victory. “But, give them credit. I told coach Prejean his kids played hard.”
North Vermilion threatened again late in the third quarter. Desormeaux came back to Alan Rowell after a drop, and was rewarded with a 22-yard connection to the Rayne 25. But a holding penalty thwarted the drive and forced a punt.
The Wolves answered with a march of their own, sparked by runs of 11 yards by Byron Mouton, 17 by John Michael Besse and 26 by Jason Cormier, but the Patriots escaped without allowing a score.
Desormeaux responded by converting a fourth-and-5 from his 37 with an artistic 50-yard bomb to Connor Dupuy that reached the RHS 13. NVHS came up short on two plays from the 4, however, with the fourth down coming at 5:54 to play.
Facing a third-and-2 from their 12, the Wolves shook Besse loose off right tackle and he didn't stop until Patin ran him down 82 yards later at the Patriots' 6. Two plays after that, Jaylon Reed found Deontrae Wilridge for the clinching 6-yard touchdown.
A team finding its identity like North Vermilion is still searching for the right delivery on such a crucial short yardage opportunity, while a veteran squad like Rayne converts.
The Wolves caught North Vermilion flat-footed to start the game as Reed's fake to Besse froze the secondary long enough for a 65-yard TD bomb to Mouton. Jaquan Cormier's interception then set up a 26-yard Wilridge romp that quickly made it 13-0.
When NVHS punt protection was stuffed, giving Rayne a gift at the one-yard line, Besse cashed in to make it a quick 20-0. What happened after that was educational for both teams.
“We just settled down at half,” Prejean said. “It's not that we did anything different. We stayed in our base defense, and the offense ran what we run. Ty is still growing up, but he played better in the second half.”
“I still feel we have a chance to be a good team,” said Ware, whose Wolves host Abbeville for homecoming next week.
Rayne is already strong. North Vermilion may be learning how to get there.
In a losing effort, Desormeaux went 12-27 with 217 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
The running game was not as effective as the Patriots would have liked with Taylor Abshire leading the team with only 35 yards on 16 attempts. Jordan Windmon chipped in with 27 yards on 10 carries.
North Vermilion hopes to avoid an 0-3 start when it travels to play the Loreauville Tigers next Friday night at 7 p.m.