By: LANCE REED

Sports Editor



It wont be long until it’s that time of the year again; time for local high school football teams to get on the gridiron and get it on with local rivals and district rivals. In late May, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) met and approved all of the state’s high school schedules, including all five of Evangeline Parish’s teams. One trend that was nice to see maintained throughout the schedules was the local teams scheduling each other even when they were not forced to do so. All five teams will meet other parish teams at least once during the 10-game regular season slate. Despite the battle for power points, it was nice to see all of the local coaches doing that. Fans can see all five parish teams battle it out in late August at the Evangeline Parish Football Jamboree in Basile.

Beginning with Ville Platte High, the Bulldogs have another tough schedule in front of them. They open the year with a tough home contest against Class 3A North Vermillion. The Patriots will be a tough test, but the seasoned Bulldogs should be able to be competitive. After that battle, the Bulldogs host their western Evangeline Parish rival, Mamou. The Demons and Bulldogs fought a very tough battle last year and fans of both teams will be very excited for this match.

Week five brings the East Beauregard Trojans to Ville Platte High for homecoming. The Trojans and Bulldogs have met before and this should be a good test for the Dogs on such a big night. The Dogs will travel to the town of Loreauville to meet the Tigers for their first District 6-2A game. After a series of match-ups against Jeanerette and Opelousas Catholic, the Dogs will head home to host Port Barre in week nine. It could be a game with big district implications. The Bulldogs and the Trojans will tangle in week 10 at Sacred Heart for the Tee Cotton Bowl.

Sacred Heart also has a pretty competitive football schedule set up for 2010. They open up their season with their annual game against their long-time rivals from St. Landry Parish. The Blue Jays of St. Eds will host the Trojans to begin the season. Sacred Heart dominated the Blue Jays last year. The Trojans meet a non-district opponent from Evangeline Parish in week three. They will host the Pine Prairie Panthers in their first home game. Last year’s match-up was close with the Trojans winning by a slim margin. The Trojans meet another non-district Evangeline Parish opponent in week five. They will travel to Mamou on Thursday, September 30th.

The Trojans begin their league schedule with a big game in Opelousas. They take on the Vikings to begin District 6-2A schedule. Port Barre returns to Ville Platte to meet the Trojans in their first home district game. After league games against Jeanerette and Loreauville, the Trojans will host Ville Platte High in an effort to regain the Tee Cotton Bowl Cup.

Mamou has a good bit of talent coming back to the team in 2010, but have suffered some bumps along the way. Senior fullback and middle linebacker Logan Christ may be out for the first couple of weeks. The Demons take to the road in week one with a tough match-up against the Port Barre Red Devils. Mamou came up one score short of the Red Devils last season. In week two, the Demons meet the Bulldogs, in which will be an exciting contest.

The Mamou boys begin their District 5-2A schedule with a road contest against Pine Prairie. Week five pins the Demons with a home game against the Sacred Heart Trojans. This contest was a nail-biter last year and should be a good one. Mamou gets to host Welsh in week six for their first home district game.

The Demons host the Yellow Jackets of Kinder for homecoming in week eight. This is not only a homecoming contest, but a district contest as well. Look for the Demons to be ready to go for this contest. Week 10 sends the Bulldogs of Iota to Mamou. This could be a contest with serious district implications.

The Pine Prairie High School football team had a remarkable year in 2009. The Panthers went 2-8 on the season and were very close to winning a few other games. This year, the Panthers will face the same schedule and the boys in orange and black will be ready to take them on. The Panthers open up their season with a home contest against the LaSalle Tigers. The same team they defeated to open up the 2009 season. After that, the Panthers will face three straight Evangeline Parish opponents. They travel to Basile and Sacred Heart in weeks two and three respectively. Week four brings home the Mamou Demons for the first District 5-2A contest.

The Panthers take on the toughest teams in their district for the next few weeks, including road trips to Welsh and Kinder and home games against Oakdale and Lake Arthur. In week nine, the Panthers will travel to Iota to wrap up their league schedule. They will conclude their regular season schedule with a road trip to Alexandria to meet the Class 3A Bolton Bears. Another game the Panthers won last season.

Basile, the only Class 1A team in Evangeline Parish, looks to make another run for the post-season. The Bearcats lost some key players from last year’s team, but should be ready to go. Basile and Gueydan collide in week one. The Bears will host the Bearcats in what many people view as one of the best games of the year in Class 1A. The Bearcats host the Panthers of Pine Prairie in week two. It’s another game of Evangeline Parish teams battling each other and keeping things on the gridiron.

The Bearcats open up their district schedule in week six with a road game in Lake Charles. The Cats meet the Warriors of Hamilton Christian in a District 4-1A contest. The Basile boys host Oberlin in their first district contest at home. This game could be a big one on the district scale. Basile ends their season on the road against Elton.

In August, a full-scale practice will begin for the Evangeline Parish football teams. In the meantime, many teams are participating in seven-on-seven games on Tuesday nights in Pine Prairie.